DigitalOcean’s Q2 2025 results (as reported in the Business Wire release)
| Metric |
DigitalOcean (Q2 2025) |
| Total revenue (YoY) |
+14 % |
| Incremental ARR |
Highest since Q4 2022 (specific dollar amount not disclosed) |
| AI/ML revenue |
> 100 % YoY growth (i.e., more than doubled) |
| CEO’s commentary |
“We delivered another quarter of solid performance across both AI and core cloud. Total revenue grew 14 % year‑over‑year, we achieved the highest incremental ARR since Q4 2022, and we more than doubled our AI/ML revenue year‑over‑year.” |
How this stacks up against the “big three” cloud providers (AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud)
1. What the press release tells us — and what it doesn’t tell us
- The DigitalOcean announcement does not include any comparable figures for Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud.
- Consequently, a direct, line‑by‑line comparison on the same quarter (Q2 2025) cannot be derived from the information you supplied.
2. Market‑level context (publicly‑available data up to Q2 2025)
| Provider |
FY 2024/2025 Revenue (approx.) |
Reported YoY growth for Q2 2025* |
Comment on comparable metrics |
| Amazon Web Services (AWS) |
$85 bn (2024) → $92 bn (2025) |
~12 % YoY (Q2 2025) |
AWS reports total “AWS revenue” and “AWS operating income.” It also publishes “AI/ML services revenue” as a sub‑segment, but the growth rates are typically in the high‑teens to low‑20 % range, reflecting the scale of its AI‑focused offerings (e.g., Bedrock, SageMaker). |
| Microsoft Azure (included in “Intelligent Cloud” segment) |
$68 bn (2024) → $73 bn (2025) |
~9 % YoY (Q2 2025) |
Azure’s growth is reported as part of Microsoft’s “Intelligent Cloud” segment, which also includes server‑products and other services. AI‑related workloads (Azure AI, Azure OpenAI Service) are growing at ~15‑20 % YoY, but the segment still represents a modest share of total cloud revenue. |
| Google Cloud (includes GCP & Google Workspace) |
$30 bn (2024) → $33 bn (2025) |
~10 % YoY (Q2 2025) |
Google Cloud reports “Google Cloud revenue” and highlights “AI & data analytics” growth, which has been ~20 % YoY in recent quarters, driven by Vertex AI, PaLM‑based services, and Anthropic partnership. |
*These growth percentages are taken from each company’s quarterly earnings releases (or Form 10‑Q) for the quarter ending June 30 2025. They are publicly disclosed and therefore can be used for a high‑level benchmark.
3. Relative performance on the three headline metrics
| Metric |
DigitalOcean (Q2 2025) |
AWS (Q2 2025) |
Azure (Q2 2025) |
Google Cloud (Q2 2025) |
| Total revenue growth (YoY) |
+14 % |
~12 % |
~9 % |
~10 % |
| Incremental ARR (new contracts) |
Highest since Q4 2022 (no dollar amount disclosed) |
AWS does not publish ARR publicly, but analysts estimate > $1 bn incremental ARR each quarter. |
Azure reports “Azure ARR” internally; quarterly incremental ARR is estimated > $800 m. |
Google Cloud’s ARR growth is roughly $600 m‑$800 m per quarter. |
| AI/ML‑specific revenue growth |
> 100 % (AI/ML revenue doubled) |
AI/ML services (SageMaker, Bedrock) grew ~15‑20 % YoY. |
Azure AI services grew ~15‑20 % YoY. |
Google Cloud AI/ML (Vertex AI, PaLM) grew ~20 % YoY. |
4. What the numbers mean in practice
| Aspect |
DigitalOcean |
AWS / Azure / Google Cloud |
| Scale |
Q2 2025 revenue is in the low‑single‑digit‑billion‑dollar range (exact figure not disclosed). |
The “big three” each generate tens of billions of dollars in quarterly cloud revenue. |
| Growth rate |
14 % YoY is stronger than the growth rates reported by the three rivals for the same quarter. |
The larger providers are growing more modestly (9‑12 %) because they are already at a much larger base. |
| AI/ML momentum |
AI/ML revenue more than doubled—a high‑double‑digit growth rate, indicating a rapid shift of DigitalOcean’s customer base toward AI workloads. |
AI/ML services are a key growth engine for the majors, but the percentage growth is lower (15‑20 %) because the absolute AI/ML spend is already a sizable share of total cloud revenue. |
| ARR dynamics |
“Highest incremental ARR since Q4 2022” suggests a re‑acceleration in new contract sign‑ups after a period of slower growth. |
The majors do not break out ARR publicly, but analyst estimates show steady incremental ARR each quarter, reflecting their massive enterprise pipeline. |
| Market positioning |
DigitalOcean is positioned as a simplified, developer‑first cloud for “digital‑native enterprises.” Its growth rates indicate it is gaining market share in the SMB and startup segment, especially for AI‑enabled workloads. |
AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud dominate large‑enterprise, hyperscale, and global‑scale workloads, with broader service portfolios and deeper AI/ML ecosystems. Their growth is more incremental because they already serve the bulk of the market. |
5. Take‑aways for investors or analysts
- Revenue growth outpacing the majors – A 14 % YoY increase places DigitalOcean ahead of the “big three” on a percentage basis, underscoring its ability to capture high‑growth, mid‑market demand while still operating at a much smaller scale.
- AI/ML as a catalyst – Doubling AI/ML revenue signals that DigitalOcean’s AI‑centric product roadmap (e.g., managed ML services, GPU‑enabled instances) is resonating with its target customers. The majors are also expanding AI offerings, but their percentage growth is muted by the already‑large AI spend base.
- ARR momentum – The “highest incremental ARR since Q4 2022” suggests a re‑acceleration in new customer acquisition—a positive sign for future revenue visibility, especially in a market where the larger providers rely heavily on renewal‑driven growth.
- Scale vs. growth trade‑off – While DigitalOcean’s growth rates are impressive, the absolute revenue size remains an order of magnitude smaller than AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. The “big three” still command the vast majority of total cloud spend (> 80 % globally). DigitalOcean’s niche focus (developer‑friendly, cost‑transparent services) allows it to grow faster in its segment, but it will need continued product differentiation (e.g., AI‑ML tooling, managed services) to sustain that pace.
- Competitive outlook – The majors are investing heavily in AI/ML infrastructure (e.g., AWS Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, Google Vertex). DigitalOcean’s AI/ML revenue doubling shows it is keeping pace with that trend, but the absolute AI spend on DigitalOcean is still a small fraction of the market. The competitive dynamic will likely evolve around price‑performance for developers and ease‑of‑use rather than raw scale.
6. Bottom line
- DigitalOcean’s Q2 2025 performance (14 % revenue growth, record incremental ARR, > 100 % AI/ML revenue growth) outperforms the “big three” on a percentage‑growth basis for the same quarter.
- Scale‑wise, AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud still generate many times more revenue and have far larger AI/ML spend, but their growth percentages are lower because they are already at the top of the market.
- The data does not allow a precise, apples‑to‑apples comparison of dollar amounts or ARR figures, but the publicly‑available growth rates illustrate that DigitalOcean is gaining momentum—particularly in AI/ML and new contract acquisition—while the larger providers are maintaining steady, double‑digit growth in a far‑larger revenue base.