Tom Forte, Maxim Group senior consumer internet analyst, joins 'Money Movers' to discuss Amazon's AI strategy, what to expect from the AWS re:Invent 2025 conference next week, and more.

The release of Open AI's ChatGPT has accelerated the development of artificial intelligence and warnings about its impact on society.

Rise of AI

Amazon will emphasize artificial intelligence, agentic commerce, and its new Tranium 3 chip at the upcoming AWS re:Invent conference. The Tranium 3 chip is noted for doubling processing power and improving efficiency by 50 percent, and Amazon plans to invest over $100 billion in capital expenditures this year to support enterprise AI development.

Analysts highlight Amazon's unique position to leverage AI for automation across its diverse workforce and fulfillment centers. Concerns were raised about the industry's capital spending and the potential for electricity demand to become a limiting factor, but Amazon remains profitable while investing heavily in AI and infrastructure.

Amazon set to kick off AI conference next week

Let's stick with Amazon and its AI strategy as the company gets set to kick off this AWF reInvent conference next week. Joining us now is Maxim Group's Senior Consumer Internet Analyst, Tom Forte. Tom, do you expect them to talk more about agentic commerce? Yeah, so I definitely think agentic commerce and agentic AI will be a key theme for reInvent next week, in addition to the company focusing on, which is something Dieter talked about and you talked about, the Tranium 3 chip, their effort there, which has double the processing power, a 50% improvement in efficiency. And then I think they're going to talk about how they're supporting the build-out of AI for enterprise to the extent that they've told us multiple times this year they're going to spend more than $100 billion in capbacks. Do you feel like, I mean, do you feel like it's a catalyst for the stock? I know you're a buy still, right? $280? Yeah, so the big catalyst for the stock, Sarah, was last quarter when they reported faster growth in AWS in the September quarter than they did the June quarter. It's more challenging the December because that's seasonally the strongest for their e-commerce business. So on a relative basis, AWS is a smaller percentage of total revenue for the fourth quarter. But I do think that stepping back a minute and looking at how AI can advance Amazon, I think that's why I'm incredibly bullish. So if you compare Amazon's workforce with Google, Meta and others, they have both a large white collar and a large blue collar workforce. So to the extent they're able to use artificial intelligence to advance automation at the fulfillment center level, that's a way that they can take advantage of artificial intelligence that Google can't, Apple can't, others can't. So I think in that regard, AI is very good for Amazon over the long term. So it sounds like you think this recent round of announced layoffs was important. I do think that it's part of the Andy Jassy Amazon versus the Jeff Bezos Amazon, which is having margins to enable the company to both invest and generate profits on an every quarter basis. You think about the old Amazon. When they were in heavy investment mode, they would often lose, you know, billions of dollars. And I think that's a very big difference on how Andy's running the company versus how Jeff is doing it. He's looking at both the top line and the bottom line. And I think being more efficient, including from a headcount standpoint, is advancing that effort for Andy. Tom, where's your head right now? I guess more regarding the industry at large. And that is this balance between using cash flow for CapEx versus raising debt for CapEx. Are we in some kind of danger zone on any of that? Well, I do think we're in a danger zone having lived through the dotcom bubble. When I look at what's going on with AI, as far as, you know, potential overbill. What concerns me is going back to Andy Jassy's comments on the third quarter earnings call. He's talking about AWS using, you know, gigawatts of power. And I do think that people don't talk enough about how electricity can be a gating factor for the advancements of AI. I think there's gonna be a lot of blowback from consumers when their home electric bills go up 50, 100 percent because there's a data center and things of that nature. So I do worry about artificial intelligence, gating factors, things of that nature, potential bubbles having lived through the dotcom one. And the CapEx spend, I think, is important. But, you know, monitoring the build-out. But again, going back to my earlier comments, Amazon is still profitable while investing heavily in the business, and I think that's important. So can you talk a little bit more about these Trinium 3 chips? Since you mentioned it, Deidre mentioned it, we're expecting news on them or at least to promote them at this event. Where do they stack up next to the, you know, GPUs now, TPUs? And are there any real potential buyers besides Amazon themselves which could make it appealing like a Google since Amazon's stock has underperformed so much? So, Sarah, the way I think about it is two ways. One, it reminds me of Amazon adding its delivery capacity, first party, to complement that of UPS and the postal service, kind of like having its own chip set to complement what it's doing with NVIDIA. At the same time, I don't think Amazon gets enough credit for helping enterprises manage the cost of artificial intelligence. And I think offering the Trinium 3 chips can help them in that regard. And I do think it's important because I think for a lot of enterprises, they're going to, you know, focus on the return on investment spend on artificial intelligence. And I think the Trinium 3 chips for Amazon can help in that matter.

Four people have been arrested in California - charged with plotting a series of bombing attacks on multiple targets on New Year's Eve.

California

FBI arrests four over alleged New Year’s Eve bomb plot in California

Police in Rhode Island are searching for a new person of interest following Saturday’s deadly shooting at Brown University. Investigators say the case remains active as authorities work to determine a motive.

Providence

New person of interest sought in Brown University shooting

The son of filmmaker Rob Reiner was arrested on homicide charges after the director of beloved movies like "When Harry Met Sally ..." and his wife were found dead in their Los Angeles home, a police official said on Monday.

Los Angeles

Rob Reiner's son arrested after director and wife found dead

A jury found Brian Walshe guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his wife Ana on New Year's Day in 2023 in their Massachusetts home. Legal analyst Jennifer Roman joins with more details.

Boston

Brian Walshe found guilty of first-degree murder in wife's death

Hong Kong's High Court on Monday (December 15) found pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai guilty of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and to publish seditious material under a China-imposed national security law that could see him jailed for life.

Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong court finds Jimmy Lai guilty in landmark security trial

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. negotiators are meeting in Berlin. As the U.S. grows increasingly pressed to end the four-year war, the peace negotiations continue, with territorial concessions to Russia remaining the "sticking point" for Ukraine.

Berlin

Ukraine Invasion

Zelenskyy offers to drop NATO bid for security guarantees

Police have released a person of interest who was detained in a shooting at Brown University. Two students were killed and at least nine others were injured in the Saturday attack. Tom Hanson spoke with students about the shooting.

Police release person of interest in shooting at Brown University

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy proposed abandoning NATO ambitions in exchange for Western security guarantees during peace talks in Berlin. The move marks a major shift as Kyiv seeks to end the war with Russia without ceding territory.

Ukraine offers to drop NATO bid at Berlin peace talks

Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, were found dead Sunday in their Los Angeles home, sources told CBS News, in what police called an apparent homicide. Rob Reiner was 78 and Michele Reiner was 68.

Brentwood

Director Rob Reiner and his wife found dead in their L.A. home

Far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast wins Chile's presidential run-off, after defeating his leftist opponent.

Santiago

Far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast wins Chile’s presidential election

The person of interest authorities took into custody in connection with the shooting at Brown University has been identified as Benjamin Erickson. He's a 24 year old, originally from Wisconsin.

Person of interest identified in Brown University shooting

Two alleged gunmen who killed 15 people at a Jewish celebration in Sydney's Bondi Beach were a father and son, police said on Monday, as Australia mourned victims of its worst gun violence in almost 30 years. This video contains graphic images.

Bondi Beach

Father and son behind Bondi mass shooting, Australian police say

Israel has described a deadly mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach as an attack on Jews, after gunmen opened fire during a Jewish holiday event, killing at least 11 people.

Council of the City of Sydney

Israel calls Bondi shooting attack on Jews, urges action on antisemitism

Two gunmen attacked a Hannukah celebration on a Sydney beach Sunday, killing at least 11 people in what Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called an act of antisemitism and terrorism.

Gunmen kill several at Jewish gathering in Sydney's Bondi Beach

Providence police have detained a "person of interest" in connection with the Brown University shooting that left two students dead and another nine people wounded, as the Ivy League school said it had lifted a shelter-in-place order for its campus in Rhode Island.

Police hold person of interest after Brown University shooting

Belarus has freed more than 120 political prisoners in a major thaw in relations with the United States. The releases came in return for Washington lifting sanctions on potash, a key source of revenue for Belarus.

Minsk

Belarus releases 123 prisoners as U.S. lifts sanctions

Washington was still under a state of emergency on Saturday after torrential rains swamped communities. Plus, snow and dangerous cold are falling on some in the Midwest and on the East Coast. Nicole Valdes has more from Washington state.

Deming

Washington under state emergency as rains ease

China's plans for a massive new embassy in the British capital were delayed until January. Construction plans have proven controversial, with some raising espionage concerns. Ramy Inocencio has more from London.

London

Controversial Chinese embassy construction in London delayed

A United Airlines jetliner lost one of its engines during liftoff from Washington's Dulles Airport bound for Tokyo.

Tokyo

United Airlines flight loses engine during liftoff, sparks brush fire

Thailand says there is no ceasefire with Cambodia, and its military will continue fighting until it faces no further threat. That's despite the US president's earlier announcement that both sides had agreed to stop their attacks. Villages along the border are largely empty, except for a handful of volunteer security guards.

Phnom Penh

Fighting continues along Thai-Cambodia border

U.S President Donald Trump has threatened potential land strikes on Venezuela to target an illegal narcotics trade. Trump says the drugs are arriving on U.S shores and that President Nicolas Maduro is behind it. Maduro has denied the claim.

Caracas

Washington considers Venezuela land assault

King Charles III, who shared his cancer diagnosis with the world in February 2024, announced Friday that he would be scaling back his treatment after his doctors have seen success. The monarch also pushed for people to get early screenings, saying, "Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives."

King Charles to reduce cancer treatments

Belarus has freed more than 100 political prisoners, including a Nobel Peace Prize winner, in exchange for sanction relief on Belarusian potash, a U.S. statement said on Saturday.

Belarus releases political prisoners as U.S. lifts some sanctions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he visited troops fending off Russian advances near the embattled city of Kupiansk that Moscow claimed to have captured last month, which Kyiv denies.

Kup'yans'k

Zelenskyy visits troops as Ukraine claims gained ground near key city

In an audacious move, the EU has decided to indefinitely immobilize the Russian sovereign assets, pushing back against external pressure to release the funds before Moscow agrees to pay war reparations to Ukraine.

Brussels

EU locking in Russian assets for good

U.S. House Democrats released new images from the estate of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that feature U.S. President Donald Trump and other high-profile people previously linked to Epstein.

Washington

House Democrats release more Epstein estate photos

For the first time, Amnesty International has accused Hamas and its allies of committing crimes against humanity, following an investigation into the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel. The organization found that 1,221 people were killed and said the mass killing of civilians amounted to extermination.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Amnesty accuses Hamas of 'crimes against humanity' for Oct. 7 attack

The “Architects of AI” were named Time's person of the year Thursday, with the magazine citing 2025 as when the potential of artificial intelligence “roared into view” with no turning back.

Time magazine names 'Architects of AI' as person of the year for 2025

Message board website Reddit filed a lawsuit on Friday (December 12) asking Australia's High Court to overturn the country's social media ban for people under 16 as well as its inclusion in it, calling the law an infringement of free political expression.

Reddit sues to overturn Australian social media ban

As tensions rise with Venezuela, U.S. President Donald Trump said land operations could start "pretty soon." Sources tell CBS News the administration is also planning more tanker seizures.

Amazon set to kick off AI conference next week

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Rise of AI