AWS backlog hits $578 billion as Amazon CEO says it has more than doubled

Amazon Web Services now has $578 billion in contracted future business waiting in the queue. According to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, that backlog has more than doubled year over year.

The numbers behind the queue

The $578 billion figure marks another steep climb. AWS reported a contract backlog of $496 billion as of June 30, 2026.

That June figure was itself a jump from $364 billion at the end of the first quarter. Moving from $496 billion to $578 billion adds another $82 billion to the pile.

The backlog consists largely of multi-year customer commitments. Much of that demand is tied to AI workloads, which need enormous amounts of computing capacity to train and run models.

The revenue side has been moving in the same direction. In Q2 2026, AWS brought in $42.2 billion, up 37% year over year.

That was the unit’s fastest growth rate in 18 quarters. It put AWS at an annualized run rate of roughly $169 billion.

Even at the earlier $496 billion level, the backlog represented nearly three years of future revenue at that run rate.

Sold out, and spending to catch up

Jassy has been unusually blunt about how tight supply has become. In an October 2026 interview, he indicated that AWS cloud capacity for 2026 is sold out.

Capacity for 2027 is largely booked as well. Substantial commitments have also already been made for 2028.

Amazon has raised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to approximately $220 billion, up from a previous estimate of around $200 billion.

Rising memory costs are part of the reason for that increase. Building data centers for AI requires vast quantities of chips and memory, and those components have gotten more expensive.

AWS’s operating margin stood at approximately 39% in Q2, making it a high-margin driver for the broader company.

Why the backlog matters

The pace of the climb over 2026 is striking. The backlog went from $364 billion at the end of Q1 to $496 billion by mid-year, and now to $578 billion.

Amazon’s Q3 earnings are scheduled for October 29, 2026.

What this means for Amazon and its rivals

The tradeoff is cash. Spending of approximately $220 billion in a single year could weigh on free cash flow in the near term.

There is also an execution question. A backlog only becomes revenue once the capacity exists to serve it, so Amazon’s ability to bring data centers online on schedule is now central to the story.

Component costs add another variable. Memory prices have already nudged the capex forecast higher once, and further increases could push it up again.

The main things to watch on October 29 are whether revenue growth holds near the 37% pace, whether margins stay around 39% as spending climbs, and whether Amazon adjusts its capex outlook again.