Amazon’s Layoffs Helping Fund Growth

Last week, Amazon (AMZN) announced its quarterly results that continued to outpace market expectations. The company is investing significantly in future offerings and recently announced the acquisition of Globalstar (GSAT), the biggest acquisition it has ever made. Earlier this week, it also announced plans to launch its logistics network to all businesses.

Amazon’s Financials

Amazon’s first-quarter revenues grew 17% to $181.52 billion, exceeding analyst estimates of $177.30 billion. EPS of $2.78 was also significantly higher than the analyst's expectations of $1.64.

Revenues from Amazon Web Services (AWS) grew 28% to $27.6 billion, ahead of analyst estimates of $36.6 billion. Advertising services revenues grew 24% to $17.2 billion, also ahead of analyst estimates of $16.9 billion.

Amazon expects second quarter revenues to be $194-$199 billion, compared with analyst estimates of $188.9 billion.

The stock is currently trading at $272.07 with a market capitalization of $2.9 trillion. It touched a 52-week high of $278.56 this week after the announcement of its results. The stock has recovered from the 52-week low of $183.85 that it was trading at a year ago.

Amazon’s Globalstar Acquisition

Earlier this month, Amazon announced plans to acquire Globalstar, a mobile satellite services provider, for an estimated $11.6 billion. This is Amazon’s largest acquisition to date. Louisiana-based Globalstar was founded in 1991 and operates a fleet of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites providing mobile voice and data services globally. Over time, it has evolved from satellite telephony into broader data, IoT, and spectrum-based services, including enabling Apple's (AAPL) satellite messaging features. Through the acquisition, Amazon plans to gain access to Globalstar’s licensed spectrum, satellite infrastructure, and direct-to-device (D2D) capabilities to accelerate its own LEO offerings.

The combined entity will be integrated into Amazon’s Leo, formerly Project Kuiper, thus allowing Amazon to offer cellular connectivity directly to smartphones without ground towers and extend coverage globally. Amazon aims to begin commercial service for Leo in the third quarter of this year. It plans to operate Globalstar’s assets along its own constellation to create a unified satellite network spanning broadband and mobile connectivity, while also deepening partnerships with mobile operators and companies like Apple. Prior to the acquisition, Globalstar had listed on the Nasdaq in 2006 at a valuation of nearly $1.5 billion. For the year ended December 2025, it had generated $273 million in revenues with a diluted loss per share of $0.15.

Amazon’s Logistics Business

Continuing with its business expansion, Amazon announced this week that it was opening its logistics network to other businesses. Known as Amazon Supply Chain Services, Amazon will now allow companies across industries to use the supply-chain network for their own purposes. The service will extend Amazon’s entire portfolio of freight, distribution, fulfillment, and parcel shipping solutions to businesses of all types and sizes.

Amazon had built the network initially to expand its retail operations and to support independent selling partners worldwide. Its transportation network includes a fleet of 80,000+ trailers, 24,000+ intermodal containers, and 100+ aircraft. The service is already being used by companies like Procter & Gamble (PG) to transport raw materials to production facilities and move finished goods across its distribution network, 3M (MMM) to move products from its manufacturing sites to distribution centers worldwide, Lands’ End (LE) to fulfill orders across multiple sales channels, and American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) to deliver online orders from its American Eagle and Aerie websites directly to customers nationwide.

Amazon did not comment on the revenues it expects from the service, but its presence will directly compete with the likes of UPS and FedEx (FDX), along with other logistics players like Maersk Logistics (AMKBY) and GXO Logistics (GXO). Some believe that this expansion will focus on the business-to-business shipping market that is traditionally a high-margin segment for logistics firms where deliveries tend to be denser, more predictable, and less expensive to serve than consumer shipments.

Amazon’s Layoffs

Meanwhile, like other tech players, Amazon continues to reorganize itself through large-scale layoffs. It finished the quarter with 1.57 million employees globally, dropping by 1,000 employees since the fourth quarter. At the start of the first quarter, Amazon had announced plans to lay off 16,000 employees, after announcing a 14,000 employee layoff in October last year.

As of April 2026, the global tech industry has recorded 78,557 layoffs, with 76.7% occurring in US companies. While giants like Oracle (ORCL) (25,000+), Amazon (16,000), and Block (4,000) lead the charge, a disturbing pattern has emerged.

According to research by Alan Cohen (RationalFX), nearly half of these job losses are now explicitly tied to “AI Restructuring.” However, a deeper analysis suggests that AI is often being used as an “AI-as-an-excuse” narrative to justify aggressive cost-cutting and boost sagging stock prices. Companies like Oracle have automated the termination process itself, firing thousands via 6:00 AM emails—a cold-blooded approach that reflects a total deficit of empathy and human kindness.