AWS Vs. Microsoft Vs. Google Cloud Earnings Q4 2023 Face-Off

Here’s a breakdown of the revenue, sales growth rate, cloud market share, operating income and more from AWS, Microsoft and Google Cloud in Q4 2023.

The fourth quarter 2023 financial results are in the for the world’s three largest cloud computing companies: Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.

The three cloud titans, combined, accounted for 67 percent of the $74 billion global cloud infrastructure services market during Q4 2023, according to data from Synergy Research Group.

AWS, Microsoft and Google Cloud reported their quarterly financial earnings results last week with each company generating billions of dollars in cloud sales, double-digit year-over-year growth rates and positive operating income. Google Cloud grew sales faster than its competitors, while Microsoft closed its cloud market share gap with AWS.

Cloud Spending Reaches $74 Billion In Q4

Enterprise spending on cloud infrastructure services hit nearly $74 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of 20 percent year over year, according to Synergy Research Group.

“This was a banner quarter for the cloud market,” John Dinsdale, vice president and chief analyst for Synergy told CRN. “The last quarter of the year usually benefits from a seasonal bounce with quarterly spending increasing much more than in the first three quarters, but this quarter set a record. Q4 spending jumped by $5.6 billion from the previous quarter, representing by far the biggest sequential increase the cloud market has ever achieved.”

Google Cloud generates sales from the Google Cloud Platform, platform services, infrastructure, collaboration tools like Google Workspace and from other IT services for customers. AWS makes revenue off its infrastructure and platform services, as well as other cloud services.

It is key to note that Microsoft does not provide exact Azure sales figures to the public. Instead, Microsoft combines Azure, SQL Server, Windows Server, Visual Studio, Nuance, GitHub, Microsoft Partner Network, and enterprise and partner services, all under its Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud umbrella.

CRN breaks down the exact revenue figures, sales growth, cloud market share, operating income and parent company financial results of cloud computing leaders AWS, Microsoft and Google Cloud in Q4 2023.

Q4 2023 Revenue

AWS: $24.2 Billion

Microsoft: $25.9 Billion

Google Cloud: $9.2 Billion

AWS captured $24.2 billion in revenue in Q4 2023, meaning the company now has an annual run rate of approximately $97 billion.

Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud group generated $25.9 billion in sales year over year. The cloud segment now has an annual run rate of approximately $104 billion.

Google Cloud captured revenue of $9.2 billion in Q4 2023, extending the company’s annual run rate to $36.8 billion.

In 2023, AWS generated a total of $90.8 billion in sales.

In 2023, Google Cloud generated $33.7 billion in sales.

In 2023, Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud group generated $96.8 billion in sales.

Click through for the comparisons between AWS, Microsoft and Google Cloud in cloud market share, sales growth, operating income and parent company results.

AWS: 31%

Microsoft: 24%

Google Cloud: 11%

AWS remains the global leader in cloud infrastructure services, winning 31 percent share of the worldwide market in fourth-quarter 2023, according to data from market research firm Synergy Research Group. AWS has been leading the world in cloud computing for over a decade.

However, AWS’ 31 percent share in Q4 2023 represented a 2-point share decrease compared with Q4 2022 when it captured 33 percent market share.

Microsoft won 24 percent share of the global cloud services market during Q4 2023. The world’s largest software company narrowed the gap between itself and AWS.

“Amazon remains far ahead of Microsoft, but the gap is closing,” said John Dinsdale, vice president and chief analyst at Synergy.

In Q4 2021, AWS’ 33 percent market share was 12 points higher than Microsoft’s 21 percent share. Just two years later, AWS’ 31 percent share is just 7 points higher than Microsoft’s 24 percent share.

Google Cloud won 11 percent share of the global cloud services market in the fourth quarter. The company entered the cloud computing market less than a decade ago, but has firmly cemented itself as the world’s third-largest cloud player.

Sales Growth

Google Cloud: 26%

Microsoft: 19%

AWS: 13%

Google Cloud’s $9.2 billion in sales represents an increase of 26 percent year over year compared to $7.3 billion in Q4 2022.

Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud group generated $25.9 billion during Q4 2023 calendar year, up 19 percent year over year. Server products and cloud services revenue increased 20 percent year over year, while Azure and other cloud services revenue grew 28 percent year over year.

AWS’ sales of $24.2 billion represent an increase of just over 13 percent compared to $21.4 billion in Q4 2022.

Operating Income

Microsoft: $12.5 Billion

AWS: $7.2 Billion

Google Cloud: $864 Million

Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud segment generated $12.5 billion in operating income during its Q4 calendar year 2023, up from $8.9 billion year over year.

AWS generated an operating income of $7.2 billion during the quarter, up from $5.2 billion in Q4 2022. Operating expenses for AWS in Q4 2023 were $17 billion, compared to $16.2 billion year over year.

Google Cloud captured record operating income of $864 million. This is a significant difference compared to an operating loss of $186 million during Q2 2022. Google Cloud has now reported four straight profitable quarters, after years of being in the red.

Parent Company Q4 Results

Amazon: $170 Billion

AWS’ parent company and ecommerce giant Amazon generated $170 billion in Q4 2023, representing an increase of 14 percent year over year. Amazon’s operating income was $13.2 billion in fourth quarter 2023. For full year 2023, Amazon generated $575 billion, up 12 percent compared to $514 billion in 2022.

For Q4 2023, AWS accounted for 14 percent of Amazon’s total sales.

Google/Alphabet: $86 Billion

Google Cloud’s parent company Google/Alphabet captured $86 billion in revenue during Q4 2023, up 13 percent year over year. Alphabet’s operating income was $23.7 billion during the quarter. For full year 2023, Alphabet generated $307 billion in total sales, up 9 percent compared to $283 billion in 2022.

For Q4 2023, Google Cloud accounted for nearly 11 percent of Alphabet’s total revenue.

Microsoft: $62 Billion

In total, Microsoft generated $62 billion in revenue during Q4 2023, compared to $52.7 billion year over year. Operating income at Microsoft was $27 billion during the quarter.