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Amazon.com, Inc.,[1] doing business as Amazon,[a] is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence.[5] Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevue, Washington,[6] the company originally started as an online marketplace for books, but gradually expanded its offerings to include a wide range of product categories, referred to as "The Everything Store".[7] Amazon is considered part of the Big Tech group, alongside Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, and Meta.

Key Information

The company has multiple subsidiaries, including Amazon Web Services, providing cloud computing; Zoox, a self-driving car division; Kuiper Systems, a satellite Internet provider; and Amazon Lab126, a computer hardware R&D provider. Other subsidiaries include Ring, Twitch, IMDb, and Whole Foods Market. Its acquisition of Whole Foods in August 2017 for US$13.4 billion substantially increased its market share and presence as a physical retailer.[8] Amazon also distributes a variety of downloadable and streaming content through its Amazon Prime Video, MGM+, Amazon Music, Twitch, Audible and Wondery[9] units. It publishes books through its publishing arm, Amazon Publishing, produces and distributes film and television content through Amazon MGM Studios, including the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio it acquired in March 2022, and owns Brilliance Audio and Audible, which produce and distribute audiobooks, respectively. Amazon also produces consumer electronics—most notably, Kindle e-readers, Echo devices, Fire tablets, and Fire TVs.

Amazon has a reputation as a disruptor of industries through technological innovation and aggressive reinvestment of profits into capital expenditures.[10][11][12][13] As of 2023, it is the world's largest online retailer and marketplace, smart speaker provider, cloud computing service through AWS,[14] live-streaming service through Twitch, and Internet company as measured by revenue and market share.[15] In 2021, it surpassed Walmart as the world's largest retailer outside of China, driven in large part by its paid subscription plan, Amazon Prime, which has 200 million subscribers worldwide.[16][17] It is the second-largest private employer in the United States[18] and the second-largest company in the world and in the U.S. by revenue as of 2024 (after Walmart).[19] As of October 2024, Amazon is the 12th-most visited website in the world and 84% of its traffic comes from the United States.[20][21] Amazon is also the global leader in research and development spending, with R&D expenditure of US$73 billion in 2022.[22] Amazon has been criticized for its business practices, including surveillance partnerships, poor worker conditions, anti-union efforts, environmental harm, anti-competitive behavior, censorship controversies, and exploitative treatment of small businesses and suppliers.

History

[edit]
Main article: History of Amazon

1994–2009

[edit]
Jeff Bezos's home in Bellevue, Washington, where the company was founded in 1994

Amazon was founded on July 5, 1994, by Jeff Bezos after he relocated from New York City to Bellevue, Washington, near Seattle, to operate an online bookstore. Bezos chose the Seattle area for its abundance of technical talent from Microsoft and the University of Washington, as well as its smaller population for sales tax purposes and the proximity to a major book distribution warehouse in Roseburg, Oregon. Bezos also considered several other options, including Portland, Oregon, and Boulder, Colorado.[23] The company, originally named Cadabra, was founded in the converted garage of Bezos's house for symbolic reasons and was renamed to Amazon in November 1994.[24] The Amazon website launched for public sales on July 16, 1995, and initially sourced its books directly from wholesalers and publishers.[23][25] Bezos retained the URL www.relentless.com, which he purchased when considering a name for the company; it redirects to the Amazon homepage.[26]

Amazon went public in May 1997. It began selling music and videos in 1998, and began international operations by acquiring online sellers of books in the United Kingdom and Germany. In the subsequent year, it initiated the sale of a diverse range of products, including music, video games, consumer electronics, home improvement items, software, games, and toys.[27][28]

In 2002, it launched Amazon Web Services (AWS), which initially focused on providing APIs for web developers to build web applications on top of Amazon's ecommerce platform.[29][30] In 2004, AWS was expanded to provide website popularity statistics and web crawler data from the Alexa Web Information Service.[31] AWS later shifted toward providing enterprise services with Simple Storage Service (S3) in 2006,[32] and Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) in 2008,[33] allowing companies to rent data storage and computing power from Amazon. In 2006, Amazon also launched the Fulfillment by Amazon program, which allowed individuals and small companies (called "third-party sellers") to sell products through Amazon's warehouses and fulfillment infrastructure.[34]

2010–present

[edit]

Amazon purchased the Whole Foods Market supermarket chain in 2017.[35] It is the leading e-retailer in the United States with approximately US$178 billion net sales in 2017. It has over 300 million active customer accounts globally.[36]

Amazon saw large growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, hiring more than 100,000 staff in the United States and Canada.[37] Some Amazon workers in the US, France, and Italy protested the company's decision to "run normal shifts" due to COVID-19's ease of spread in warehouses.[38][39] In Spain, the company faced legal complaints over its policies,[40] while a group of US Senators wrote an open letter to Bezos expressing concerns about workplace safety.[41]

On February 2, 2021, Bezos announced that he would step down as CEO to become executive chair of Amazon's board. The transition officially took place on July 5, 2021, with former CEO of AWS Andy Jassy replacing him as CEO.[42][43] In January 2023, Amazon cut over 18,000 jobs, primarily in consumer retail and its human resources division in an attempt to cut costs.[44]

On November 8, 2023, a plan was adopted for Jeff Bezos to sell approximately 50 million shares of the company over the next year (the deadline for the entire sales plan is January 31, 2025). The first step was the sale of 12 million shares for about $2 billion.[45]

On February 26, 2024, Amazon became a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.[46]

On December 19, 2024, Amazon workers, led by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters labor union, went on strike against Amazon in at least four US states, with workers in other facilities in the United States being welcomed to join the strike as well.[47][48]

Products and services

[edit]
Main article: List of Amazon products and services

Amazon.com

[edit]
amazon.com
Logo since November 2024
Screenshot
Homepage
Type of site
E-commerce
Available in
  • Arabic
  • Chinese
  • Dutch
  • English
  • French
  • German
  • Hindi
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Polish
  • Portuguese
  • Spanish
  • Swedish
  • Turkish
OwnerAmazon
URLamazon.com (original US site)
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
Launched1995; 30 years ago (1995)
Current statusActive
Written inC++ and Java
[49]

Amazon.com is an e-commerce platform that sells many product lines, including media (books, movies, music, and software), apparel, baby products, consumer electronics, beauty products, gourmet food, groceries, health and personal care products, industrial & scientific supplies, kitchen items, jewelry, watches, lawn and garden items, musical instruments, sporting goods, tools, automotive items, toys and games, and farm supplies[50] and consulting services.[51] Amazon websites are country-specific (for example, amazon.com for the US and amazon.co.uk for UK) though some offer international shipping.[52]

Visits to amazon.com grew from 615 million annual visitors in 2008,[53] to more than 2 billion per month in 2022.[citation needed] The e-commerce platform is the 12th most visited website in the world.[21]

In February 2024, Amazon announced its first chatbot was first "Rufus" in the US and in July, it was widely available to all customers in the US.[54]

"Rufus" is now available in the US, India and the UK which helps the shoppers get product recommendations, get shopping list advice, compare products and see what other customers have responded to their specific questions.[55]

Results generated by Amazon's search engine are partly determined by promotional fees.[56] The company's localized storefronts, which differ in selection and prices, are differentiated by top-level domain and country code:

Amazon Marketplaces worldwide
  Top-Level Domain
  Served by neighboring Domain
Sales by country (2023)[57]
Country share
United States 69.3%
Germany 6.5%
United Kingdom 5.8%
Japan 4.8%
Other 13.6%
Region Country Domain name Since Languages Notes
Africa Egypt amazon.eg September 2021 Arabic, English Formerly known as Souq.com Egypt
South Africa amazon.co.za May 2024 English
Americas Brazil amazon.com.br December 2012 Portuguese
Canada amazon.ca June 2002 English, French
Mexico amazon.com.mx August 2013 Spanish
United States amazon.com July 1995 English, Spanish, Arabic, German, Hebrew, Korean, Portuguese, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional) International customers without a localized Amazon website may purchase eBooks from the Kindle Store on Amazon US.[58]
Asia China amazon.cn September 2004 Chinese (Simplified) Formerly known as Joyo.com CHN
India amazon.in June 2013 English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi
Japan amazon.co.jp November 2000 Japanese, English, Chinese (Simplified)
Saudi Arabia amazon.sa June 2020 Arabic, English Formerly known as Souq.com KSA
Singapore amazon.sg July 2017 English
Turkey amazon.com.tr September 2018 Turkish
United Arab Emirates amazon.ae May 2019 Arabic, English Formerly known as Souq.com UAE
Europe Belgium amazon.com.be October 2022 Dutch, French, English
France amazon.fr August 2000 French, English
Germany amazon.de October 1998 German, English, Czech, Dutch, Polish, Turkish Also serves Austria,[59] Denmark[60] and Switzerland[61]
Ireland amazon.ie March 2025 English
Italy amazon.it November 2010 Italian, English
Netherlands amazon.nl November 2014 Dutch, English Initially only books & e-books, full shop opened March 2020[62]
Poland amazon.pl March 2021 Polish
Spain amazon.es September 2011 Spanish, Portuguese, English Also serves Portugal[63]
Sweden amazon.se October 2020 Swedish, English
United Kingdom amazon.co.uk October 1998 English
Oceania Australia amazon.com.au November 2017 English Also serves New Zealand[64]

Merchant partnerships

[edit]

In 2000, US toy retailer Toys "R" Us entered into a 10-year agreement with Amazon, valued at $50 million per year plus a cut of sales, under which Toys "R" Us would be the exclusive supplier of toys and baby products on the service, and the chain's website would redirect to Amazon's Toys & Games category. In 2004, Toys "R" Us sued Amazon, claiming that because of a perceived lack of variety in Toys "R" Us stock, Amazon had knowingly allowed third-party sellers to offer items on the service in categories that Toys "R" Us had been granted exclusivity. In 2006, a court ruled in favor of Toys "R" Us, giving it the right to unwind its agreement with Amazon and establish its independent e-commerce website. The company was later awarded $51 million in damages.[65][66][67]

