Amazon reports third quarter earnings with slower cloud growth than competitors

Amazon published its third-quarter 2024 results on 29 October, showing that its cloud division grew more slowly than rivals. Amazon Web Services, which is the company's biggest source of profit, increased revenue by about 17 percent. Microsoft Azure grew by 37 percent in the same period, and Google Cloud also outpaced AWS. Amazon's cloud business has a backlog of $195 billion in signed contracts waiting to be completed. Microsoft's backlog is much larger, at $368 billion. Amazon has spent heavily on artificial intelligence infrastructure and its own computer chips, which has reduced short-term profits. Amazon's stock has risen around 49 percent over five years, while the broader S&P 500 index returned about 80 percent.