Amazon owns Amazon Web Services, the cloud business that became central to its market valuation.
Amazon Web Services, commonly called AWS, provides computing power, storage, databases, networking, and other technology services over the internet. It began offering services commercially in 2006 and became one of the world’s largest cloud-computing platforms.
AWS helped diversify Amazon beyond retail. Online stores require substantial investment in warehouses, delivery networks, and inventory, while cloud services can produce recurring revenue from businesses and governments that pay for infrastructure usage. Investors therefore watch AWS revenue and operating income closely when assessing Amazon’s overall value.
Amazon is sometimes confused with Microsoft or Alphabet in cloud-market questions because Azure and Google Cloud are major competitors. However, AWS is Amazon’s cloud platform. The company’s market capitalization reflects the combined expectations for its retail, advertising, cloud, and other businesses.