In 2001, Amazon entered into a similar agreement with Borders, under which Amazon would comanage Borders.com as a co-branded service.[68] Borders pulled out of the arrangement in 2007, with plans to also launch its own online store.[69]

On October 18, 2011, Amazon.com announced a partnership with DC Comics for the exclusive digital rights to many popular comics, including Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Sandman, and Watchmen. The partnership has caused well-known bookstores like Barnes & Noble to remove these titles from their shelves.[70]

In November 2013, Amazon announced a partnership with the United States Postal Service to begin delivering orders on Sundays. The service, included in Amazon's standard shipping rates, initiated in metropolitan areas of Greater Los Angeles and New York because of the high-volume and inability to deliver in a timely way, with plans to expand into Dallas, Houston, New Orleans and Phoenix by 2014.[71]

In June 2017, Nike agreed to sell products through Amazon in exchange for better policing of counterfeit goods.[72][73] This proved unsuccessful and Nike withdrew from the partnership in November 2019.[73][74] Companies including IKEA and Birkenstock also stopped selling through Amazon around the same time, citing similar frustrations over business practices and counterfeit goods.[75]

In September 2017, Amazon ventured with one of its sellers JV Appario Retail owned by Patni Group which has recorded a total income of US$104.44 million (₹759 crore) in financial year 2017–2018.[76]

As of October 11, 2017, Amazon Fresh sold a range of Booths branded products for home delivery in selected areas.[77]

In November 2018, Amazon reached an agreement with Apple Inc. to sell selected products through the service, via the company and selected Apple Authorized Resellers. As a result of this partnership, only Apple Authorized Resellers may sell Apple products on Amazon effective January 4, 2019.[78][79]

On November 7, 2024, Amazon is reportedly discussing a second multi-billion dollar investment in AI startup Anthropic, following its initial $4 billion investment.[80]

Private-label products

[edit]
Main article: List of Amazon brands
Amazon Basics USB cable

Amazon sells many products under its own brand names, including phone chargers, batteries, and diaper wipes. The AmazonBasics brand was introduced in 2009, and now features hundreds of product lines, including smartphone cases, computer mice, batteries, dumbbells, and dog crates. Amazon owned 34 private-label brands as of 2019. These brands account for 0.15% of Amazon's global sales, whereas the average for other large retailers is 18%.[81] Other Amazon retail brands include Presto!, Mama Bear, and Amazon Essentials.[82]

Third-party sellers

[edit]

Amazon derives many of its sales (around 40% in 2008) from third-party sellers who sell products on Amazon.[83] Some other large e-commerce sellers use Amazon to sell their products in addition to selling them through their websites. The sales are processed through Amazon.com and end up at individual sellers for processing and order fulfillment and Amazon leases space for these retailers. Small sellers of used and new goods go to Amazon Marketplace to offer goods at a fixed price.[84]

Affiliate program

[edit]

Publishers can sign up as affiliates and receive a commission for referring customers to Amazon by placing links to Amazon on their websites if the referral results in a sale. Worldwide, Amazon has "over 900,000 members" in its affiliate programs.[85] In the middle of 2014, the Amazon Affiliate Program is used by 1.2% of all websites and it is the second most popular advertising network after Google Ads.[86] It is frequently used by websites and non-profits to provide a way for supporters to earn them a commission.[87]

Associates can access the Amazon catalog directly on their websites by using the Amazon Web Services (AWS) XML service. A new affiliate product, aStore, allows Associates to embed a subset of Amazon products within another website, or linked to another website. In June 2010, Amazon Seller Product Suggestions was launched to provide more transparency to sellers by recommending specific products to third-party sellers to sell on Amazon. Products suggested are based on customers' browsing history.[88]

Product reviews

[edit]
See also: Criticism of Amazon § Amazon reviews

Amazon allows users to submit reviews to the web page of each product. Reviewers must rate the product on a rating scale from one to five stars. Amazon provides a badging option for reviewers which indicates the real name of the reviewer (based on confirmation of a credit card account) or which indicates that the reviewer is one of the top reviewers by popularity. As of December 16, 2020, Amazon removed the ability of sellers and customers to comment on product reviews and purged their websites of all posted product review comments. In an email to sellers, Amazon gave its rationale for removing this feature: "...the comments feature on customer reviews was rarely used." The remaining review response options are to indicate whether the reader finds the review helpful or to report that it violates Amazon policies (abuse). If a review is given enough "helpful" hits, it appears on the front page of the product. In 2010, Amazon was reported as being the largest single source of Internet consumer reviews.[89]

When publishers asked Bezos why Amazon would publish negative reviews, he defended the practice by claiming that Amazon.com was "taking a different approach...we want to make every book available—the good, the bad and the ugly...to let truth loose".[90]

There have been cases of positive reviews being written and posted by public relations companies on behalf of their clients[91] and instances of writers using pseudonyms to leave negative reviews of their rivals' works.

Amazon sales rank

[edit]

The Amazon sales rank (ASR) indicates the popularity of a product sold on any Amazon locale. It is a relative indicator of popularity that is updated hourly. Effectively, it is a "best sellers list" for the millions of products stocked by Amazon.[92] While the ASR has no direct effect on the sales of a product, it is used by Amazon to determine which products to include in its bestsellers lists.[92] Products that appear in these lists enjoy additional exposure on the Amazon website and this may lead to an increase in sales. In particular, products that experience large jumps (up or down) in their sales ranks may be included within Amazon's lists of "movers and shakers"; such a listing provides additional exposure that might lead to an increase in sales.[93] For competitive reasons, Amazon does not release actual sales figures to the public. However, Amazon has now begun to release point of sale data via the BookScan service to verified authors.[94] While the ASR has been the source of much speculation by publishers, manufacturers, and marketers, Amazon itself does not release the details of its sales rank calculation algorithm. Some companies have analyzed Amazon sales data to generate sales estimates based on the ASR,[95] though Amazon states:

Please keep in mind that our sales rank figures are simply meant to be a guide of general interest for the customer and not definitive sales information for publishers—we assume you have this information regularly from your distribution sources

— Amazon.com Help[96]

Physical stores

[edit]
Amazon Fresh store in Sevenoaks, United Kingdom

In November 2015, Amazon opened a physical Amazon Books store in University Village in Seattle. The store was 5,500 square feet and prices for all products matched those on its website.[97] Amazon opened its tenth physical bookstore in 2017;[98] media speculation at the time suggested that Amazon planned to eventually roll out 300 to 400 bookstores around the country.[97] All of its locations were closed in 2022 along with other retail locations under the "Amazon 4-Star" brand.[99]

In July 2016, the company announced that it was opening a 1,100,000 ft (335,280.0 m) square foot facility in Palmer Township in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. As of 2024, Amazon is Lehigh Valley region's third-largest employer.[100][101]

In August 2019, Amazon applied to have a liquor store in San Francisco, as a means to ship beer and alcohol within the city.[102]

In 2020, Amazon Fresh opened several physical stores in the US and the United Kingdom.[103]

Hardware and services

[edit]
Amazon Fire tablet

Amazon has a number of products and services available, including its digital assistant Alexa, Amazon Music, and Prime Video for music and videos respectively, the Amazon Appstore for Android apps, the Kindle line of electronic paper e-readers, Fire and Fire HD color LCD tablets. Audible provides audiobooks for purchase and listening.

In September 2021, Amazon announced the launch of Astro, its first household robot, powered by its Alexa smart home technology. This can be remote-controlled when not at home, to check on pets, people, or home security. It will send owners a notification if it detects something unusual.[104]

In January 2023, Amazon announced the launch of RXPass, a prescription drug delivery service. It allows U.S. Amazon Prime members to pay a $5 monthly fee for access to 60 medications. The service was launched immediately after the announcement except in states with specific prescription delivery requirements. Beneficiaries of government healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid will not be able to sign up for RXPass.[105]

Subsidiaries

[edit]
See also: List of mergers and acquisitions by Amazon

Amazon owns over 100 subsidiaries, including Amazon Web Services, Audible, Diapers.com, Goodreads, IMDb, Kiva Systems (now Amazon Robotics), One Medical, Shopbop, Teachstreet, Twitch, Zappos, and Zoox.[106]

Bezos separately owns The Washington Post (through Nash Holdings, LLC), Blue Origin, Bezos Expeditions, Altos Labs, and other companies.

Amazon Live

[edit]
Amazon Inspire
Type of site
Online video platform
Headquarters98109, WA
Seattle, Washington,
United States
OwnerAmazon Inc.
Industry
ParentAmazon Inc.
Launched2019; 6 years ago (2019)

Amazon Live is an American video e-commerce live-streaming service created by Amazon Inc. to compete with live-streaming services. The service allows users to stream live videos promoting or sponsoring products.[107] Users (mainly celebrities or Internet influencers) have the option to livestream on Amazon and add tags to additionally add context to the products they're selling or promoting. Other users can join in and type in messages to send to a global chat on the livestream.[107]

In 2019 Amazon launched an integrated platform into the Amazon website and application. In 2023 roughly a billion total viewers watch Amazon Live across the United States and India. The platform has also been integrated into Amazon Freevee and Amazon Prime Video.[108]

Amazon Web Services

[edit]
Amazon Web Services, HOU-14
Main article: Amazon Web Services

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to individuals, companies, and governments, on a metered pay-as-you-go basis. These cloud computing web services provide distributed computing processing capacity and software tools via AWS server farms. As of 2021 Q4, AWS has 33% market share for cloud infrastructure while the next two competitors Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud have 21%, and 10% respectively, according to Synergy Group.[109]

Audible

[edit]
Main article: Audible (service)

Audible is a seller and producer of spoken audio entertainment, information, and educational programming on the Internet. Audible sells digital audiobooks, radio and television programs, and audio versions of magazines and newspapers. Through its production arm, Audible Studios, Audible has also become the world's largest producer of downloadable audiobooks. On January 31, 2008, Amazon announced it would buy Audible for about $300 million. The deal closed in March 2008 and Audible became a subsidiary of Amazon.[110]

