Amazon Web Services (AWS) turned in another impressive quarter today, like clockwork, adding some sunshine to the otherwise stormy earnings reported by its parent company.

AWS sales grew to $3.2 billion in the third quarter from $2.1 billion a year ago. Operating income for the division was $861 million, compared with $428 million a year ago.

Steep growth has become the norm for AWS; the numbers seem like a carbon copy of last quarter's, with each figure ratcheted up a notch.

It's an indication that the migration of workloads to the cloud remains in full swing. Microsoft Azure is reporting a similar trend, with revenues doubling routinely in year-over-year comparisons. AWS remains the market leader, however.

Amazon itself didn't fare as well. The company reported revenues of $32.7 billion compared with $25.4 billion in last year's third quarter.

Net income was $252 million, or 52 cents per share, compared with $79 million, or 17 cents per share, a year ago. Net income per share was well short of the 78 cents with the 78 cents that analysts expected, according to Thomson Financial.

Amazon's forecast for the fourth quarter — holiday season — likewise disappointed. The company anticipates revenues of $42 billion to $45.5 billion. Analysts were expecting $44.6 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Amazon stock fell nearly 6 percent to $772 after-hours.