Amazon operates the AWS cloud platform and is commonly included among the world's largest companies by market capitalization.
Amazon Web Services, usually called AWS, is Amazon's cloud-computing division. It provides computing power, storage, databases, networking, and other services to businesses, governments, and developers. AWS launched in 2006 and became a major source of Amazon's operating income, alongside the company's retail, advertising, and subscription businesses.
Amazon began in 1994 as an online bookstore founded by Jeff Bezos. It expanded into a broad online marketplace, logistics network, entertainment provider, and device maker. Investors value the company not only for retail sales but also for AWS's infrastructure scale and the growth of digital advertising.
AWS is sometimes mistaken for a separate public company. It is a business segment owned by Amazon.com, Inc., whose shares trade under the ticker AMZN. Amazon's market capitalization changes with its stock price and is not equivalent to its annual sales.