Goodreads

[edit]
Main article: Goodreads

Goodreads is a "social cataloging" website founded in December 2006 and launched in January 2007 by Otis Chandler, a software engineer, and entrepreneur, and Elizabeth Khuri. The website allows individuals to freely search Goodreads' extensive user-populated database of books, annotations, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and reading lists. They can also create their groups of book suggestions and discussions. In December 2007, the site had over 650,000 members, and over a million books had been added. Amazon bought the company in March 2013.[111]

Ring

[edit]
Main article: Ring (company)

Ring is a home automation company founded by Jamie Siminoff in 2013. It is primarily known for its Wi-Fi powered smart doorbells, but manufactures other devices such as security cameras. Amazon bought Ring for US$1 billion in 2018.[112]

Twitch

[edit]
Main article: Twitch (service)
Twitch at the Electronic Entertainment Expo

Twitch is a live streaming platform for video, primarily oriented towards video gaming content. Twitch was acquired by Amazon in August 2014 for $970 million.[113] The site's rapid growth had been boosted primarily by the prominence of major esports competitions on the service, leading GameSpot senior esports editor Rod Breslau to have described the service as "the ESPN of esports".[114] As of 2015, the service had over 1.5 million broadcasters and 100 million monthly viewers.[115]

Whole Foods Market

[edit]
Whole Foods Market store in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Whole Foods Market is an American supermarket chain exclusively featuring foods without artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, sweeteners, and hydrogenated fats.[116] Amazon acquired Whole Foods for $13.7 billion in August 2017.[117][118][8]

Since acquiring Whole Foods, the company has launched its own chain of Fresh supermarkets and taken steps to integrate its online and physical grocery operations.

Other

[edit]

Other Amazon subsidiaries include:

  • A9.com, a company focused on researching and building innovative technology; it has been a subsidiary since 2003.[119]
  • Amazon Academy, formerly JEE Ready, is an online learning platform for engineering students to prepare for competitive exams like the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), launched by Amazon India on January 13, 2021
  • Amazon Maritime, Inc. holds a Federal Maritime Commission license to operate as a non-vessel-owning common carrier (NVOCC), which enables the company to manage its shipments from China into the United States.[120]
  • Amazon Pharmacy is an online delivery service dedicated to prescription drugs, launched in November 2020. The service provides discounts up to 80% for generic drugs and up to 40% for branded drugs for Prime subscribe users. The products can be purchased on the company's website or at over 50,000 bricks-and-mortar pharmacies in the United States.[121]
  • Annapurna Labs, an Israel-based microelectronics company reputedly for US$350–370M acquired by Amazon Web Services in January 2015 .[122][123][124]
  • Beijing Century Joyo Courier Services, which applied for a freight forwarding license with the US Maritime Commission. Amazon is also building out its logistics in trucking and air freight to potentially compete with UPS and FedEx.[125][126]
  • Brilliance Audio, an audiobook publisher founded in 1984 by Michael Snodgrass in Grand Haven, Michigan.[127] The company produced its first eight audio titles in 1985.[127] The company was purchased by Amazon in 2007 for an undisclosed amount.[128][129] At the time of the acquisition, Brilliance was producing 12–15 new titles a month.[129] It operates as an independent company within Amazon. In 1984, Brilliance Audio invented a technique for recording twice as much on the same cassette.[130] The technique involved recording on each of the two channels of each stereo track.[130] It has been credited with revolutionizing the burgeoning audiobook market in the mid-1980s since it made unabridged books affordable.[130]
  • ComiXology, a cloud-based digital comics platform with over 200 million comic downloads as of September 2013. It offers a selection of more than 40,000 comic books and graphic novels across Android, iOS, Fire OS and Windows 8 devices and over a web browser. Amazon bought the company in April 2014.[131]
  • CreateSpace, which offers self-publishing services for independent content creators, publishers, film studios, and music labels, became a subsidiary in 2009.[132][133]
  • eero, an electronics company specializing in mesh-networking Wi-Fi founded as a startup in 2014 by Nick Weaver, Amos Schallich, and Nate Hardison to simplify and innovate the smart home.[134] Eero was acquired by Amazon in 2019 for US$97 million.[135] Eero has continued to operate under its banner and advertises its commitment to privacy despite early concerns from the company's acquisition.[136]
  • Health Navigator is a startup developing APIs for online health services acquired in October 2019. The startup will form part of Amazon Care, which is the company's employee healthcare service. This follows the 2018 purchase of PillPack for under $1 billion, which has also been included into Amazon Care.[137]
  • Junglee, a former online shopping service provided by Amazon that enabled customers to search for products from online and offline retailers in India. Junglee started as a virtual database that was used to extract information from the Internet and deliver it to enterprise applications. As it progressed, Junglee started to use its database technology to create a single window marketplace on the Internet by making every item from every supplier available for purchase. Web shoppers could locate, compare and transact millions of products from across the Internet shopping mall through one window.[138] Amazon acquired Junglee in 1998, and the website Junglee.com was launched in India in February 2012[139] as a comparison-shopping website. It curated and enabled searching for a diverse variety of products such as clothing, electronics, toys, jewelry, and video games, among others, across thousands of online and offline sellers. Millions of products are browsable, the client selects a price, and then they are directed to a seller. In November 2017, Amazon closed down Junglee.com and the former domain currently redirects to Amazon India.[140]
  • Kuiper Systems, a subsidiary of Amazon, set up to deploy a broadband satellite internet constellation with an announced 3,236 Low Earth orbit satellites to provide satellite based Internet connectivity.[141][142][143]
  • Lab126, developers of integrated consumer electronics such as the Kindle, became a subsidiary in 2004.[144]
  • Shelfari, a former social cataloging website for books. Shelfari users built virtual bookshelves of the titles which they owned or had read and they could rate, review, tag and discuss their books. Users could also create groups that other members could join, create discussions and talk about books, or other topics. Recommendations could be sent to friends on the site for what books to read. Amazon bought the company in August 2008.[111] Shelfari continued to function as an independent book social network within the Amazon until January 2016, when Amazon announced that it would be merging Shelfari with Goodreads and closing down Shelfari.[145][146]
  • Souq, the former largest e-commerce platform in the Arab world. The company launched in 2005 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and served multiple areas across the Middle East.[147] On March 28, 2017, Amazon acquired Souq.com for $580 million.[148] The company was re-branded as Amazon and its infrastructure was used to expand Amazon's online platform in the Middle East.[149]

Amazon also has investments in renewable energy, including plans to fund four small nuclear reactors at the Xe-100 reactor site in Eastern Washington, and plans to expand its position into the Canadian market through an investment in a new plant in Alberta.[150]

Operations

[edit]
See also: List of Amazon locations

Logistics

[edit]
Amazon Transportation Services truck at an Amazon Logistics delivery station
Amazon Logistics Delivery Service Partner company vehicles in Florida

Amazon uses many different transportation services to deliver packages. Amazon-branded services include:

  • Amazon Air, a cargo airline for bulk transport, with last-mile delivery handled either by Amazon Flex, Amazon Logistics, or the U.S. Postal Service.
  • Amazon Flex, a smartphone app that enables individuals to act as independent contractors, delivering packages to customers from personal vehicles without uniforms. Deliveries include one or two hours Prime Now, same or next day Amazon Fresh groceries, and standard Amazon.com orders, in addition to orders from local stores that contract with Amazon.[151]
  • Amazon Logistics, in which Amazon contracts with small businesses (which it calls "Delivery Service Partners") to perform deliveries to customers. Each business has a fleet of approximately 20–40 Amazon-branded vans, and employees of the contractors wear Amazon uniforms. As of December 2020, it operates in the United States, Canada, Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom.[152]
  • Amazon Prime Air is an experimental drone delivery service that delivers packages via drones to Amazon Prime subscribers in select cities.

Amazon directly employs people to work at its warehouses, bulk distribution centers, staffed "Amazon Hub Locker+" locations, and delivery stations where drivers pick up packages. As of December 2020, it is not hiring delivery drivers as employees.[153]

Rakuten Intelligence estimated that in 2020 in the United States, the proportion of last-mile deliveries was 56% by Amazon's directly contracted services (mostly in urban areas), 30% by the United States Postal Service (mostly in rural areas), and 14% by UPS.[154] In April 2021, Amazon reported to investors it had increased its in-house delivery capacity by 50% in the last 12 months (which included the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States).[155]

Supply chain

[edit]

Amazon first launched its distribution network in 1997 with two fulfillment centers in Seattle and New Castle, Delaware. Amazon has several types of distribution facilities consisting of cross-dock centers, fulfillment centers, sortation centers, delivery stations, Prime now hubs, and Prime air hubs. There are 75 fulfillment centers and 25 sortation centers with over 125,000 employees.[156][157] Employees are responsible for five basic tasks: unpacking and inspecting incoming goods; placing goods in storage and recording their location; picking goods from their computer recorded locations to make up an individual shipment; sorting and packing orders; and shipping. A computer that records the location of goods and maps out routes for pickers plays a key role: employees carry hand-held computers which communicate with the central computer and monitor their rate of progress. Some warehouses are partially automated with systems built by Amazon Robotics.[158]

In September 2006, Amazon launched a program called FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon) whereby it could handle storage, packing and distribution of products and services for small sellers.[34]

Corporate affairs

[edit]

Board of directors

[edit]
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in 2016

As of August 2025, Amazon's board of directors were:[159]

Ownership

[edit]

The 10 largest shareholder of Amazon in early 2024 were:[57]

Shareholder name Percentage
Jeff Bezos 9.1%
The Vanguard Group 7.5%
BlackRock 4.6%
State Street Corporation 3.3%
Fidelity Investments 3.1%
MacKenzie Scott 1.9%
T. Rowe Price 1.9%
Geode Capital Management 1.8%
JP Morgan Investment Management 1.5%
Eaton Vance 1.5%
Others 63.8%

