In our previous article, we presented a “snapshot” analysis of Amazon revenues and profits for the year 2015. In this article, we will present a “trends” analysis of Amazon Web Services (AWS) revenues and profits for the years 2013 to 2015. For an easy comparison, we will combine the revenues and profits of all operating segments other than AWS and present them as Non-AWS revenues and profits. We will answer the following questions:

What were AWS and Non-AWS segments revenues and operating profits for the years 2013 to 2015?

What was the AWS and Non-AWS segments revenue share and operating profit share of the total revenue and total segment operating profits respectively?

What was the year-over-year (YoY)revenue growth and segment operating margin for AWS and Non-AWS segments?

About Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is Amazon’s cloud services platform for on-demand delivery of IT resources and applications via Internet. AWS Cloud offers a broad set of IT infrastructure services such as compute power, database, storage, content delivery, and other functionality as a utility with pay-as-you-go pricing. The following diagram lists the key product categories of AWS and few select products within those categories.

AWS segment revenues consist of amounts earned from global sales of compute, storage, database, and other AWS service offerings for start-ups, enterprises, government agencies, and academic institutions.

AWS Revenues and Profits 2013 To 2015

Amazon AWS revenues increased from $3.1 billion in 2013 to $7.9 billion in 2015. Amazon AWS segment operating profit increased from $673 million in 2013 to $1,863 million in 2015.

AWS Revenues and Profit Share 2013 To 2015

Of Amazon total revenues of $107 billion in 2015, the share of AWS segment was 7.4%. The AWS segment revenue share increased from 4.2% in 2013 to 7.4% in 2015.

Of Amazon total segment operating profit of $4.5 billion in 2015, the share of AWS segment was 41.2%. AWS segment operating profit share increased from 33.8% in 2013 to 41.2% in 2015.

So, AWS revenue share in the Amazon total revenues is small, but AWS operating profit share in the Amazon total segment operating profits is relatively much larger.

AWS Revenue Growth and Profit Margins 2013 To 2015

AWS segment revenues grew 69.7% year-over-year in 2015. Non-AWS segments combined revenues grew at 17.5% year-over-year in 2015. So, AWS segment revenues grew four-times faster than Non-AWS segment combined revenues during 2015.

AWS segment is much more profitable as well. AWS segment operating profit margin were 23.6% during 2015. Non-AWS segments combined operating margin were 2.7% during 2015.



