Amazon Web Services alone could be worth $40 to $50 billion

This year will be the first time that Amazon breaks down its earnings by division but one analyst doesn’t feel like waiting. he’s throwing out his own guess, albeit an early one, which claims that Amazon Web Services alone is worth somewhere between $40 to $50 billion. This seems reasonable considering how many experts believe AWS is becoming one of Amazon’s most important businesses. 

Starting this year Amazon shareholders will know exactly how much revenue the company generates from its cloud computing business when it starts to break out the division’s results for the first time. But that isn’t stopping at least one analyst from throwing out an early guess. In a note to investors today, analysts at Robert W. Baird said it was valuing Amazon Web Services at $40 to $50 billion, or $95 per share, on a standalone basis, TheStreet reports. At the end of last quarter, Amazon said it will start breaking out the unit’s financials in Q1 of this year. Before, it was lumping AWS results under an “other” category for North American sales. That total category generated $1.67 billion in revenue during the fourth quarter, but it also included advertising services and co-branded credit card agreements. The investment banking company also said it believed AWS could become an increasingly important part of the retailer’s business, generating a $20 billion run-rate by 2020.