Finances

[edit]
Sales by business (2023)[57]
Business share
Online Stores 40.3%
Third-party Seller Services 24.4%
Amazon Web Services 15.8%
Advertising 8.2%
Subscription Services 7.0%
Physical Stores 3.5%
Other 0.9%

Amazon.com is primarily a retail site with a sales revenue model; Amazon takes a small percentage of the sale price of each item that is sold through its website while also allowing companies to advertise their products by paying to be listed as featured products.[160] As of 2018, Amazon.com is ranked eighth on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.[161] In Forbes Global 2000 2023 Amazon ranked 36th.[162]

For the fiscal year 2021, Amazon reported earnings of US$33.36 billion, with an annual revenue of US$469.82 billion, an increase of 21.7% over the previous fiscal cycle. Since 2007 sales increased from 14.835 billion to 469.822 billion, due to continued business expansion.[citation needed]

Amazon's market capitalization went over US$1 trillion again in early February 2020 after the announcement of the fourth quarter 2019 results.[163]

Year Revenue[164] Net income Total Assets Employees
in million US$
1995[165] 0.5 −0.3 1.1
1996[165] 16 −6 8
1997[165] 148 −28 149 614
1998[166] 610 −124 648 2,100
1999[166] 1,639 −720 2,466 7,600
2000[166] 2,761 −1,411 2,135 9,000
2001[166] 3,122 −567 1,638 7,800
2002[166] 3,932 −149 1,990 7,500
2003[167] 5,263 35 2,162 7,800
2004[167] 6,921 588 3,248 9,000
2005[167] 8,490 359 3,696 12,000
2006[167] 10,711 190 4,363 13,900
2007[167] 14,835 476 6,485 17,000
2008[168] 19,166 645 8,314 20,700
2009[169] 24,509 902 13,813 24,300
2010[170] 34,204 1,152 18,797 33,700
2011[171] 48,077 631 25,278 56,200
2012[172] 61,093 −39 32,555 88,400
2013[173] 74,452 274 40,159 117,300
2014[174] 88,988 −241 54,505 154,100
in billion US$
2015[175] 107.0 0.59 64.7 230,800
2016[176] 135.9 2.3 83.4 341,400
2017[177] 177.8 3.0 131.3 566,000
2018[178] 232.8 10.0 162.6 647,500
2019[179] 280.5 11.5 225.2 798,000
2020[180] 386.0 21.3 321.1 1,298,000
2021[181] 469.8 33.3 420.5 1,608,000
2022[181] 513.9 −2.7 462.6 1,541,000
2023[182] 574.7 30.4 527.8 1,525,000
2024[1] 637.9 59.2 624.8 1,556,000

Corporate culture

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During his tenure, Jeff Bezos had become renowned for his annual shareholder letters, which have gained similar notability to those of Warren Buffett.[183] These annual letters gave an "invaluable window" into the famously "secretive" company, and revealed Bezos's perspectives and strategic focus.[183][184] A common theme of these letters is Bezos's desire to instill customer-centricity (in his words, "customer obsession") at all levels of Amazon, notably by making all senior executives field customer support queries for a short time at Amazon call centers. He also read many emails addressed by customers to his public email address.[185] One of Bezos's most well-known internal memos was his mandate for "all teams" to "expose their data and functionality" through service interfaces "designed from the ground up to be externalizable". This process, commonly known as a service-oriented architecture (SOA), resulted in mandatory dogfooding of services that would later be commercialized as part of AWS.[citation needed]

Lobbying

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Amazon lobbies the United States federal government and state governments on multiple issues such as the enforcement of sales taxes on online sales, transportation safety, privacy and data protection and intellectual property. According to regulatory filings, Amazon.com focuses its lobbying on the United States Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Reserve. Amazon.com spent roughly $3.5 million, $5 million and $9.5 million on lobbying, in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.[186] In 2019, it spent $16.8 million and had a team of 104 lobbyists.[187]

Amazon.com was a corporate member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) until it dropped membership following protests at its shareholders' meeting on May 24, 2012.[188]

In 2014, Amazon expanded its lobbying practices as it prepared to lobby the Federal Aviation Administration to approve its drone delivery program, hiring the Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld lobbying firm in June.[189] Amazon and its lobbyists have visited with Federal Aviation Administration officials and aviation committees in Washington, D.C. to explain its plans to deliver packages.[190] In September 2020 this moved one step closer with the granting of a critical certificate by the FAA.[191]

During the second Trump Administration, Amazon donated several times to various events and aspects of his presidency. Along with several other major companies, Amazon donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund.[192] In April 2025, Amazon was a corporate sponsor of the White House Easter Egg Roll, after Donald Trump solicited corporate sponsors for the event for the first time.[193][194] In October 2025, Amazon was one of the donors who funded the White House's East Wing demolition, and planned building of a ballroom.[195]

Criticism

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Main article: Criticism of Amazon
A sticker expressing an anti-Amazon message is pictured on the back of a street sign in Seattle

Amazon has attracted criticism for its actions, including: supplying law enforcement with facial recognition surveillance tools;[196] forming cloud computing partnerships with the CIA;[197] leading customers away from bookshops;[198] adversely impacting the environment;[199] placing a low priority on warehouse conditions for workers;[200][201] actively opposing unionization efforts;[202] remotely deleting content purchased by Amazon Kindle users; taking public subsidies; seeking to patent its 1-Click technology; engaging in anti-competitive actions and price discrimination;[203][204] and reclassifying LGBTQ books as adult content.[205][206] Criticism has also concerned various decisions over whether to censor or publish content such as the WikiLeaks website, works containing libel, anti-LGBT merchandise, and material facilitating dog fighting, cockfighting, or pedophile activities. An article published by Time in the wake of social media website Parler's termination of service by Amazon Web Service highlights the power companies like Amazon now have over the internet.[207] In December 2011, Amazon faced a backlash from small businesses for running a one-day deal to promote its new Price Check app. Shoppers who used the app to check prices in a brick-and-mortar store were offered a 5% discount to purchase the same item from Amazon.[208] Companies like Groupon, eBay and Taap have countered Amazon's promotion by offering $10 off from their products.[209][210]

The company has also faced accusations of putting undue pressure on suppliers to maintain and extend its profitability. One effort to squeeze the most vulnerable book publishers was known within the company as the Gazelle Project, after Bezos suggested, according to Brad Stone, "that Amazon should approach these small publishers the way a cheetah would pursue a sickly gazelle."[56] In July 2014, the Federal Trade Commission launched a lawsuit against the company alleging it was promoting in-app purchases to children, which were being transacted without parental consent.[211] In 2019, Amazon banned selling skin-lightening products after pushback from Minnesota health and environmental activists.[212] In 2022, a lawsuit filed by state attorney-general Letitia James was dismissed by the New York state court of appeals.[213] After the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon faced criticism for complying, under pressure from the Biden Administration, to "reduce the visibility" of books critical of the COVID-19 vaccine,[214][215] which was revealed after Rep. Jim Jordan (acting on behalf of the House Judiciary Committee) subpoenaed emails between the company and the Biden Administration.[216]

An Amazon Prime truck blocking a bike lane in Washington, D.C.

Amazon Prime has been criticized for its vehicles systemically double parking, blocking bike lanes, and otherwise violating traffic laws while dropping off packages, contributing to traffic congestion and endangering other road users.[217][218][219][220]

Jane Friedman[221] discovered six listings of books fraudulently using her name, on Amazon and Goodreads. Amazon and Goodreads resisted removing the fraudulent titles until the author's complaints went viral on social media, in a blog post titled "I Would Rather See My Books Get Pirated Than This (Or: Why Goodreads and Amazon Are Becoming Dumpster Fires)."[222][223][224][225]

In 2024, following years of criticism for providing law enforcement footage in the custody of Ring (a home security company owned by Amazon) without a warrant, Ring has halted this practice.[226] It received cautious praise from privacy-focused organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation for this change.[226]

In February 2025, Sky accused Amazon of not doing enough to prevent the piracy of its sports rights via "jailbroken" Fire Sticks.[227]

Project Nimbus is a contract by which Amazon and Google provide Israel and its military with artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other cloud-computing services.[228][229] The contract has been criticized by shareholders and employees concerned that the project may lead to abuses of Palestinian human rights in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[230] In October 2025, Amazon suspended an employees who posted messages to the company's Slack and wrote a letter to Andy Jassy criticizing Nimbus.[231][232]

On July 22, 2025, Amazon announced their plan to acquire San Francisco based startup Bee AI. Bee produces a wristband, similar to most modern smartwatches, equipped with AI and microphones. The wristband is capable of providing summaries of conversations and reminders of tasks, effectively serving as a 24/7 note taker. News outlets criticize the fact that the devices saves transcripts, potentially utilizing it to train generative AI models which require vast quantities of data.[233]

See also

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References

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Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Amazon (company)

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Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon) is an American multinational technology company founded by on July 5, 1994, in a garage in , initially as an online bookstore that shipped its first order on July 16 of that year. The company has since expanded into the world's largest retailer by revenue, a dominant provider of infrastructure via (AWS), and operator of diverse segments including streaming, , and subscription services like . Headquartered in , Washington, Amazon reported net sales of $638 billion for fiscal year 2024, reflecting an 11% year-over-year increase driven primarily by its North America and international retail segments as well as AWS growth. Under Bezos's leadership until 2021, when he transitioned to executive chairman and assumed the CEO role, Amazon pioneered scalable online retail , including same-day delivery networks and fulfillment centers worldwide, transforming consumer purchasing habits and capturing significant in categories from to groceries. AWS, launched in , established Amazon as a foundational player in , powering much of the internet's backend and generating operating income that has increasingly offset retail segment pressures. The company's emphasis on long-term innovation, such as investments in AI-driven services and acquisitions like in 2017, has propelled it to a exceeding $2 trillion as of late 2025. Amazon's rapid ascent has not been without defining controversies, including antitrust investigations by U.S. regulators alleging monopolistic practices in and marketplace dominance, as well as criticisms of workplace conditions in its vast network, where high injury rates and demanding productivity quotas have prompted efforts and lawsuits despite company defenses citing industry-leading safety investments. These issues reflect broader tensions between Amazon's operational efficiency—rooted in data-optimized supply chains—and stakeholder concerns over labor welfare and , with empirical data from regulatory filings showing sustained profitability amid ongoing legal challenges.

