Cloud Computing Competition Intensifies, Alphabet Emerges Victorious
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 19 hours ago
0mins
Should l Buy AMZN?
Source: Fool
- Accelerated Cloud Growth: Driven by artificial intelligence, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google all reported significant growth in their cloud businesses, with AWS achieving a 28% year-over-year revenue increase to $37.6 billion in Q1, showcasing its strong competitive position in the global cloud market.
- Microsoft Cloud Performance: Microsoft's Azure cloud services recorded a 30% revenue growth in its fiscal 2026 third quarter, reaching $34.7 billion, and is expected to become the company's largest revenue source in the coming quarters, indicating its rapid ascent in the cloud market.
- Google Cloud's Rapid Surge: Google Cloud's revenue surged 63% to $20 billion in Q1, marking its fastest growth rate since it began reporting cloud results in 2020, highlighting the success of its AI solutions in driving business growth.
- Market Share Dynamics: As of Q1, AWS held 28% of the global cloud market, Microsoft Azure accounted for 21%, and Google Cloud increased to 14%, illustrating the intensifying competition among the three major cloud service providers, with Alphabet standing out in this round of competition.
Trade with 70% Backtested Accuracy
Stop guessing "Should I Buy AMZN?" and start using high-conviction signals backed by rigorous historical data.
Sign up today to access powerful investing tools and make smarter, data-driven decisions.
Analyst Views on AMZN
Wall Street analysts forecast AMZN stock price to rise
44 Analyst Rating
41 Buy
3 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 265.820
Low
175.00
Averages
280.01
High
325.00
Current: 265.820
Low
175.00
Averages
280.01
High
325.00
About AMZN
Amazon.com, Inc. provides a range of products and services to customers. The products offered through its stores include merchandise and content it has purchased for resale and products offered by third-party sellers. The Company’s segments include North America, International and Amazon Web Services (AWS). It serves consumers through its online and physical stores and focuses on selection, price, and convenience. Customers access its offerings through its websites, mobile apps, Alexa, devices, streaming, and physically visiting its stores. It also manufactures and sells electronic devices, including Kindle, Fire tablet, Fire TV, Echo, Ring, Blink, and eero, and develops and produces media content. It serves developers and enterprises of all sizes, including start-ups, government agencies, and academic institutions, through AWS, which offers a set of on-demand technology services, including compute, storage, database, analytics, and machine learning, and other services.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Amazon Expands Ultra-Fast Delivery Service to More U.S. Cities
- Service Expansion: Amazon is expanding its ultra-fast delivery service to cities including Austin, Houston, Minneapolis, Orlando, Phoenix, Denver, and Oklahoma City, aiming to provide 30-minute delivery to millions of customers through a network of smaller fulfillment centers located closer to customers.
- Fee Structure: Prime members will pay a delivery fee of $3.99, while non-members will incur a fee of $13.99, with additional charges for orders under $15, a pricing strategy designed to attract more users to join Prime membership.
- Product Variety: Amazon offers thousands of items for ultra-fast delivery, including groceries for dinner, AirPods before flights, and household essentials like laundry detergent and toothpaste, catering to diverse customer needs and enhancing customer loyalty.
- Market Impact: Amazon's rapid delivery options have enabled it to deliver 13 billion items globally on the same or next day, with over 8 billion in the U.S. alone, marking a 30% year-over-year increase, which has pressured competitors like Instacart, causing its shares to drop more than 3%.
See More
Amazon and Walmart's E-commerce Rivalry Intensifies
- Revenue Growth Comparison: Amazon's total revenue reached $181 billion in the latest quarter, marking a 17% year-over-year increase and surpassing Walmart's trailing $742 billion annual revenue for the first time, highlighting its strong growth potential in e-commerce and cloud computing.
- Rise of AI Assistants: Both Amazon and Walmart have launched AI shopping assistants, with Amazon's Rufus assistant seeing user numbers double, while Walmart's Sparky assistant has driven higher order values, indicating the critical role of AI technology in future e-commerce competition.
- Retail Market Scale: Despite Amazon's retail sales of $70 billion being lower than Walmart's $191 billion quarterly revenue, the rapid growth of Amazon's non-retail services, such as AWS, provides significant momentum for its future development.
- Strategic Investment Focus: Both companies are making substantial investments in AI, suggesting that future retail winners may depend on the capabilities of their AI tools and services, with Amazon's cloud service growth influencing its investment strategy for its online store.
See More
Alibaba Reports Mixed Q4 Earnings Amid AI Growth
- Significant Revenue Growth: Alibaba reported strong revenue growth in Q4 of fiscal 2026, particularly with a 40% increase in AI-related cloud revenue, indicating a favorable position in the rapidly expanding cloud computing market, despite challenges in overall profitability.
