Amazon and Apple Shares Hit Record Highs as Tech Sector Rally Continues
Amazon’s Q2 earnings surge and Apple’s pre-report momentum push both giants to all-time highs, though divergent earnings outcomes highlight shifting investor sentiment.
Shares of Amazon and Apple reached all-time highs in August 2026, underscoring sustained investor appetite for large-cap technology stocks. The rally for Amazon followed its second-quarter 2026 earnings report, which highlighted robust growth in cloud computing and e-commerce operations. Apple’s stock also climbed to a record level prior to its fiscal third-quarter 2026 earnings release, although the share price retreated shortly after the report due to service revenue misses and concerns regarding high memory prices.
Amazon’s cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services (AWS), was a primary driver of the company’s strong performance. AWS revenue surged 37 per cent to $42.2 billion in the second quarter, with operating income soaring 63 per cent to $16.6 billion. The company reported a $496 billion backlog for cloud infrastructure, supported by partnerships with artificial intelligence firms such as Anthropic and OpenAI. Additionally, Amazon’s custom chip business, including Trainium and Graviton processors, has reached a $25 billion revenue run-rate, contributing to significant operating leverage.
Beyond cloud services, Amazon’s e-commerce division continued to expand, with North American revenue rising 16 per cent and international revenue increasing 15 per cent. The company also reported that its digital advertising business grew 26 per cent to $19.8 billion last quarter. Despite the stock hitting a new peak, Amazon trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 23 times, a valuation described as historically attractive compared to brick-and-mortar peers such as Costco and Walmart.
Apple’s trajectory differed slightly as it navigated its fiscal third-quarter results. The stock hit its all-time high before the earnings report but fell back following a combination of service revenue and China performance missing expectations. Analysts attribute the service revenue miss largely to currency headwinds rather than fundamental weakness in the business, which historically grows in the mid-teens range. The company’s tightly integrated hardware and services ecosystem continues to drive high customer retention and monetisation through app sales, subscriptions, and cloud storage.
While Amazon trades at a forward P/E of 23 times, Apple’s valuation stands at 32 times fiscal 2027 estimates. Despite Apple’s strong position as the top high-end smartphone maker, the Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor analyst team did not include Amazon in their current top 10 stock recommendations. The publication noted that worries over China and memory prices appear to be temporary headwinds for Apple, while Amazon’s long-term potential remains anchored by its dominant market share in cloud and e-commerce.
