Amazon Web Services is setting the pace for the cloud computing market once again, growing 49 percent in its first quarter, a slightly better pace than it did throughout 2017.
Revenue was $5.44 billion, up 49 percent from revenue of $3.66 billion in the year-ago quarter. During 2017, AWS growth hovered around 45 percent, which is still quite healthy for a business the size and age of AWS, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos singled out the group for praise in his scripted press release comments accompanying the release of Amazon’s overall results.
“AWS had the unusual advantage of a seven-year head start before facing like-minded competition, and the team has never slowed down,” Bezos said. “As a result, the AWS services are by far the most evolved and most functionality-rich. AWS lets developers do more and be nimbler, and it continues to get even better every day. That’s why you’re seeing this remarkable acceleration in AWS growth, now for two quarters in a row. A huge thank you to all our AWS customers, and you can be sure we’ll keep working hard for you.”
Operating profit increased as well, from $890 million a year ago to $1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2018. That’s a 57 percent jump, and it was once again the most profitable segment of the company that Amazon breaks out.
On a twelve-month trailing basis, AWS revenue was $19.2 billion, and it seems likely that the division will hit the $20 billion-a-year pace that Amazon Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky called out during last quarter’s results at some point later this year.
(Editor’s note: This post was updated several times Thursday afternoon as more information became available.)