- Earnings Miss: The company posted a net income of 86 million yuan ($12 million), a stark decline from nearly 30 billion yuan last year, with earnings per share at $0.19, significantly below analysts' expectations of $0.84, highlighting the pressure on profitability.
- Positive Market Reaction: Despite reporting an operating loss, Alibaba's stock rose 7% in morning trading, suggesting that investors are focusing on the growth potential of its cloud revenue, reflecting market confidence in the company's future prospects.
- Strategic Investment Plan: Last year, Alibaba announced a $55.9 billion investment over three years to enhance its AI infrastructure and cloud computing capabilities, a strategic move that is expected to drive sustained growth and strengthen its competitive position in the global market.
See More
Investment Outlook: Walmart vs. Costco
- Stock Performance Comparison: Over the past five years, Walmart's stock has risen approximately 190%, while Costco's has increased by 175%, both outperforming the S&P 500's 82% gain, indicating strong resilience in fluctuating economic conditions.
- Valuation and Market Cap Analysis: Walmart's market cap has reached $1 trillion, while Costco stands at around $450 billion; despite both appearing overvalued, Walmart's P/E ratio is 53, compared to Costco's 48, reflecting high market expectations for both companies.
- Growth Potential Assessment: Although both retailers are experiencing single-digit growth, Costco's growth rate typically exceeds Walmart's, particularly when consumer spending appetite increases, highlighting its potential advantage in economic recovery scenarios.
- Market Positioning Differences: Walmart focuses more on essentials, while Costco encourages higher discretionary spending; as economic conditions improve, Costco's growth potential may be greater, especially in e-commerce and new market expansions.
See More
TTEC Partners with AWS to Accelerate Amazon Connect Adoption
- Strategic Collaboration: TTEC has secured a strategic collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) aimed at accelerating the adoption of Amazon Connect, enhancing customer experience through AI-powered support, and significantly reducing the cost and complexity for businesses implementing new technologies.
- Positive Market Reaction: Following the announcement of the collaboration, TTEC shares rose 5% during early market action on Wednesday, reflecting market optimism regarding the potential of this partnership, despite a 50% decline in stock price over the past year.
- Customer Experience Enhancement: The collaboration will deliver intelligent self-service and agent-assist capabilities, enabling businesses to transition more rapidly from legacy contact center platforms to AI-driven customer experiences, thereby lowering risk and accelerating time-to-value.
- Industry Leadership: TTEC Digital's extensive experience with Amazon Connect, being one of the platform's earliest collaborators, further solidifies its leadership position in customer experience solutions through this partnership.
See More
Amazon Revamps Shopping Experience with New Alexa Tool
- Strategic Shift: Amazon is shutting down its Rufus chatbot and launching the new 'Alexa for Shopping' tool, which integrates search results with a Q&A engine, allowing users to compare products side-by-side and automate purchases based on price triggers, thereby enhancing shopping efficiency and user experience.
- Advertising Revenue Protection: Despite the new system aiming to streamline the shopping process, Amazon executives confirm that Alexa will still inject ads into chat results to safeguard the company's vital advertising revenue source, ensuring profitability in a competitive market.
- Ecosystem Defense: Amazon is restricting external bots from scraping its site, forcing consumers to remain within its ecosystem to access verified customer reviews and fulfillment data, thereby enhancing user stickiness and boosting brand loyalty.
- Market Competition Pressure: This transformation may create uncertainty for third-party sellers who rely on traditional sponsored listings for advertising revenue, indicating Amazon's strategic intent to lead in generative AI shopping experiences and outpace competitors like Alphabet and OpenAI.
See More
Amazon Expands Ultra-Fast Delivery Service to More U.S. Cities
- Service Expansion: Amazon is expanding its ultra-fast delivery service to cities including Austin, Houston, Minneapolis, Orlando, Phoenix, Denver, and Oklahoma City, aiming to provide 30-minute delivery to millions of customers through a network of smaller fulfillment centers located closer to customers.
- Fee Structure: Prime members will pay a delivery fee of $3.99, while non-members will incur a fee of $13.99, with additional charges for orders under $15, a pricing strategy designed to attract more users to join Prime membership.
- Product Variety: Amazon offers thousands of items for ultra-fast delivery, including groceries for dinner, AirPods before flights, and household essentials like laundry detergent and toothpaste, catering to diverse customer needs and enhancing customer loyalty.
- Market Impact: Amazon's rapid delivery options have enabled it to deliver 13 billion items globally on the same or next day, with over 8 billion in the U.S. alone, marking a 30% year-over-year increase, which has pressured competitors like Instacart, causing its shares to drop more than 3%.