History

Founding and Initial Expansion (1994–2000)

Jeff Bezos incorporated Amazon.com on July 5, 1994, in Bellevue, Washington, initially under the name Cadabra, after leaving his position as a vice president at D.E. Shaw & Co. on Wall Street. Motivated by the rapid growth of internet usage, which he estimated at 2,300% annually, Bezos selected books as the initial product due to their vast selection, low unit costs, and ease of shipping compared to alternatives like music or software. The company operated from Bezos's rented garage, where he and early employees hand-packed orders. Amazon.com launched its website on July 16, 1995, with the first book sold being Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies by Douglas Hofstadter, generating $12,000 in sales during the first week. The site emphasized a vast inventory—claiming "Earth's Biggest Bookstore"—and customer reviews, differentiating it from traditional retailers. By late 1995, operations had outgrown the garage, prompting a move to a 2,000-square-foot warehouse in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, followed by hiring additional staff to handle growing order volumes. Revenue reached $511,000 in 1995, reflecting early traction amid the nascent e-commerce landscape. The company rebranded from Cadabra to Amazon in 1995, inspired by the Amazon River's scale and its alphabetical primacy for search visibility. Amazon went public on May 15, 1997, via an initial public offering priced at $18 per share, raising $54 million to fuel infrastructure expansion. Revenue surged to $147.8 million in 1997, up from prior years, driven by increased traffic and operational scaling, though the firm reported net losses as it invested heavily in technology and distribution. By 1998, Amazon began diversifying beyond books, adding music and video sales, while expanding its Seattle facilities to accommodate surging demand. Annual revenue climbed to $1.64 billion by 1999, underscoring the platform's transformation into a broader online retailer.

Diversification and Marketplace Evolution (2001–2010)

In the aftermath of the dot-com bust, Amazon implemented aggressive cost-cutting measures, including workforce reductions and operational efficiencies, which enabled the company to report its first quarterly profit of $5 million in the fourth quarter of 2001. This marked a shift from cumulative losses exceeding $2.8 billion since inception to sustainable operations, with full-year profitability achieved in 2003 at $75 million in . Diversification efforts accelerated during this period, building on prior expansions into music and videos in 1998 by adding categories such as , video games, software, home-improvement items, apparel, and toys through a combination of direct inventory and partnerships with retailers like Toys "R" Us and . These moves broadened Amazon's catalog to millions of items, reducing reliance on books—which had comprised the majority of sales initially—and leveraging in logistics to compete with physical retailers. The Amazon Marketplace, introduced in November 2000 as an extension of earlier zShops auctions, evolved into a core platform for third-party sellers, allowing fixed-price listings alongside Amazon's offerings without the company bearing inventory costs. By 2001, Amazon marketed dedicated services for third-party sellers, including catalog syndication and fulfillment tools, which facilitated integration for physical and online retailers. Third-party sales, which accounted for about 3% of gross merchandise volume in 1999, grew substantially over the decade as seller tools improved, enabling millions of SKUs and contributing to Amazon's selection advantage; by the late 2000s, these sales represented a significant portion of units sold, though exact figures for the period remain limited in public disclosures. This model shifted risk to sellers while Amazon earned commissions, fostering a hybrid ecosystem that outpaced pure-play e-commerce competitors. To enhance customer retention and drive repeat purchases, Amazon launched Prime in February 2005 for $79 annually, offering unlimited two-day shipping on eligible items from over one million in-stock products. Prime's impact was causal in boosting order frequency and average order value, as members spent more due to perceived convenience, laying groundwork for loyalty in an expanding . Further diversification into digital formats occurred with the Kindle launch on November 19, 2007, priced at $399, which integrated wireless downloads of e-books and introduced for self-publishers on the same day. This hardware-software bundle expanded Amazon's control over content distribution, disrupting traditional publishing by enabling instant access to titles and capturing a growing share of reading habits amid rising digital adoption. By 2010, these strategies had transformed Amazon from a book-centric retailer into a multifaceted platform, with net sales reaching $34.2 billion annually, underscoring the efficacy of marketplace leverage and category breadth in sustaining growth.

Global Scale and Technological Integration (2011–2025)

During the period from 2011 to 2025, Amazon significantly expanded its global footprint, establishing operations in over 20 countries and operating more than 1,300 fulfillment centers worldwide by 2025. This growth included targeted investments in logistics , such as fulfillment centers in (e.g., , , , ), (e.g., , ), and other regions like , enabling faster delivery times and localized inventory management. The company's international segment revenue contributed substantially to overall growth, with reaching $638 billion in 2024, reflecting an 11% year-over-year increase driven partly by expanded penetration abroad. Technological integration underpinned this scale, particularly through (AWS), which evolved from $2.9 billion in revenue in 2011 to over $111 billion in trailing twelve months by early 2025, becoming the primary profit engine. AWS innovations, including cloud infrastructure and AI tools, powered Amazon's platform by enhancing data analytics for personalized recommendations and . In logistics, the 2012 acquisition of Systems for $775 million led to the deployment of , culminating in over 1 million robots by mid-2025, which automated warehouse tasks like picking and sorting to boost efficiency and reduce fulfillment times. Further AI advancements integrated into operations included predictive and intelligent systems, enabling dynamic inventory placement across global facilities and supporting same-day delivery expansions. By 2025, these technologies facilitated AI-driven , improving accuracy in delivery routing and reducing operational costs amid rising global volumes. AWS's generative AI initiatives, such as the expanded Generative AI Innovation Center, further embedded into seller tools and internal processes, reinforcing Amazon's competitive edge in scalable, data-intensive global operations.

Leadership and Governance

Founders and Key Executives

Amazon was founded by on July 5, 1994, initially under the name Cadabra, in the garage of his rented home in . The company began as an online bookstore and Bezos, a Princeton graduate, drove its early development with a focus on customer-centric innovation. Bezos served as from the company's through 2021, guiding Amazon's expansion from to a broad platform and beyond. In 2021, he transitioned to the role of executive chairman, retaining significant influence as the largest individual shareholder while focusing on other ventures such as . Andy Jassy succeeded Bezos as president and CEO effective July 5, 2021. , who joined Amazon in 1997, founded and led (AWS) from its launch in 2006 until assuming the CEO position, emphasizing operational efficiency and technological integration such as AI advancements. As of October 2025, continues to lead the company, overseeing strategic initiatives including workforce optimization and AI deployment. Key supporting executives include Brian Olsavsky, senior vice president and chief financial officer since 2015, responsible for financial planning and investor relations. Amazon's senior leadership operates through the S-Team, a group of approximately 29 senior vice presidents and equivalents who set annual goals and direct business units. Notable S-Team members encompass leaders like Douglas Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores, and Matt Garman, CEO of AWS.

Ownership and Shareholder Structure

Amazon.com, Inc. is a publicly traded listed on the stock exchange under the AMZN, with shares featuring a single class structure that grants equal voting rights of one vote per share, eschewing dual-class arrangements common in some tech firms to maintain proportional influence. This setup ensures that control aligns directly with economic ownership rather than amplified founder voting power, as confirmed in the company's 2025 . As of October 2025, approximately 65% of shares are held by institutional investors, reflecting broad dispersion among funds and entities, while insiders control about 9-10% and the accounts for the remainder. Founder remains the largest individual shareholder, beneficially owning roughly 964.3 million shares, or approximately 9% of outstanding shares, following sales exceeding 100 million shares in 2025 that reduced his stake below 10% for the first time. Bezos' holdings, valued at tens of billions, stem from his initial investment and subsequent growth, though ongoing divestitures—totaling billions annually—fund ventures like and philanthropy without altering the single-class voting framework. Other executives, such as CEO Andrew Jassy, hold negligible stakes in comparison, with aggregate insider ownership dominated by Bezos. Institutional holders dominate, with the top five controlling over 25% collectively as of mid-2025 data. Vanguard Group leads with about 8% (roughly 850 million shares), followed by at 6.7% (712 million shares), State Street at around 3.5%, and Fidelity Management. These passive and active funds, managing trillions in assets, prioritize index-tracking and long-term value, contributing to stable ownership patterns despite Amazon's exceeding $2 trillion. Retail and other individual investors comprise the balance, with no concentrated control blocs beyond institutions.
Top Shareholders (as of June/July 2025)Ownership PercentageApproximate Shares
7.97%849.7 million
BlackRock, Inc.6.68%712.1 million
State Street Corp.3.51%~374 million
(individual)~9% (October update)964.3 million
Management~2-3%Varies
This table aggregates reported holdings; percentages may fluctuate with market activity and filings. No single entity exerts majority control, aligning with Amazon's emphasis on dispersed to mitigate risks of entrenchment.

