海外AI半导体系列跟踪：云业务增速维持高位，AI投资的回报正在逐步显现

Investment Rating - The report assigns an "Overweight" rating to the electronic components industry, consistent with the previous rating [1]. Core Insights - The cloud business of the four major US cloud providers continues to grow at a high rate, with profitability gradually improving. Capital expenditures are expected to increase significantly in 2025, driving growth for hardware companies [3]. - Amazon's AWS shows impressive profitability with a revenue of $27.5 billion, matching expectations and reflecting a growth rate of 19%. The operating profit margin reached 37.8%, exceeding the anticipated 33% due to accelerated revenue growth and improved efficiency [4][8]. - Azure's growth has slowed due to chip shortages, but capital expenditures are increasing quarterly, indicating strong demand for inference. Azure's revenue grew by 34%, with 12% of that growth attributed to AI [4][10]. - Google's cloud profitability exceeded expectations, with a revenue of $11.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 35%. The operating profit margin was 17%, significantly up from 3% in the same quarter last year [4][13]. - Meta continues to invest in AI, with a capital expenditure of $9.2 billion this quarter, focusing on long-term growth and optimistic returns on investment [4][16]. Summary by Sections Amazon AWS Performance - AWS revenue for the quarter was $27.5 billion, with a growth rate of 19%. The operating profit margin was 37.8%, significantly higher than the expected 33% [4][8]. - Capital expenditures for Amazon were $17.8 billion this quarter, with expectations of $75 billion for 2024 and even more in 2025, primarily driven by generative AI [4][8]. Microsoft Azure Performance - Azure's revenue grew by 34%, with 12% of that growth coming from AI. The guidance for the second quarter of FY2025 is slightly below expectations, with anticipated revenue of $68.6 billion [4][10]. - Capital expenditures for Microsoft reached $14.9 billion this quarter, with expectations for sequential increases due to cloud and AI demand [4][10]. Google Cloud Performance - Google Cloud's revenue for Q3 2024 was $11.4 billion, a 35% year-on-year increase, with an operating profit margin of 17% [4][13]. - Capital expenditures for Google were $13 billion this quarter, with expectations for substantial increases in 2025 [4][14]. Meta's AI Investments - Meta's capital expenditures were $9.2 billion this quarter, with a focus on long-term investments and optimistic returns on investment [4][16]. - Meta AI is actively enhancing creator tools and improving ad relevance, contributing to increased engagement on platforms like Facebook and Instagram [4][16].