See More
Amazon and Walmart's E-commerce Rivalry Intensifies
- Revenue Growth Comparison: Amazon's total revenue reached $181 billion in the latest quarter, marking a 17% year-over-year increase and surpassing Walmart's trailing $742 billion annual revenue for the first time, highlighting its strong growth potential in e-commerce and cloud computing.
- Rise of AI Assistants: Both Amazon and Walmart have launched AI shopping assistants, with Amazon's Rufus assistant seeing user numbers double, while Walmart's Sparky assistant has driven higher order values, indicating the critical role of AI technology in future e-commerce competition.
- Retail Market Scale: Despite Amazon's retail sales of $70 billion being lower than Walmart's $191 billion quarterly revenue, the rapid growth of Amazon's non-retail services, such as AWS, provides significant momentum for its future development.
- Strategic Investment Focus: Both companies are making substantial investments in AI, suggesting that future retail winners may depend on the capabilities of their AI tools and services, with Amazon's cloud service growth influencing its investment strategy for its online store.
See More
Alibaba Reports Mixed Q4 Earnings Amid AI Growth
- Significant Revenue Growth: Alibaba reported strong revenue growth in Q4 of fiscal 2026, particularly with a 40% increase in AI-related cloud revenue, indicating a favorable position in the rapidly expanding cloud computing market, despite challenges in overall profitability.
- Earnings Miss: The company posted a net income of 86 million yuan ($12 million), a stark decline from nearly 30 billion yuan last year, with earnings per share at $0.19, significantly below analysts' expectations of $0.84, highlighting the pressure on profitability.
- Positive Market Reaction: Despite reporting an operating loss, Alibaba's stock rose 7% in morning trading, suggesting that investors are focusing on the growth potential of its cloud revenue, reflecting market confidence in the company's future prospects.
- Strategic Investment Plan: Last year, Alibaba announced a $55.9 billion investment over three years to enhance its AI infrastructure and cloud computing capabilities, a strategic move that is expected to drive sustained growth and strengthen its competitive position in the global market.
See More
Investment Outlook: Walmart vs. Costco
- Stock Performance Comparison: Over the past five years, Walmart's stock has risen approximately 190%, while Costco's has increased by 175%, both outperforming the S&P 500's 82% gain, indicating strong resilience in fluctuating economic conditions.
- Valuation and Market Cap Analysis: Walmart's market cap has reached $1 trillion, while Costco stands at around $450 billion; despite both appearing overvalued, Walmart's P/E ratio is 53, compared to Costco's 48, reflecting high market expectations for both companies.
- Growth Potential Assessment: Although both retailers are experiencing single-digit growth, Costco's growth rate typically exceeds Walmart's, particularly when consumer spending appetite increases, highlighting its potential advantage in economic recovery scenarios.
- Market Positioning Differences: Walmart focuses more on essentials, while Costco encourages higher discretionary spending; as economic conditions improve, Costco's growth potential may be greater, especially in e-commerce and new market expansions.
See More
TTEC Partners with AWS to Accelerate Amazon Connect Adoption
- Strategic Collaboration: TTEC has secured a strategic collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) aimed at accelerating the adoption of Amazon Connect, enhancing customer experience through AI-powered support, and significantly reducing the cost and complexity for businesses implementing new technologies.
- Positive Market Reaction: Following the announcement of the collaboration, TTEC shares rose 5% during early market action on Wednesday, reflecting market optimism regarding the potential of this partnership, despite a 50% decline in stock price over the past year.
- Customer Experience Enhancement: The collaboration will deliver intelligent self-service and agent-assist capabilities, enabling businesses to transition more rapidly from legacy contact center platforms to AI-driven customer experiences, thereby lowering risk and accelerating time-to-value.
- Industry Leadership: TTEC Digital's extensive experience with Amazon Connect, being one of the platform's earliest collaborators, further solidifies its leadership position in customer experience solutions through this partnership.
See More
Amazon Revamps Shopping Experience with New Alexa Tool
- Strategic Shift: Amazon is shutting down its Rufus chatbot and launching the new 'Alexa for Shopping' tool, which integrates search results with a Q&A engine, allowing users to compare products side-by-side and automate purchases based on price triggers, thereby enhancing shopping efficiency and user experience.
- Advertising Revenue Protection: Despite the new system aiming to streamline the shopping process, Amazon executives confirm that Alexa will still inject ads into chat results to safeguard the company's vital advertising revenue source, ensuring profitability in a competitive market.
- Ecosystem Defense: Amazon is restricting external bots from scraping its site, forcing consumers to remain within its ecosystem to access verified customer reviews and fulfillment data, thereby enhancing user stickiness and boosting brand loyalty.
- Market Competition Pressure: This transformation may create uncertainty for third-party sellers who rely on traditional sponsored listings for advertising revenue, indicating Amazon's strategic intent to lead in generative AI shopping experiences and outpace competitors like Alphabet and OpenAI.
See More