Board Composition and Decision-Making

Amazon's board of directors comprises 12 members as of the 2025 annual meeting, including founder and Executive Chairman Jeffrey P. Bezos, President and CEO Andrew R. Jassy, and 10 independent directors selected for expertise in areas such as technology, finance, global operations, and risk management. The independent directors are (former NSA Director), Edith W. Cooper (former executive), Jamie S. Gorelick (Lead Independent Director and former Deputy Attorney General), Daniel P. Huttenlocher (MIT dean), Andrew Y. Ng (AI pioneer), Indra K. Nooyi (former CEO), Jonathan J. Rubinstein (former Apple executive), Brad D. Smith (former CEO), Patricia Q. Stonesifer (former executive), and Wendell P. Weeks (Corning CEO). This composition reflects a balance of tenure, with four directors serving over 10 years, three between six and 10 years, and five five years or less, enabling continuity alongside fresh perspectives. The board maintains independence requirements under Nasdaq rules, with all members of key committees qualifying as independent; non-independent directors Bezos and Jassy participate in deliberations but recuse from certain votes, such as compensation approvals. Directors receive no cash compensation, only units vesting over three years to align incentives with long-term . Annual peer reviews and self-assessments inform director performance and retention, with the Nominating and Committee sourcing candidates through shareholder referrals, internal recommendations, and external searches emphasizing skills in AI, cybersecurity, and management. Decision-making occurs through a flexible framework outlined in guidelines, prioritizing fiduciary duties to shareholders under law while adapting to Amazon's operational scale. The full board meets at least quarterly, reviewing strategic risks like AI ethics, workplace safety, and cybersecurity, with delegated oversight to four standing committees: (chaired by Nooyi, focusing on financial reporting and compliance), Leadership Development and Compensation (chaired by Cooper, handling executive pay and ), Nominating and (chaired by Rubinstein, addressing board refreshment and social policies), and (chaired by , targeting cyber threats). Committees report findings to the board, which retains ultimate authority on major decisions, such as leadership structure—currently separating the Executive Chairman and CEO roles to balance founder vision with operational execution. Shareholder input shapes governance via annual engagements with top investors and mechanisms.
CommitteeChairKey Responsibilities
AuditIndra K. NooyiFinancial oversight, internal controls, regulatory compliance
Leadership Development and CompensationEdith W. CooperExecutive compensation benchmarking, human capital risks, safety metrics
Nominating and Corporate GovernanceJonathan J. RubinsteinDirector nominations, governance policies, sustainability integration
SecurityKeith B. AlexanderCybersecurity strategy, threat mitigation

Business Segments

E-commerce and Retail Operations

Amazon's e-commerce operations center on its online platforms, where customers purchase a vast array of products through amazon.com and localized sites in multiple countries. The company sells goods directly as a first-party retailer while enabling third-party sellers to list items via the , which accounts for the majority of unit sales. In the second quarter of 2025, third-party sellers represented 62% of total units sold worldwide, up from 61% in the prior year. Independent sellers number approximately 9.7 million globally, with over 60% of sales derived from these third-party transactions. The Marketplace operates in 18 dedicated countries, including the , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and , allowing sellers to reach customers in over 100 countries via cross-border fulfillment. Amazon integrates Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) services, where third-party sellers store inventory in Amazon warehouses for prime-eligible shipping, though logistics details are managed separately. membership, with over 200 million subscribers, drives repeat purchases through benefits like free two-day shipping on eligible items, contributing to higher and average order values. In physical retail, Amazon has expanded beyond pure e-commerce via acquisitions and proprietary formats. The 2017 acquisition of Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion integrated over 500 organic grocery stores, enabling synergies such as Prime discounts and Dash Cart technology for checkout-free shopping. Amazon operates 62 Amazon Fresh stores focused on grocery delivery and pickup, and 15 Amazon Go convenience stores employing Just Walk Out technology for frictionless transactions using computer vision and sensors. In 2025, Amazon consolidated its grocery operations under Whole Foods leadership, merging teams for Amazon Fresh and Go to streamline physical store strategies amid challenges in scaling brick-and-mortar grocery. These physical formats complement by testing technologies like cashierless systems and providing hybrid shopping experiences, though they represent a smaller portion of overall retail activity compared to online sales. Amazon's retail operations emphasize scalability through data-driven inventory management and algorithmic recommendations to match consumer demand across digital and physical channels.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Amazon Web Services (AWS) operates as Amazon's arm, delivering infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings through a pay-as-you-go model. This structure enables customers to access scalable computing resources without owning physical hardware, encompassing compute power, storage, databases, networking, analytics, and tools. AWS maintains over 200 distinct services, including foundational ones like (EC2) for virtual servers and Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) for , which launched in 2006 alongside the platform's debut. AWS originated from Amazon's internal efforts to manage surging e-commerce demands in the early 2000s, leading to the externalization of excess capacity as a service in 2006 to democratize access to enterprise-grade IT infrastructure. Early milestones included the release of S3 for durable data storage and EC2 for flexible computing, which addressed limitations of traditional data centers by allowing on-demand provisioning and reducing upfront capital costs. By 2016, innovations like Amazon Aurora database expanded relational database capabilities with high performance and availability, integrating features such as cross-region replication. AWS has since grown its global footprint to include over 30 geographic regions and more than 100 availability zones as of 2025, enhancing redundancy and low-latency access for users worldwide. Financially, AWS constitutes Amazon's most profitable segment, generating $107 billion in net sales revenue for 2024, up from prior years amid steady double-digit growth driven by enterprise adoption and AI workloads. In the global cloud infrastructure market, AWS commands approximately 30-31% share as of 2025, outpacing competitors like and Google Cloud through its and extensive service ecosystem. This dominance stems from network effects, where broad customer bases—spanning startups to firms—attract developers and reinforce service maturity, though it has invited regulatory scrutiny. AWS faces ongoing antitrust examinations, including a 2025 UK Competition and Markets Authority probe into cloud market practices alongside Microsoft, citing potential anti-competitive bundling and data lock-in effects that hinder customer switching. Broader U.S. Federal Trade Commission actions against Amazon in 2023 alleged monopolistic behaviors, with AWS's scale implicated in enabling cross-subsidization between retail and cloud operations, though Amazon contests these as unfounded and harmful to innovation. On data privacy, reports have highlighted vulnerabilities in AWS's handling of customer information, including unauthorized access incidents, prompting criticisms of inadequate safeguards despite contractual assurances. AWS maintains policies prohibiting the use of customer confidential data for developing competing products, a stance reiterated in congressional testimony. These issues underscore tensions between AWS's efficiency gains—such as cost reductions via —and risks of concentrated control over critical digital infrastructure.

Advertising, Subscriptions, and Emerging Services

Amazon's advertising operations encompass sponsored products, brands, and display ads, primarily operating on a model where advertisers pay only when users engage with ads, leveraging first-party data from shopping searches and behaviors to target high-intent consumers. This segment generated $56.2 billion in revenue in 2024, marking a 20% increase from $46.9 billion in 2023, driven by expansions into video and connected advertising. In the second quarter of 2025, advertising revenue reached $15.69 billion, up 23% year-over-year, reflecting robust growth amid broader e-commerce traffic and integrations with third-party retail sites. Projections indicate the business will surpass $60 billion annually in 2025, positioning Amazon among the largest global ad platforms by revenue, though margins remain lower than AWS due to competitive bidding dynamics. Subscription services, dominated by Amazon Prime launched in 2005, provide benefits including expedited shipping, video streaming, music access, and exclusive deals, with annual fees varying by region—$139 in the U.S. as of 2025. Prime membership exceeded 240 million subscribers worldwide by mid-2025, with approximately 197 million in the U.S. alone as of March 2025, fueled by retention through bundled utilities rather than isolated features. The segment reported $44.38 billion in revenue for 2024, a 10% rise from $40.21 billion in 2023, with Q2 2025 figures at $12.21 billion, up 12% year-over-year, as recurring fees and add-ons like Prime Video stabilize income amid e-commerce volatility. This model prioritizes customer lock-in via network effects, where higher retention correlates with increased spending, though churn risks arise from fee hikes and competing bundles. Emerging services build on these foundations, including the introduction of limited ads on Prime Video in 2024, which generated $433 million in that year and is forecast to reach $806 million in 2025, offering an ad-free upgrade for additional fees. Amazon Live, a livestream platform, integrates real-time video with product promotions to engage viewers directly, enhancing ad efficacy through interactive . Other developments encompass Alexa+ subscriptions for advanced AI voice features and expansions in demand-side platforms for cross-channel targeting, signaling a shift toward diversified, data-driven streams beyond core retail. These initiatives leverage Amazon's ecosystem for incremental growth, though their scalability depends on user adoption and regulatory scrutiny over data practices.

Operational Infrastructure

Logistics and Fulfillment Systems

Amazon's logistics and fulfillment systems encompass a global network of fulfillment centers, sortation facilities, delivery stations, and transportation assets optimized for rapid order processing and distribution. As of April 2025, the company maintains over 1,200 logistics facilities worldwide, enabling the storage and movement of billions of inventory units. These include specialized fulfillment centers where products are received, stored, picked, packed, and shipped, supporting both Amazon's direct sales and third-party sellers. The system's scale allows for same-day or next-day delivery in many urban areas, driven by proximity to population centers and advanced routing algorithms. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) integrates third-party sellers into this infrastructure by permitting them to ship inventory to Amazon's centers, after which Amazon assumes responsibility for , including picking, packing, shipping, returns processing, and . Launched to expand participation, FBA processes billions of units annually, with independent sellers accounting for over 5 billion products moved through the network each year as of 2025. This service leverages Amazon's to offer Prime-eligible two-day shipping, boosting seller visibility and sales volume while charging fees based on storage, fulfillment, and handling costs. Amazon Logistics, the company's proprietary last-mile delivery arm, has evolved from reliance on third-party carriers like UPS and to handling a substantial portion of its shipments via owned and operated fleets. By 2023, Amazon Logistics captured 27% of the U.S. parcel market share, surpassing UPS for the first time in certain metrics and delivering over 3.5 billion packages annually in earlier years, with volumes continuing to grow. The network includes tens of thousands of delivery vans, cargo planes for long-haul freight, and regional hubs for sorting, reducing dependency on external providers and enabling cost efficiencies through . Automation plays a central role in enhancing throughput and safety within fulfillment centers, with Amazon deploying over 200,000 mobile robots as of 2019, a figure that has since expanded significantly. Acquired via the 2012 purchase of Systems, these autonomous vehicles transport shelves to workers, reducing walking distances by up to 75% and accelerating order assembly. Newer systems like Sparrow for item picking and for navigation further automate handling, with projections indicating robots may soon outnumber human workers in warehouses. Emerging technologies include drone delivery under Prime Air, operational in select U.S. locations like since November 2024, capable of transporting packages under 5 pounds in under 60 minutes during favorable conditions. This integration of , AI-driven sorting, and diversified delivery modes underpins the system's resilience and capacity to process peak demands, such as during holiday seasons exceeding 1 billion units monthly.

