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We’ll Soon Know More About Amazon’s Cloud Business Than Ever Before

2 minute read

Amazon’s cloud business has long been more like a cumulonimbus than a cirrus — that is, not very transparent at all.

In its quarterly earnings reports, Amazon has traditionally buried its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud offerings into a category called “North America Net Sales (Other),” where it sat alongside a hodgepodge of other stuff. That made it difficult to tell how well the company’s cloud business is doing. Analysts could see the “Other” category skyrocketing (it grew 43% year-over-year last quarter) and make estimates accordingly, but they couldn’t tell with absolute certainty how much of that growth was thanks to AWS.

Now, that’s all about to change. In a conference call with investors Thursday afternoon, the company promised it will start breaking out AWS into a separate category beginning with its next earnings report, due in April.

“We just think it’s an appropriate way to look at our business in 2015,” Amazon Chief Financial Officer Tom Szkutak said on that call.

Szkutak is right. Cloud computing is a growing part of Amazon’s total business, with that “Other” category earning $5.4 billion in revenue last year compared to $3.7 billion in 2013. It’s also an increasingly competitive field, with rivals like Microsoft, IBM and Google all ramping up their efforts in the category. Amazon investors, then, ought to know exactly how well AWS is doing.

That Amazon is ready to break out AWS into a separate category is also a sign it’s confident in the numbers. Perhaps as an early tease, it let at least one boastful fact slip on Thursday’s earnings call: More than 1 million customers use AWS as of the end of 2014, from individuals to big web companies like Netflix and Pinterest. That’s a nice milestone to brag about before getting into the nitty-gritty later this year.

See the Factories Where Amazon Can Move 426 Items a Second

Employees collect merchandise ordered by customers for shipment from the Amazon.com distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona, Nov. 26, 2012.
Employees collect merchandise ordered by customers for shipment from the Amazon.com distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona, Nov. 26, 2012. David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images
A worker collects order items at the Fulfilment Centre for online retail giant Amazon in Peterborough, central England, on Nov. 28, 2013.
A worker collects order items at the Fulfilment Centre for online retail giant Amazon in Peterborough, central England, on Nov. 28, 2013.Andrew Yates—AFP/Getty Images
Merchandise sits on shelves before shipment at the Amazon.com Inc. distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona, Nov. 26, 2012.
Merchandise sits on shelves before shipment at the Amazon.com Inc. distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona, Nov. 26, 2012. David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images
An employee packs merchandise for shipment at the Amazon.com Inc. fulfillment center in Phoenix, Arizona, Dec. 2, 2013.
An employee packs merchandise for shipment at the Amazon.com Inc. fulfillment center in Phoenix, Arizona, Dec. 2, 2013. David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images
BRITAIN-US-RETAIL-COMPANY-AMAZON
A picture shows the Fulfilment Centre for online retail giant Amazon in Peterborough, central England, on November 28, 2013, ahead of Cyber Monday on December 2nd, expected to be one of the busiest online shopping days of the year.Andrew Yates—AFP/Getty Images
BRITAIN-US-RETAIL-COMPANY-AMAZON
An employee packs orders in the Fulfilment Centre for online retail giant Amazon in Peterborough, central England, on November 28, 2013, ahead of Cyber Monday on December 2nd, expected to be one of the busiest online shopping days of the year.Andrew Yates—AFP/Getty Images
Inside An Amazon.com Distribution Center On Cyber Monday
Employee Maria Miller loads boxes onto a conveyer belt for shipping at the Amazon.com Inc. distribution center in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. on Monday, Nov. 26, 2012. David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images
Interior view of the hall of a logistics center of the online shopping company Amazon, taken on March 26, 2014 in Leipzig, eastern Germany.
Interior view of the hall of a logistics center of the online shopping company Amazon, taken on March 26, 2014 in Leipzig, eastern Germany. Peter Ending—AFP/Getty Images
Packages sit in regional delivery dividers ahead of distribution at the Amazon.co.uk Marston Gate 'Fulfillment Center,' the U.K. site of Amazon.com Inc. in Ridgmont, United Kingdom, Dec. 3, 2012.
Packages sit in regional delivery dividers ahead of distribution at the Amazon.co.uk Marston Gate 'Fulfillment Center,' the U.K. site of Amazon.com Inc. in Ridgmont, United Kingdom, Dec. 3, 2012. Simon Dawson—Bloomberg/Getty Images

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