Amazon.com IncAmazon's accelerated depreciation and reduced useful life of AI chips will lower 2025 operating income by ~$700M and incur $920M in charges.

Amazon is planning to replace Trainium 2 chips with Trainium 3 in some facilities at its Indiana campus, according to internal documents, even though Trainium 2 only reached general availability in December 2024. The move raises questions about whether the chips can achieve the five-to-six-year useful life that CEO Andy Jassy cited to justify Amazon's $220 billion capital spending plan for 2026. Amazon recently cut the estimated useful life of a subset of its servers and networking equipment from six years to five, citing an increased pace of technology development in AI and machine learning, a change that will reduce 2025 operating income by roughly $700 million. The company also expects about $920 million in accelerated depreciation and related charges for early retirements, with another $600 million of that landing during 2025. A spokesperson said Amazon is always designing, upgrading, and improving its data center infrastructure, and the company has not stated whether the five-year estimate still applies to Trainium 2.
Amazon.com IncAmazon's accelerated depreciation and reduced useful life of AI chips will lower 2025 operating income by ~$700M and incur $920M in charges.