Supply Chain Optimization

Amazon's supply chain optimization relies on a data-driven fulfillment network design, strategically positioning over 200 fulfillment centers globally to minimize delivery times and costs by proximity to customer demand centers. This approach involves operations research models that analyze historical sales data, population density, and logistics infrastructure to determine optimal facility locations, enabling same-day or next-day delivery for a significant portion of orders in major markets. Inventory management at Amazon incorporates Just-in-Time (JIT) and (VMI) systems to maintain low stock levels while ensuring availability, reducing holding costs and risks through real-time tracking across its network. These techniques are supported by models that adjust replenishment based on velocity, supplier lead times, and seasonal variations, allowing dynamic allocation of inventory to high-demand regions. Demand forecasting employs machine learning algorithms to predict future sales for millions of products, processing vast datasets in seconds to generate estimates up to 40 weeks ahead and inform decisions. Tools like Amazon Forecast integrate external factors such as economic indicators and weather patterns to refine accuracy, minimizing stockouts and overstock by up to 25% in tested scenarios compared to traditional methods. This optimization extends to supplier collaboration, where vendors receive probability-level forecasts to align production schedules, enhancing overall chain responsiveness. Through these strategies, Amazon achieves supply chain efficiencies that support its scale, with reported reductions in delivery times and costs contributing to competitive advantages in as of 2024. The company's Supply Chain Optimization Technologies (SCOT) team applies advanced analytics to tackle and , ensuring amid growing order volumes exceeding billions annually.

Automation, Robotics, and AI in Operations


Amazon's adoption of automation began significantly with its 2012 acquisition of Kiva Systems for $775 million, which provided mobile robots capable of transporting inventory shelves to human workers in fulfillment centers, thereby reducing manual walking time and accelerating order fulfillment. Rebranded as Amazon Robotics, this technology scaled rapidly, with the company deploying over 750,000 robots by mid-2025 and surpassing 1 million units later that year, approaching parity with its human workforce in fulfillment facilities. These autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) navigate dynamically around workers and obstacles, optimizing paths via onboard sensors and central coordination systems to handle picking, sorting, and transport tasks. Advancements include the robot, introduced in 2022 as Amazon's first fully autonomous mobile platform, which tows carts laden with packages to shipping docks without relying on fixed paths or magnetic guides, enhancing flexibility in dynamic warehouse environments. Complementing this, the Sparrow robotic arm, deployed starting in 2022, uses and to identify and grasp individual items from bins, capable of handling approximately 65% of products in Amazon's inventory through suction and dexterous manipulation, thus automating the "holy grail" of unstructured picking previously dominated by human labor. In October 2025, Amazon unveiled the Blue Jay system, an integrated robotics setup that sequentially picks, sorts, and consolidates packages in a single , further streamlining outbound operations. AI integration amplifies these robotic systems, with a generative AI foundation model launched in June 2025 to optimize fleet routing and reduce travel inefficiencies across robot populations. Project Eluna, an agentic AI tool introduced in 2025, assists frontline operations by analyzing for , inventory adjustments, and workflow decisions, while broader AI applications in and have minimized stockouts and excess inventory. These technologies have yielded measurable efficiency gains, including a reported 25% increase in per fulfillment associate and reduced order processing times, enabling Amazon to handle peak demands without proportional labor scaling. Internal projections indicate automation could encompass 75% of physical tasks by late 2020s, driven by the causal imperative of scaling volume amid labor constraints and competitive delivery speeds.

Technological Innovations

Consumer Hardware and Devices

Amazon entered the consumer hardware market with the Kindle e-reader, released on November 19, 2007, which sold out within 5.5 hours at a of $399 despite lacking features like wireless connectivity in early models. The device featured a 6-inch display and was engineered to facilitate e-book purchases directly from Amazon's platform, catalyzing the company's digital reading ecosystem. Subsequent iterations introduced improvements such as wireless downloading and color displays in experimental models, with Kindle devices achieving record sales in the fourth quarter of 2024, up over 30% year-over-year. In 2011, Amazon expanded into tablets with the Kindle Fire, announced in September and released in November, featuring a 7-inch color and running a customized Android-based optimized for and app access via Amazon's store. Positioned as affordable alternatives to iPads, Fire tablets emphasized integration with Prime Video, music, and reading services, with models like the series offering varying screen sizes and storage options. By 2025, Amazon continued releasing updated versions, such as the Fire HD 8, targeting budget-conscious users for entertainment and light productivity. The smart speaker line, powered by the Alexa voice assistant, debuted in November 2014 with initial sales limited to 80,000 invite-only units before broader availability. Designed as cylindrical devices for hands-free control of smart home functions, music playback, and , Echo devices proliferated through variants like the compact Echo Dot, contributing to over half a billion Alexa-enabled devices sold by 2023. In the U.S., Echo holds approximately 65-70% of the market as of 2023. However, the segment has incurred significant losses, with reports indicating billions in cumulative deficits due to low-margin pricing strategies aimed at ecosystem lock-in. Amazon's Fire TV streaming devices launched in April 2014 as set-top boxes and sticks, providing access to Prime Video and third-party apps on televisions. These hardware offerings, including the Fire TV Stick, support and via Alexa, with Amazon reporting over 200 million Fire TV devices in use by 2024. Fire TV captured around 40% of the U.S. streaming device market share by 2025, trailing but ahead of competitors like . In home security, Amazon acquired Ring in February 2018 for approximately $1 billion, integrating its video doorbells and cameras—which connect to for remote monitoring and package detection—into the Alexa ecosystem. Ring hardware, originally developed for subscription-based of footage, has expanded to include floodlights and indoor cams, though it has drawn for practices. An earlier foray, the smartphone released in 2014, failed commercially, prompting a $170 million inventory write-down due to high pricing, limited app ecosystem, and unappealing features like dynamic perspective displays. Production ceased in 2015, underscoring risks in competing against established mobile giants.

AI, Machine Learning, and Software Tools

Amazon has developed extensive AI and capabilities, primarily through its AWS division, offering services that enable customers to build, train, and deploy ML models at scale. AWS provides a suite of tools including , a fully managed platform for machine learning that supports the entire ML lifecycle from data preparation to model deployment. Additional services encompass Amazon Bedrock for accessing foundation models and generative AI applications, and Amazon Q, a generative AI-powered assistant tailored for software developers and business users to enhance coding, querying data, and task automation. These tools leverage AWS infrastructure to handle large-scale computations, with Amazon investing in custom silicon like AWS Trainium chips for efficient model training and AWS Inferentia chips for inference workloads, though development on Inferentia was reportedly paused in late 2024 to prioritize training-focused semiconductors. In consumer applications, Amazon integrates AI via tools like Rufus, a generative AI shopping assistant launched in the Amazon app and website in 2024, which answers product-related queries by drawing on the company's catalog, reviews, and external knowledge to aid purchase decisions. Rufus scaled operations using over 80,000 AWS Inferentia and Trainium chips during high-demand events like Prime Day in 2024, demonstrating Amazon's internal reliance on these technologies for real-time AI inference. Amazon's software tools extend to developer platforms that incorporate AI, such as Amazon Q Developer for code generation and debugging, alongside broader AWS Developer Tools like AWS CodePipeline for pipelines, AWS CDK for , and AWS CodeGuru for AI-driven code reviews and performance optimization. These integrate with ML services to facilitate AI-enhanced , emphasizing cost-effective scaling and security in production environments. Amazon's approach prioritizes proprietary infrastructure to reduce dependency on third-party hardware, enabling competitive pricing for AI workloads amid industry-wide demand surges.

Frontier Technologies and R&D Initiatives

Amazon invests heavily in , allocating over $85 billion annually to technology initiatives as of 2024, with a significant portion directed toward emerging fields like , , and . This includes operations through Amazon Science, which publishes peer-reviewed research in , , and optimization, and Lab126, the company's hardware R&D division responsible for prototyping advanced consumer devices and integrating AI capabilities. These efforts aim to push boundaries in scalable, practical applications rather than purely theoretical advancements, often leveraging AWS infrastructure for experimentation. In , Amazon has established a Frontier AI and team focused on developing robotic foundation models that enable high-level reasoning, environmental understanding, and low-level dexterity for physical automation. In October 2025, the company announced a new Physical AI Research Lab in New York, led by a UCLA , to advance integration of AI with physical systems, marking a shift toward embodied intelligence beyond digital interfaces. Lab126 has also formed an agentic AI group to embed autonomous AI agents into robotic hardware, targeting applications like enhanced efficiency and potential consumer robotics. Complementary to these, Amazon's $1 billion Industrial Innovation Fund, launched in 2022, has invested in AI-driven technologies and custom AI microchips to accelerate deployment of generative AI models. Quantum computing represents another frontier, with AWS Braket providing cloud access to quantum hardware and simulators while supporting internal R&D for fault-tolerant systems. Amazon has deepened involvement through investments in , a quantum hardware developer, as disclosed in its 2025 Form 13F filings, and launched the AWS Quantum Embark program to fund hybrid quantum-classical algorithms for optimization problems in and . These initiatives prioritize error-corrected qubits and practical scalability over speculative breakthroughs, with partnerships like advancing efficient models compatible with quantum processors. Project Kuiper constitutes Amazon's major push into space-based connectivity, deploying over 3,200 low-Earth orbit satellites to deliver to underserved regions, with prototype launches completed by late 2024 and full operations targeted for 2026. The project incorporates measures, including adherence to the European Space Agency's Zero Debris Charter to mitigate orbital congestion, reflecting causal considerations of long-term resource viability. In parallel, R&D in technologies includes funding proposals for lifecycle energy optimization in devices and accurate carbon measurement methodologies, addressing empirical challenges in emissions tracking. Overall, these initiatives demonstrate Amazon's strategy of vertically integrating frontier research to enhance core operations, with projected AI infrastructure spending exceeding $100 billion in 2025.

