Breaking news

Amazon’s AI Bets and Cost-Cutting Measures Pay Off, Boosting Stock by 5%

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

November 1, 2024

Shares of Amazon surged over 5% in after-hours trading on Thursday after the company reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings. Amazon announced earnings per share of $1.43, alongside revenue reaching $158.9 billion, surpassing analyst projections of $1.14 per share and $157.2 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.

Key Financial Highlights

North American Sales: Amazon’s North American segment recorded a 9% year-over-year sales increase, totalling $95.5 billion.
AWS Growth: Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company’s cloud unit, posted $27.5 billion in revenue, marking a 19% rise compared to the same period last year.
Stock Movement: Although Amazon’s stock initially fell over 3% on Thursday before earnings were released, it rebounded significantly in after-hours trading. So far, Amazon shares are up almost 24% year-to-date.

Background on Amazon’s Strategy

Amazon’s recent efforts include major cost-cutting moves, guided by CEO Andy Jassy, to streamline operations since 2022. This restructuring has led to over 27,000 layoffs and the closure of initiatives such as Amazon’s telehealth and same-day delivery services. Despite these reductions, Amazon is doubling down on other key areas, like a $52 billion investment in nuclear energy to support data centers in Virginia, Mississippi, and Ohio. The company is also moving forward with **Project Kuiper**, aiming to build a satellite network of 3,236 units to broaden internet access worldwide—a venture projected to involve over $10 billion in launch costs across five years, according to analysts from Wedbush Securities.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

Amazon’s Market Reach

July’s Prime Day achieved “record-breaking sales,” while the introduction of Amazon’s AI-powered shopping assistant, **Rufus** was rolled out to U.S. customers last month. Notably, Amazon had slightly missed expectations in the previous quarter and cautioned that intense news cycles could distract customers—a factor cited by CFO Brian Olsavsky during the second-quarter earnings call. Despite these challenges, the company’s annual revenue is expected to remain strong.

Noteworthy Figures

Amazon’s market capitalization has reached $1.96 trillion, making it the fifth-largest company globally, trailing behind Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Google. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos, who served as Amazon’s CEO until 2021, holds a net worth of $204.1 billion, much of which is tied to Amazon’s stock. Market fluctuations ahead of Amazon’s earnings report momentarily decreased Bezos’ wealth by around $6 billion. Bezos ranks as the second-richest American, after Elon Musk, on the Forbes 400 list.

The Future Forbes Realty Global Properties

Cyprus House Prices Outpace The EU As Market Momentum Builds In 2026

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

October 2, 2026

Cyprus’s housing market regained clear momentum in the second quarter of 2026, with house prices rising 7.9% year on year, according to Eurostat and the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat). The increase was well ahead of the European Union average and points to renewed strength in the island’s residential property market.

Cyprus Extends Its Lead Over The EU

The latest figures show Cyprus outperforming the broader market on both an annual and quarterly basis. House prices in Cyprus rose 2.4% between the first and second quarters of 2026, compared with gains of 1.2% across the EU and 1.1% in the euro area.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

On an annual basis, Cyprus’s 7.9% increase stood above the EU’s 4.7% rise and the euro area’s 4.0% gain. The result places the island among the stronger performers in the bloc, even as price growth moderates in much of Europe.

House Prices Reach A New High

Cystat reported that Cyprus’s House Price Index reached 105.46 points in the second quarter, up from 102.95 in the first quarter and 97.74 a year earlier. The annual pace of growth also marked a sharp acceleration from 3.4% in the first quarter of 2026.

The trajectory has been steadily upward. Annual house price growth in Cyprus was 2.9% in the second quarter of 2025, then rose to 4.2% in the third quarter and 6.0% in the fourth. The second quarter of 2026 therefore represents a further strengthening in the market’s recovery.

New And Existing Homes Both Contribute

Growth was not limited to one segment of the market. Both new and existing dwellings posted gains in the latest quarter.

The sub-index for new dwellings rose to 105.73 points from 103.25 in the first quarter. New-home prices had already climbed from 96.26 in the second quarter of 2025 to 101.71 in the third quarter, 102.06 in the fourth, and 103.25 in the first quarter of 2026 before advancing further in the second quarter.

Existing dwellings also recorded a strong rebound. Their sub-index increased to 105.10 from 102.51 in the first quarter. That followed a more uneven pattern: the index declined from 100.84 in the second quarter of 2025 to 100.59 in the third and 99.82 in the fourth, before recovering to 102.51 in the first quarter of 2026 and then climbing again in the second.

Cystat’s House Price Index measures changes in average residential property prices for both new and existing dwellings, including the land component. The data are based on information from the Department of Lands and Surveys and cover areas under the control of the Republic of Cyprus.

European Growth Slows, But Remains Positive

Across the EU, house prices continued to rise, but the pace of annual growth eased slightly. EU-wide prices increased by 5.5% year on year in the third quarter of 2025, 5.4% in the fourth, 5.1% in the first quarter of 2026 and 4.7% in the second.

The euro area followed a similar pattern, with annual growth slowing from 5.2% in the third quarter of 2025 to 5.1% in the fourth, 4.6% in the first quarter of 2026 and 4.0% in the second.

Quarterly growth also softened before stabilising. In the EU, prices rose 1.6% in the third quarter of 2025, 0.7% in the fourth, 1.1% in the first quarter of 2026 and 1.2% in the second. In the euro area, the equivalent figures were 1.5%, 0.4%, 0.9% and 1.1%.

Among EU countries with available data, Portugal recorded the strongest annual house price growth at 16.5%, followed by Bulgaria at 15.5% and Lithuania at 14.3%. At the other end of the spectrum, prices fell 2.7% in Finland, 2.2% in Luxembourg and 0.8% in France.

Quarterly gains were led by Lithuania at 5.0%, Bulgaria at 4.5% and Romania at 4.4%. House prices fell 1.4% in Hungary and 0.8% in France. Overall, 23 EU countries posted annual price increases, while three reported declines; on a quarterly basis, prices rose in 24 countries and fell in two.

Rents Remain Under Pressure

The broader European housing market is also still seeing upward pressure on rents. Eurostat reported that EU rents increased 3.0% year on year in the second quarter of 2026, with the euro area following a similar path. Compared with the first quarter, rents across the EU were up 0.7%.

Over the longer period from the 2025 annual average to the second quarter of 2026, rents increased in every EU country. Romania recorded the steepest rise at 41.2%, followed by Croatia at 22.1% and Slovenia at 10.2%. The smallest increases were seen in Estonia and Finland, both at 0.1%, and Luxembourg at 1.2%.

Eurostat’s data on actual rental payments also show that rental costs in Cyprus remained elevated in 2026, with the relevant index at 104.30 in both July and August, after reaching 103.37 in March.

The combination of firmer purchase prices and persistent rent inflation suggests that housing affordability remains under pressure across Europe. For Cyprus, however, the second-quarter numbers stand out: home prices are rising at nearly twice the EU average, underscoring the island’s relatively strong housing market momentum.