Amazon owns the AWS cloud-computing business, a major driver of its market value.
Amazon Web Services began in 2006 by offering infrastructure such as storage and computing power over the internet. It grew into one of the world’s largest cloud platforms, serving startups, governments, media companies, and major enterprises. AWS is part of Amazon rather than a separately listed public company.
Amazon’s market capitalization reflects several businesses at once. Its core online retail operation is globally prominent, while advertising, subscriptions, logistics, devices, and AWS provide additional revenue streams. AWS has often been especially important to investors because cloud services can produce strong operating profits.
A frequent mistake is treating AWS as an independent company that has its own stock-market valuation. Investors buy Amazon shares, and those shares represent ownership in the entire corporate group, including AWS.