5 warnings for sellers from the Amazon Q1 investor reports

5 things sellers need to know

There's so much more in here than what you saw in the carousel. Inside, you'll find detailed charts, verbatim quotes from CEO Andy Jassy and CFO Brian Olsavsky, page citations from the 10-K, and the 5 moves to make in the next 90 days.

• 1

  FBA fees will keep rising

  Amazon already raised seller fees twice in 4 months — the Jan 15 schedule update and the Apr 17 fuel-and-logistics surcharge. The Q1 earnings call signals more is coming. The exact line from CFO Brian Olsavsky is inside.

• 2

  Amazon ads grew 2.4× faster than retail

  Q1 2026 ad revenue: $17.2B (+22%). Retail: +9%. Amazon's ad business is now 75% bigger than YouTube, and aggregate TACoS is projected to rise from 8.3% (2025) to 10.5% (2027E). The math, with the chart, is inside.

• 3

  Sellers will fund the AI buildout

  Buried in the 10-K (line 2646): Amazon shortened server life from 6 → 5 years "due to AI." Effect: +$1.4B/year in depreciation. Q1 2026 cash capex was $43.2B. Andy Jassy's quote on memory costs "skyrocketing" is inside.

• 4

  Rufus ads run throughout the conversation

  Sponsored ads inside Rufus are live. MAU is up 115% YoY, engagement up 400%. Andy Jassy on the Q1 call: every multi-turn reply is a new ad slot. The full quote and what it means for your keyword strategy are inside.

• 5

  Rivals are outgrowing Amazon

  Amazon online stores grew 9% in Q1. TikTok Shop +94%. Walmart Marketplace +30%+. Shopify +29.5%. Amazon's the biggest, not the fastest — and the gap explains why fees aren't coming down. The full comparison table is inside.