Amazon is the parent company of AWS, short for Amazon Web Services.
Amazon Web Services launched in 2006 and provides computing power, storage, databases, networking, analytics, and other technology services over the internet. Its customers range from startups to governments and large multinational companies. AWS helped establish cloud infrastructure as a major business sector.
Amazon began as an online bookstore founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994. It expanded into many categories, logistics, devices, entertainment, advertising, and cloud computing. AWS became especially important to Amazon’s financial profile because its operating performance can differ from the company’s retail operations.
Investors often examine AWS separately when valuing Amazon. The cloud division’s growth, margins, and competition with Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud can materially influence Amazon’s market capitalization.