SEATTLE — Amazon.com Inc. shares rose nearly 3 percent Tuesday to around 254.84, reflecting investor confidence in the e-commerce and technology giant's diversified business model and accelerating cloud performance driven by artificial intelligence demand.

The move extended recent gains as Amazon benefits from its leadership in online retail and dominance in cloud computing through Amazon Web Services. With fiscal second-quarter results expected later this month, the stock's performance underscores optimism about sustained growth across segments despite economic uncertainties.

Amazon Web Services continues to power much of the company's profitability. The cloud unit has seen robust demand for infrastructure supporting AI training and inference, with major enterprises and startups scaling operations on its platform. AWS has introduced specialized instances and services optimized for generative AI workloads, helping maintain its market position against competitors.

Retail operations, Amazon's original core business, have shown resilience. Prime membership growth, improved logistics efficiency and advertising revenue have supported margins even as consumer spending patterns evolve. The company has invested in automation and delivery networks to handle peak volumes while controlling costs.

Tuesday's trading came amid broader market rotations favoring established technology leaders with visible earnings trajectories. Amazon's balance of consumer exposure and high-margin cloud business appeals to investors navigating AI hype cycles and potential economic slowdown risks.

The company has aggressively expanded its AI capabilities. Investments in data centers, custom chips and machine learning tools position it to capture spending from businesses adopting generative........

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