Amazon.com Marketcap, Revenue, Net Worth, Competitors 2025

Darius

13 years ago

Amazon.com, Inc. operates as the world’s largest online retailer and cloud computing platform, revolutionizing e-commerce, digital content distribution, and enterprise technology infrastructure. Founded in 1994 by Jeffrey P. Bezos, the company evolved from an online bookstore operating from a Bellevue, Washington garage into a multinational technology conglomerate reshaping global commerce.

Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Amazon serves four primary customer sets: consumers through retail websites emphasizing selection, price, and convenience; sellers through marketplace platforms; enterprises through Amazon Web Services providing technology infrastructure; and content creators through digital distribution channels. The company operates through North America and International segments.

Through innovations including Amazon Prime membership, Kindle e-readers, marketplace seller programs, and cloud computing services, Amazon transformed retail business models while pioneering customer-centric strategies. The company’s unconventional approach accepting years without profitability to build market dominance proved skeptics wrong when it survived the dot-com bubble burst and became one of the world’s most valuable corporations.

Key Stats

1994

Year Founded

1995

First Book Sold

1997

IPO Year

Seattle, WA

Headquarters

2001

First Profitable Quarter

Amazon.com, Inc. History

1994

Jeffrey P. Bezos left his position as vice-president at D.E. Shaw & Co., a Wall Street firm, and moved to Seattle to work on a business plan for what would become Amazon.com, inspired by his regret minimization framework.

1994

After reading a report projecting 2,300% annual web commerce growth, Bezos created a list of 20 products for online marketing, narrowing to five promising categories: compact discs, computer hardware, software, videos, and books.

1994

Bezos selected books for his online business due to large worldwide literature demand, low price points, and huge available titles. Amazon was originally founded in Bezos’ garage in Bellevue, Washington, after discussions with John Ingram of Ingram Book.

1994

Amazon was incorporated in Washington state. Bezos chose the name Amazon because it was exotic and different, represented the world’s biggest river, and began with A to appear early in alphabetical listings.

1995

In July, the company began service and sold its first book: Douglas Hofstadter’s Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies. Within the first two months, Amazon sold to all 50 states and over 45 countries, with sales reaching $20,000 weekly.

1995

Amazon announced itself to the public in October, demonstrating exponential growth that validated the online bookstore concept and virtual warehouse model offering far more titles than physical stores.

1996

Amazon was reincorporated in Delaware, a common corporate restructuring for growing companies seeking favorable business laws and established legal precedents for corporate governance.

1997

Amazon issued its initial public offering on May 15, trading under NASDAQ symbol AMZN at $18.00 per share. Barnes & Noble sued Amazon in May alleging false claims about being the world’s largest bookstore, later settling out of court.

1998

Walmart sued Amazon on October 16, alleging theft of trade secrets by hiring former Walmart executives. The suit was settled out of court, prompting Amazon to implement internal restrictions and executive reassignments.

1999

Time magazine named Bezos Person of the Year, recognizing Amazon’s success in popularizing online shopping despite not yet reaching profitability and facing shareholder complaints about the unconventional business model.

2000

Amazon updated its logotype to feature a curved arrow leading from A to Z, representing carrying every product from A to Z, with the arrow shaped like a smile symbolizing customer satisfaction.

2001

Amazon turned its first profit in the fourth quarter: $5 million on revenues exceeding $1 billion. This modest but significant profit proved to skeptics that Bezos’ unconventional business model could succeed after surviving the dot-com bubble burst.

Amazon.com, Inc. Founder

Jeffrey P. Bezos

Founded Amazon in July 1994 after leaving his Wall Street position as D.E. Shaw & Co. vice-president. His regret minimization framework and vision for internet commerce led him to Seattle, where he built Amazon from his Bellevue garage into the world’s largest online retailer.

