Amazon launched the Kindle e-reader in 2007 and became one of the world’s most valuable retailers.
The first Kindle went on sale in the United States in November 2007. It used an electronic-ink display and included wireless access for downloading digital books, helping make e-books more convenient for mainstream readers.
Amazon began in 1994 as an online bookstore founded by Jeff Bezos. It expanded into a broad marketplace selling merchandise from many categories, while also building major businesses in logistics, advertising, digital media, and cloud computing through Amazon Web Services.
The Kindle is often associated with Amazon’s retail business, but AWS has been a particularly important source of operating profit. Amazon’s market capitalization reflects investor expectations about all of these businesses, not simply the value of products sold through its website.