New Delhi, Oct. 30 -- Amazon's cloud business is growing at its fastest pace in nearly five years, but its massive AI spending spree is putting pressure on cash flows, which further raises questions about the cost of the technology race.

The company in its quarterly report declared that Amazon Web Services (AWS) revenue increased 39.3% year-on-year to $46 billion in the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, taking its annualised revenue run rate to $184 billion. However, the company's free cash flow turned negative, recording an outflow of $42.4 billion for the trailing 12 months, driven primarily by a year-over-year increase of $94.8 billion in purchases of property and equipment, net of proceeds from sales and incentives.

"This incr...