Blogs -Best Bet for Tech Stocks in 2019? Secular IaaS.

Best Bet for Tech Stocks in 2019? Secular IaaS.


February 08, 2019

author

Beth Kindig

Lead Tech Analyst

If ever there was a growth story in the next 2-3 years, especially during potential economic uncertainty, then infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) is it. This past week, Amazon’s IaaS offering, AWS, reported sales growth of 45% from $5.11 billion to $7.43 billion, with operating income increasing 61% to $2.18 billion up from $1.35 billion. Microsoft’s IaaS offering, Azure, was up 76 percent (same as last quarter) reaching $4 billion in revenue. Microsoft’s overall commercial cloud computing revenue which includes software grew 48 percent to $9 billion. If both companies continue on this trajectory in 2019, then Microsoft will narrow its gap from 3:1 to 2:1 with Amazon.

2018 CLOUD IAAS REVENUES
$26 billion AWS
$10 billion MS

UPDATED PROJECTED 2019 if growth continues at current rate
$16 billion MS
$30 billion AWS

https://images.prismic.io/bethtechnology/78e0d1fd-0452-407d-8f99-daa66d71be54_Revenue-trends-cloud-computing-e1549592203847.png?auto=compress,format

Amazon, Microsoft and Google Revenue Trend Chart

Note: I’ve written quite a bit of analysis over the last few months about the duopoly between Microsoft and Amazon. To quickly summarize, my first analysis discussed the strategic acquisition of Github. My second analysis discussed the great efforts Microsoft has put into become a serious bidder for the Pentagon contract.

Truly, there is plenty of green field for both players. The investment window for the IaaS market is far from over as it took twelve years for the IaaS market to reach $40 billion and it will take only three years to double to $80 million – and this figure is on the low end of estimates.

My newsletter subscribers get this information first. Sign up here.

Here are a few of the projections for this space from various analysts:

  • Amazon’s Cloud Business could reach $71 billion by 2022 with a valuation of $350 Billion (source Jefferies – which tends to be more bullish on AWS than MS).
  • Microsoft’s Cloud Business Could Be Bigger Than Windows by 2021 with $26.4 billion in revenue in 2021 fiscal year vs. $20.3 billion from Windows (source: Keybanc – most estimates on MS are low, which is why there’s still a growth story here)
  • Global cloud IT market will triple between 2015 and 2020 with IaaS being the segment with the largest growth of 27% compared to SaaS growth of 18% (source: Bain and also SoftwareStrategistBlog.com)
https://images.prismic.io/bethtechnology/d489cd11-e8ac-4469-9bcf-7a33e2821a9e_cloud-hardware-software-services.jpg?auto=compress,format

Global IT Revenue Chart Growth source: Bain Analysis

IaaS Cloud is Secular

On a micro-level, the tech industry is in a state of transition. Mobile is hitting saturation, social media faces privacy regulations, chip makers are getting hurt in the trade war, and meanwhile, 5G, artificial intelligence, and autonomous vehicles are too nascent to see returns in the near term. This is one reason I continue to hammer on IaaS as a safe, secular bet. Companies are going through a major transition right now by transferring work loads into the cloud.

As these transitions take place, IaaS will be as essential to companies as food, gas and cigarettes are to consumers. The company that has transferred to the cloud cannot exist without budgeting for this operating expense. Meanwhile, the companies who have not transferred to the cloud risk losing on competitive advantages such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and scaling quickly through server virtualization.

As it currently stands, IaaS is Amazon’s largest revenue segment and Microsoft’s fastest growing revenue segment – although there is plenty of addressable market left for both players. Amazon’s capex spending (which includes all capex; not AWS specific) was at $14 billion in 2018 while Microsoft reported capex of $12 billion. One major drawback is that these are not pure play IaaS stocks which introduces risk from other revenue segments. You can read my follow up analysis on 6 pure play cloud stocks here.

head bg

Get a bonus for subscription!

Subscribe to our free weekly stock
analysis and receive the "AI Stock: 5
Things Nobody is Telling you" brochure
for free.

More To Explore

Newsletter

Visual representation of stock market volatility and uncertainty in Q1 2025 due to rising tariff concerns and global trade tensions.