Amazon.com, Inc. Revenue

Amazon.com generates massive annual revenue through diverse streams including North America and International retail operations, third-party seller services, subscription programs like Amazon Prime, advertising services, and Amazon Web Services cloud computing. The company’s financial performance reflects continuous reinvestment in growth and infrastructure expansion.

Amazon.com, Inc. Acquisitions

Amazon pursued strategic acquisitions to expand product categories, enhance technology capabilities, and enter new business segments beyond online retail. The company’s acquisition strategy emphasized complementary services, market expansion, and technological innovation that reinforced competitive advantages in e-commerce, cloud computing, and digital content distribution.

While the provided historical information focuses primarily on Amazon’s founding years and early growth, the company became known for significant acquisitions including online shoe retailer Zappos, streaming platform Twitch, grocery chain Whole Foods Market, and numerous technology companies strengthening its cloud computing and artificial intelligence capabilities. These acquisitions transformed Amazon from pure online bookseller into diversified technology conglomerate.

Amazon’s acquisition philosophy balanced organic growth through internal development with strategic purchases filling capability gaps or accelerating market entry. The company acquired logistics infrastructure, fulfillment technology, and delivery networks supporting its e-commerce operations while purchasing content creation studios and streaming platforms for Amazon Prime Video competing against entertainment industry rivals.

The company’s cloud computing dominance through Amazon Web Services benefited from acquiring database technologies, analytics platforms, and enterprise software companies. These acquisitions enabled AWS to offer comprehensive infrastructure solutions to developers and enterprises, establishing market leadership in cloud services generating substantial profit margins funding retail expansion.

Amazon’s international expansion included acquiring regional e-commerce platforms, local delivery services, and country-specific retail operations. These strategic purchases accelerated geographic diversification beyond North America, establishing presence in emerging markets where building operations from scratch would require significantly longer timelines and greater investment.

Amazon.com, Inc. Market Capitalization

As a publicly traded company on NASDAQ since 1997, Amazon maintains market capitalization among the world’s most valuable corporations. The company’s valuation reflects dominance in e-commerce, cloud computing leadership through AWS, and diversification into logistics, entertainment, artificial intelligence, and emerging technology sectors transforming multiple industries simultaneously.

Amazon.com, Inc. Competitors

Amazon.com competes across multiple sectors including e-commerce retail, cloud computing, digital streaming, logistics, and artificial intelligence. The company faces competition from traditional retailers adapting to online commerce, technology giants offering cloud services, entertainment companies distributing digital content, and innovative startups disrupting specific market segments where Amazon operates.

Competitor	Primary Sector	Competition Area
Walmart	Retail	E-commerce & Retail
Target	Retail	Online Retail
Microsoft Azure	Cloud Computing	AWS Competition
Google Cloud	Cloud Computing	AWS Competition
eBay	E-commerce	Marketplace Platform
Alibaba	E-commerce	Global Marketplace
Netflix	Streaming	Prime Video
Apple	Technology	Devices & Services
Shopify	E-commerce Platform	Seller Services
FedEx	Logistics	Delivery Services

FAQs

When was Amazon founded?

Amazon was founded by Jeffrey P. Bezos in July 1994 in Bellevue, Washington. The company began service in July 1995, selling its first book and reaching all 50 states within two months.

Why did Jeff Bezos name the company Amazon?

Bezos chose Amazon because it was exotic and different, represented the world’s biggest river reflecting his ambition to build the world’s biggest store, and began with A for early alphabetical placement.

What was Amazon’s first product sold?

Amazon’s first book sold was Douglas Hofstadter’s Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought in July 1995 when the company began operations.

When did Amazon become profitable?

Amazon turned its first profit in the fourth quarter of 2001, earning $5 million on revenues exceeding $1 billion. This validated Bezos’ unconventional business model accepting years of losses to build market dominance.

What does the Amazon logo arrow mean?

The curved arrow in Amazon’s logo leads from A to Z, representing that Amazon carries every product from A to Z. The arrow is shaped like a smile symbolizing customer satisfaction.