Back in July, I emphasized that we were witnessing the rise of a class of corporations unlike any that had ever existed before in the history of business. I was referring to the behemoths of modern technology—companies such as Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia—collectively known by many as the “Magnificent Seven.” Yet after observing recent developments, I find myself compelled to refine that group to a far more exclusive trio. A close friend of mine, an experienced veteran of the cloud-computing world, aptly coined a new abbreviation for them: “AMG.” Those three letters stand for Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, the undisputed leaders in the global cloud infrastructure industry.
These firms dominate the cloud landscape on a scale so vast that it defies historical comparison. Their collective reach has forged an unprecedented economic engine—a self-reinforcing loop of investment, growth, and profit that accelerates with almost every fiscal quarter. To even consider competing in this sphere, aspiring players must commit staggering sums, easily amounting to tens of billions of dollars, toward constructing immense networks of data centers, acquiring vast quantities of specialized computing hardware, and creating the technical architecture required to deliver reliable cloud services at planetary scale.
Once that immense upfront investment is made, the model begins to work with remarkable efficiency. These companies lease computing capacity, data storage, platforms, and a multitude of auxiliary services to an expanding universe of corporate clients, government agencies, and independent developers. The revenue from these operations tends to circulate quickly back into the system, and—crucially—it is highly profitable. A portion of those profits is reinvested into ever more infrastructure and technological capacity. This virtuous cycle allows their cloud services to grow not just larger but also more powerful, reliable, and indispensable. With each turn of this cycle, the customer base widens, the financial returns deepen, and the momentum intensifies. It is this self-sustaining mechanism that distinguishes AMG firms from the rest of the technology elite.
Take Meta as a revealing counterexample. Although Meta is likewise expending billions of dollars to build advanced data centers and acquire vast amounts of technical hardware, it lacks a fundamental piece of the AMG equation: a centralized, revenue-generating cloud service. This absence means Meta has no straightforward or immediate means of recouping the enormous capital it is pouring into infrastructure. The market has noticed. Investors recently expressed concern, leading to a marked decline in Meta’s share price. CEO Mark Zuckerberg, though known for his willingness to invest heavily in the future, has yet to clearly articulate a compelling narrative for how these monumental outlays will translate into sustainable shareholder value.
AMG, by contrast, does not face such uncertainty. Each of the three members can point to substantial, tangible returns from their cloud divisions. For instance, Amazon reported that in a single quarter, its Amazon Web Services (AWS) division generated $33 billion in cloud revenue and $11 billion in cloud-related profit. This corresponds to a striking 35% profit margin—a figure that would be impressive for any business, let alone for one operating at such massive scale and in such a fiercely competitive sector.
To grasp the sheer magnitude of this economic phenomenon, we can turn to several analytical charts produced by Barclays researchers. The first illustrates capital expenditures. While many have seen variations of this chart, its raw figures remain startling: AMG is responsible for the vast majority of the colossal sums being spent industry-wide on infrastructure expansion. The second chart traces AMG’s cloud revenue growth, where the upward trajectory is nothing short of spectacular. Amazon Web Services, despite increasing competition, still retains its title as the global leader in cloud revenue.
A third visualization focuses on growth rates, highlighting a truth that Wall Street rarely encounters—companies of such immense size almost never manage to sustain annual growth rates exceeding 20%. Yet AMG’s members continue to defy that norm. Although AWS briefly lagged earlier this year, it has once again surpassed the 20% growth threshold during the third quarter, igniting a surge of investor enthusiasm and fueling a dramatic rally in Amazon’s stock price.
The final chart, perhaps the most illuminating of all, examines the absolute dollar growth of these cloud businesses over the trailing twelve months—a measure referred to by analysts as TTM growth. Unlike percentage-based growth rates, which can exaggerate the progress of smaller firms, this metric reveals raw expansion in total revenue. The data show that Microsoft’s Azure platform currently leads AMG in adding the most new dollar revenue, while AWS’s growth—though still formidable—has moderated somewhat from its explosive trajectory during the pandemic years.
Taken together, these charts and financial figures reveal the exceptional nature of the AMG alliance. Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have built an ecosystem that not only dominates the technological landscape but also perpetuates its own expansion through a disciplined cycle of reinvestment and return. Their cloud enterprises have evolved into vast, money-making engines that continue to transform both the global technology sector and the broader economy. For investors, analysts, and policymakers alike, the rise of AMG represents not just a trend but a structural redefinition of what corporate scale and profitability can mean in the digital era.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/amg-cloud-money-machine-amazon-microsoft-google-2025-10