The Impact of Tariffs on the Stock Market: Q1 Preview

Rising tariffs are injecting significant uncertainty into the stock market, triggering daily volatility and forcing analysts to revise earnings estimates. Our Q1 preview dives into the potential impac

April 25, 2025
Aerial view of Tesla's new Model Y Juniper parked in lines. Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.

Tesla Stock Faces Recalibration of Growth Expectations

Tesla’s stock is now facing a recalibration of expectations after Q1’s delivery report missed by a wide margin. Q1’s analyst consensus has gone from $25.98B at the start of the year to $23.97B in earl

April 17, 2025
The bond market could break the stock market in 2025, as explored in ‘The Fed Can’t Save This One’ article.

The Fed Can’t Save This One: Why Bonds May Break the Stock Market in 2025

In early 2025, as markets rallied to new highs, we warned that divergence across key sectors signaled a looming correction. Now, with all major indexes in a technical bear market and bond market dysfu

April 11, 2025
Silhouette illustration of Larry Ellison, Oracle's CTO and executive chairman.

Oracle Stock Outlook: Revenue Could Double by FY2029, yet Targets Seem Lofty

Late in 2024, Oracle outlined an ambitious plan to nearly double its revenue by fiscal 2029, hinging on long-term growth in enterprise AI and cloud spending. Oracle sets itself apart from its hypersca

April 04, 2025
I/O Fund reports a 210% cumulative return, surpassing top tech ETFs and institutional portfolios with a 35% gain in 2024. Source: YCharts and InsiderMonkey.

I/O Fund Reports 210% Cumulative Return -- Ranking Above Wall Street's Best

In 2024, I/O Fund posted a 35% return, significantly outperforming popular tech ETFs, which recorded an 8% return over the same period. On a cumulative basis, the results translate to a remarkable 219

March 31, 2025
Chart showing retail investor losses compared to institutional investors, highlighting market volatility and the impact of high-frequency trading.

The Harsh Truth: Retail Investors Take the Brunt of Market Losses

Retail investors face significant disadvantages in the stock market, often underperforming institutional investors by a wide margin. Studies show that high-frequency trading firms dominate market acti

March 28, 2025
NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPU unveiled at GTC 2025, revolutionizing AI and HPC with unprecedented efficiency and power.

NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra Fuels AI & HPC Innovation, Efficiency and Capability  

NVIDIA’s latest Blackwell Ultra GPU, unveiled at NVIDIA GTC 2025, is transforming AI acceleration and high-performance computing (HPC). Designed for the “Age of Reasoning,” these cutting-edge GPUs del

March 21, 2025
Illustration of a futuristic AI data center featuring NVIDIA’s GB200 Superchip

NVIDIA’s GB200s for up to 27 Trillion Parameter Models: Scaling Next-Gen AI Superclusters

Supercomputers and advanced AI data centers are driving the AI revolution, enabling breakthroughs in deep learning and large-scale model training. As AI workloads become increasingly complex, next-gen

March 21, 2025
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang discusses AI market dominance at GTC 2025, addressing demand concerns and future growth projections.

Nvidia CEO Predicts AI Spending Will Increase 300%+ in 3 Years

Nvidia has traversed choppy waters so far in 2025 as concerns have mounted about how the company plans to sustain its historic levels of demand. At GTC, Huang threw cold water on many of the Street’s

March 20, 2025
Natural gas pipelines supporting AI data centers as energy demand surges, with Texas and Louisiana emerging as key hubs for AI infrastructure growth.

Why Gas Pipelines Are the Unsung Heroes of AI Data Center Expansion

Natural gas is emerging as the backbone of AI data center expansion, with demand expected to reach up to 6 billion cubic feet per day by 2030. As AI-driven infrastructure surges, data centers are turn

March 19, 2025
newsletter

Sign up for Analysis on
the Best Tech Stocks

https://bethtechnology.cdn.prismic.io/bethtechnology/e0a8f1ff-95b9-432c-a819-369b491ce051_Logo_Final_Transparent_IOFUND.svg
The I/O Fund specializes in tech growth stocks and offers in-depth research for Premium Members. Investors get access to a transparent portfolio, a forum, webinars, and real-time trade notifications. Sign up for Premium.

We are on social networks


Copyright © 2010 - 2025