We have found the same to be true. No matter what we do acos is always too high. We no longer use sponsored ads except for a few items.

Would love some more insight on this if anyone has any.

Even this: do auto campaigns really value less than manual campaigns? I have the knowledge in my head that manual > auto, but why?

We observe the same.

When you added the negative keywords to the automated campaign did you use Phrase or Exact?

Also, have you looked at the targeting on your Automated campaign? Are certain groups performing poorly?

I would like to inform you that that the user interface for Campaign Manager does not display data in real-time and it takes 72 hours for the campaign manager dashboard to update the correct data.

There is a validation process that can take up to 72 hours to complete and will affect the spend value displayed in Campaign Manager.

I would also like to help you to understand how budget works on campaigns under Sponsored products.

The daily budget is a daily amount you are willing to spend on a campaign over a calendar month. In Sponsored Products campaigns, this amount is averaged over the course of a month. For example, if you set your daily budget to $100, Amazon will deliver up to $3,100 worth of clicks in that calendar month, assuming you start your campaign on the first day of a 31-day month.

However, on any given day you could spend less or more than your average daily budget. For example, if your budget is $100 and you receive $50 worth of clicks on the first day, you could receive up to $150 worth of clicks on the second day. This would bring your total spend over two days to $200, which averages to $100 per day.

https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/help.html/?itemID=201528510&referral=A2FT6V37JMKZ3W_A1GCCD26NLUGNV&referral=A2XR134MZZOUX4_A12WQDGDADB6FY

The reason being that we want to ensure that your ad reaches to maximum extent so that visibility of the product will increase which might generate possible sales for the product.

If on a particular day the traffic on the products is high, Amazon will display your ads so that they get maximum visibility.

***** If we confirm that your Sponsored Products account has been charged more than your monthly budget, we will automatically credit your account with the amount that exceeds your monthly budget.

During a calendar month, Sponsored Products uses budget pacing algorithms designed to deliver clicks that meet a monthly budget based on the daily budget you set for a campaign. Traffic patterns can and do vary, which may result in your campaign receiving clicks that exceed your monthly budget goals.

If a campaign receives clicks that exceed the overall monthly budget, the difference between your spend and your monthly budget may be credited back to your account on a future invoice in our sole discretion. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

**** So, I request you to wait until end of the month and if the spends increase the monthly budget our system will automatically refund the extra amount which was charged to you at the end of the month.

Your understanding and patience is appreciated in this matter.