Core Insights - The focus of Wall Street is shifting towards "remaining performance obligations," a metric indicating future sales backlog from long-term contracts in the cloud computing sector, as companies like Microsoft and Amazon report earnings [1][2] - The surge in long-term commitments from AI companies to cloud service providers is reshaping the competitive landscape of the cloud market, with Microsoft surpassing Amazon in new order backlog [1][3] - Concerns arise regarding the actual realization of these sales commitments, highlighted by Oracle's case where a significant increase in backlog did not translate to stock price gains due to doubts about profitability and execution [1][6] Group 1: Remaining Performance Obligations - "Remaining performance obligations" is gaining attention as a financial metric that reflects future sales from long-term contracts, particularly in the context of AI companies making substantial commitments to cloud providers [2] - Analysts note that when order backlog diverges from revenue growth, it becomes a critical indicator for investors to monitor [2] Group 2: Competitive Landscape - Amazon, while still holding the largest market share in cloud computing, has fallen behind Microsoft in terms of new order backlog since the launch of ChatGPT, with Google also emerging as a strong competitor [3] - Google's advancements in AI technology have allowed it to attract significant business from AI companies, altering the competitive dynamics in the cloud market [3] Group 3: Concerns Over Backlog Data - The data on order backlog has limitations, as different companies may have varying accounting methods, which can affect the comparability of the figures [4] - There are concerns about the reliability of these commitments, especially given past instances where companies renegotiated contracts to defer spending [4][5] Group 4: Oracle's Warning - Oracle's experience serves as a cautionary tale, where a massive increase in order backlog did not lead to positive market reactions due to skepticism about the profitability and realization of those contracts [6] - The market's response to the latest commitments from Microsoft, Amazon, and Google will be crucial in assessing investor sentiment regarding potential AI bubbles [6]
微软、亚马逊财报:比起营收增速,投资者更担心被AI透支的订单积压