Amazon operates the AWS cloud business and the Kindle e-reader brand.
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 as an online bookstore, and the company began operations in 1995. It later expanded into general e-commerce, logistics, digital media, devices, advertising, and cloud computing.
Amazon Web Services launched in the mid-2000s and became a major provider of computing power, storage, databases, and other internet infrastructure. Kindle, introduced in 2007, extended Amazon's role from selling books to producing a dedicated digital-reading device and storefront.
Amazon's large market capitalization reflects the combination of several businesses with different economics. Retail requires extensive inventory and fulfillment infrastructure, while cloud computing and advertising have different growth and margin profiles. A frequent misunderstanding is that Amazon's identity is limited to online shopping.