understand the history, products and leadership
Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2025 4:52 am
Amazon is a Seattle-based retailer and technology company primarily involved in e-commerce, cloud computing (Amazon Web Services), digital streaming, and artificial intelligence.
It has dozens of diversified subsidiary companies, with large investments in others. The company's shares are listed on NASDAQ under the symbol $AMZN and are part of the S&P 500 index.
In this blog, we'll explore how Amazon became one of the largest companies in the world.
History of Amazon
It was launched in founder Jeff Bezos’ garage in 1994. The company began operating in April 1995, when Bezos famously delivered orders to the post office in person. Originally called “Cadabra,” for “Abracadabra,” Bezos changed the name to “Amazon” before the launch.
Amazon started as an online bookseller because Bezos saw a potential opening in the world of bookselling. However, Bezos says he always intended the store to offer a wide range of products. It was also one of the first companies to argue that it was a “technology” company , regardless of belarus phone number data its underlying operations or revenue, setting a trend that many online companies would later adopt. That position gave the company its initial arguments for not charging state and local sales taxes , which many analysts believe gave it a key early advantage against traditional competitors.
The company went public in 1997 with an initial inflation-adjusted share price of $2. It operated at a loss for years, investing heavily in growth rather than profits. Amazon posted its first profitable year in 2003.
Amazon's other major brands emerged in the early 2000s. It first began accepting third-party sellers in 2000. Amazon Web Services launched in 2002, growing out of a series of internal tools used to run the company's website. Amazon Prime launched in 2005, initially as a subscription service for fast, efficient delivery.
In 2009, the company made its first major acquisition with Zappos, beginning its modern practice of making significant corporate expansions through acquisition.
Products and Business
It is difficult to briefly summarize all of Amazon's product lines and businesses because of the company's vast area of operations. Just a few of its most relevant business lines include:
Online retail
Large-scale physical retail, primarily through Whole Foods
Logistics and delivery
Medicine, including through PillPack
Technology devices like Kindle and Echo
Data Services through Amazon Web Services
Artificial intelligence development (one of NVIDIA's largest customers)
Films and media, primarily through Prime streaming and Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Web publishing
Clothing and fashion
Within this vast range of operations, three stand out in particular:
1. Online retail
Amazon is arguably best known for its online retail business. It’s where the company got its start, and it’s historically been the company’s most public-facing business. This business is divided into two parts. Approximately 40% of retail sales come from the company’s traditional retail operations, where it sells products directly to consumers.
Most, though not all, of these sales are third-party products, particularly with Amazon-made devices like the Kindle and Echo.
Another 60 percent of the company’s retail sales come from third-party sales, or “platforms.” In this line of business, Amazon allows other people and businesses to list products for sale on its site. It then takes a percentage of each sale, passing the rest on to the seller. Retailers have reported that this percentage is typically around 50 percent.
Although Amazon started out as a bookstore, the company now operates as an “everything” store. There is no category limit to what the company sells, and the company advertises its wide selection as one of the site’s main features.
Sign up for the Market Minute newsletter for roundups of the latest stock and economic news, including updates on Amazon.
It has dozens of diversified subsidiary companies, with large investments in others. The company's shares are listed on NASDAQ under the symbol $AMZN and are part of the S&P 500 index.
In this blog, we'll explore how Amazon became one of the largest companies in the world.
History of Amazon
It was launched in founder Jeff Bezos’ garage in 1994. The company began operating in April 1995, when Bezos famously delivered orders to the post office in person. Originally called “Cadabra,” for “Abracadabra,” Bezos changed the name to “Amazon” before the launch.
Amazon started as an online bookseller because Bezos saw a potential opening in the world of bookselling. However, Bezos says he always intended the store to offer a wide range of products. It was also one of the first companies to argue that it was a “technology” company , regardless of belarus phone number data its underlying operations or revenue, setting a trend that many online companies would later adopt. That position gave the company its initial arguments for not charging state and local sales taxes , which many analysts believe gave it a key early advantage against traditional competitors.
The company went public in 1997 with an initial inflation-adjusted share price of $2. It operated at a loss for years, investing heavily in growth rather than profits. Amazon posted its first profitable year in 2003.
Amazon's other major brands emerged in the early 2000s. It first began accepting third-party sellers in 2000. Amazon Web Services launched in 2002, growing out of a series of internal tools used to run the company's website. Amazon Prime launched in 2005, initially as a subscription service for fast, efficient delivery.
In 2009, the company made its first major acquisition with Zappos, beginning its modern practice of making significant corporate expansions through acquisition.
Products and Business
It is difficult to briefly summarize all of Amazon's product lines and businesses because of the company's vast area of operations. Just a few of its most relevant business lines include:
Online retail
Large-scale physical retail, primarily through Whole Foods
Logistics and delivery
Medicine, including through PillPack
Technology devices like Kindle and Echo
Data Services through Amazon Web Services
Artificial intelligence development (one of NVIDIA's largest customers)
Films and media, primarily through Prime streaming and Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Web publishing
Clothing and fashion
Within this vast range of operations, three stand out in particular:
1. Online retail
Amazon is arguably best known for its online retail business. It’s where the company got its start, and it’s historically been the company’s most public-facing business. This business is divided into two parts. Approximately 40% of retail sales come from the company’s traditional retail operations, where it sells products directly to consumers.
Most, though not all, of these sales are third-party products, particularly with Amazon-made devices like the Kindle and Echo.
Another 60 percent of the company’s retail sales come from third-party sales, or “platforms.” In this line of business, Amazon allows other people and businesses to list products for sale on its site. It then takes a percentage of each sale, passing the rest on to the seller. Retailers have reported that this percentage is typically around 50 percent.
Although Amazon started out as a bookstore, the company now operates as an “everything” store. There is no category limit to what the company sells, and the company advertises its wide selection as one of the site’s main features.
Sign up for the Market Minute newsletter for roundups of the latest stock and economic news, including updates on Amazon.