Acquisitions and Subsidiaries

Strategic Acquisitions

Amazon's strategic acquisitions target complementary technologies, market entries, and content to integrate with its core , , and subscription services, often yielding operational synergies and competitive advantages. These moves prioritize capabilities that enhance , such as faster delivery, personalized recommendations, and expanded entertainment options, while mitigating risks through proven assets rather than organic development alone. In 1998, Amazon acquired for $55 million, gaining a database of over 10 million titles and ratings that supported media product expansions and informed algorithmic recommendations for Prime Video. The acquisition laid foundational data infrastructure for entertainment verticals. The 2009 purchase of for $1.2 billion integrated a brand known for superior customer service and high returns tolerance, bolstering Amazon's apparel and footwear segments while embedding Zappos' culture into broader operations. This move accelerated market share in non-book categories through established logistics and loyalty. To advance warehouse automation, Amazon acquired Kiva Systems in for $775 million, deploying mobile robots that reduced fulfillment times from 60-75 minutes to under 15 minutes per order; by 2024, over 750,000 such robots operated across facilities, driving cost efficiencies and enabling Prime's two-day shipping scale. The 2014 acquisition of Twitch Interactive for $970 million on August 25 positioned Amazon in live gaming streaming, attracting 140 million monthly users and integrating with AWS for scalable infrastructure while offering Twitch Prime perks to Amazon subscribers. Amazon's entry into physical grocery came via the $13.7 billion acquisition of , completed August 28, 2017, which provided 470 stores for testing cashierless technologies like and exclusive Prime discounts, merging online ordering with in-store pickup to capture the $800 billion U.S. grocery market. In 2018, the approximately $1 billion acquisition of Ring expanded Amazon's smart home ecosystem, with doorbells and cameras integrating Alexa for voice-activated security, reaching millions of users and feeding data into AWS-connected devices. The 2021 acquisition of MGM Studios for $8.45 billion, closed in March 2022, added over 4,000 films and 17,000 TV episodes—including franchises like —to Prime Video's library, aiming to reduce churn in the competitive streaming sector by enhancing original and licensed content. More recently, the $3.9 billion acquisition of , completed February 2023, incorporated 200+ clinics and services into Amazon's health offerings, targeting preventive care integration with pharmacy services like to address the $4 trillion U.S. healthcare market. These acquisitions reflect a pattern of acquiring mature entities to shortcut development timelines and leverage existing customer bases for Amazon services.

Portfolio of Key Subsidiaries

Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), a wholly owned , provides , storage, and other infrastructure services to businesses and governments worldwide. Launched in 2006, AWS has become Amazon's most profitable segment, generating over $100 billion in annual revenue by 2024 and accounting for the majority of the parent company's operating income. Whole Foods Market, acquired in August 2017 for $13.7 billion in cash, operates as a focused on organic and natural grocery retail with over 500 stores primarily in the United States. The acquisition integrated physical grocery operations into Amazon's ecosystem, enabling synergies such as Prime member discounts and delivery integrations, though it faced initial challenges with premium pricing perceptions. Twitch Interactive, Inc., purchased in August 2014 for $970 million, functions as a subsidiary specializing in live video streaming, predominantly for gaming content. It hosts millions of broadcasters and viewers daily, contributing to Amazon's media and advertising revenue streams through subscriptions, ads, and virtual goods sales. MGM Holdings, acquired in March 2022 for $8.45 billion following a 2021 announcement, operates as a subsidiary encompassing Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its film and TV library of over 17,000 titles. This bolsters Amazon's content for Prime Video, enhancing subscriber retention via exclusive releases like Rocky and James Bond franchises. Other notable subsidiaries include Audible, Inc., acquired in 2008 for $300 million and focused on audiobooks and podcasts; Ring, purchased in 2018 for approximately $1 billion to advance devices; and Zoox, Inc., acquired in 2020 for $1.2 billion to develop autonomous vehicle technology. These entities expand Amazon's reach into , smart home hardware, and mobility, respectively, with varying degrees of integration into core and AWS platforms.

Financial Performance

Revenue Streams and Growth Metrics

Amazon's revenue is generated through multiple interconnected streams, with retail sales—encompassing both first-party product sales via online stores and commissions from third-party sellers—forming the largest category. In 2024, online store sales reached $247.0 billion, representing approximately 38.7% of , while third-party seller services, which include referral fees, fulfillment fees, and other commissions, contributed $156.2 billion. Physical store sales, primarily from and outlets, added $21.2 billion, or 3.3% of the total. Subscription services, dominated by Amazon Prime memberships that bundle shipping, video streaming, and other perks, generated $44.4 billion in 2024, reflecting sustained demand for bundled consumer benefits. Advertising services, leveraging Amazon's vast user data and platform traffic for targeted ads across retail, streaming, and devices, accounted for $56.2 billion. The Amazon Web Services (AWS) segment, providing cloud infrastructure, storage, computing, and services to enterprises, delivered $107.6 billion, underscoring its role as a high-margin diversifier from retail volatility. Other minor streams, including content licensing and device sales like and Kindle, contributed $5.4 billion. Total net sales for 2024 amounted to $638 billion, a 11% year-over-year increase from $575 billion in 2023, driven by expansion, AWS capacity utilization amid AI demand, and growth amid digital ad market recovery. Geographically, generated $387 billion (up 10%), International sales reached $143 billion (up 9%), and AWS spanned global operations. In the second quarter of 2025, quarterly net sales accelerated to $167.7 billion, a 13% rise from $148.0 billion in Q2 2024, with AWS sales increasing 17.5% to $30.9 billion, signaling continued momentum into 2025 despite macroeconomic pressures like and costs.
Fiscal YearTotal Revenue (in billions USD)Year-over-Year Growth (%)
2020386.138
2021469.822
2022513.989
2023574.812
2024638.011
This table illustrates Amazon's revenue trajectory, with compound annual growth exceeding 13% from 2020 to 2024, fueled by scale economies in and cloud infrastructure, though recent rates reflect maturation in core retail amid competitive pressures. AWS has consistently outpaced overall growth, with 19% expansion in 2024, attributable to enterprise migration to cloud and emerging AI workloads.

Profitability, Investments, and Capital Allocation

Amazon's profitability has markedly improved in recent years, driven primarily by its (AWS) segment, which generates high operating margins compared to the lower-margin operations. In 2024, the company reported of $59.2 billion, a 95% increase from $30.4 billion in 2023, with operating income rising to $68.6 billion (10.8% margin) from $36.9 billion (6.4% margin). AWS contributed significantly, with 2024 of $107.6 billion (19% year-over-year growth) and operating income forming over half of Amazon's total in recent quarters, such as $10.2 billion out of $19.2 billion in Q2 2025 (53% share). In Q1 2025, reached $17.1 billion, reflecting continued AWS momentum amid stabilization.
YearNet Income ($B)Operating Income ($B)Operating Margin (%)
202330.436.96.4
202459.268.610.8
Investments emphasize long-term capacity expansion, particularly in and . Capital expenditures totaled approximately $77.7 billion in 2024, up from $48.1 billion in 2023, focused on fulfillment centers, centers, and AI capabilities. Amazon plans to exceed $100 billion in capex for 2025, primarily for AI-driven like Trainium chips and AWS services, amid competitive pressures in . expenses reached $88.5 billion in 2024, a 3.4% increase from 2023, supporting innovations in and logistics automation. These outlays reflect a prioritizing growth over short-term margins, with AWS investments yielding higher returns due to scalable economics. Capital allocation favors reinvestment into core operations over direct shareholder returns, eschewing dividends in favor of expansion and selective buybacks. Amazon has historically avoided dividends to fund high-return opportunities like AWS infrastructure, which has driven disproportionate profit growth relative to retail segments. The company pursues tuck-in acquisitions to bolster capabilities, such as in AI and , while share repurchases occur opportunistically but secondary to capex. This approach, yielding surges (e.g., projected near-doubling to over $60 billion in 2024), aligns with a model where reinvested capital enhances network effects in and cloud services, though it draws scrutiny for potentially diluting immediate returns amid rising AI spending.

Economic and Market Impact

Workforce and Job Dynamics

Amazon employed 1,556,000 full-time and part-time workers worldwide as of December 2024, marking a 2.03% increase from 1,525,000 in 2023. This workforce spans fulfillment centers, corporate offices, delivery operations, and AWS divisions, with the majority in customer fulfillment roles. Historically, Amazon has generated substantial growth, creating over 1 million jobs globally in the five years prior to 2024 and claiming to have added more U.S. jobs than any other company in the preceding decade. However, recent internal projections indicate could displace up to 600,000 positions by 2027, potentially averting the need for 160,000 additional U.S. hires. Fulfillment center operations feature high employee turnover, estimated at 150% annually for hourly workers, exceeding twice the retail industry average of around 65%. This rate, which equates to replacing the entire frontline workforce more than once per year, incurs approximately $8 billion in annual replacement costs for Amazon. Factors contributing to turnover include demanding quotas and physical demands, though the company attributes retention challenges partly to a competitive labor market. Average hourly wages in U.S. fulfillment roles exceed $22, with total compensation including benefits surpassing $29 per hour as of 2025; starting pay often begins around $18-20 per hour. Workplace safety metrics reveal injury rates in Amazon warehouses above the warehousing sector average, with 6.6 serious injuries per 100 workers in 2022 compared to the industry rate of about 5 per 100. OSHA data and investigations have cited risks of s, leading to citations at multiple facilities for ergonomic hazards. Amazon reports year-over-year improvements, including a 32% reduction in musculoskeletal disorder rates over five years ending 2024, and maintains that its overall recordable incident rate of 6.5 per 100 employees aligns with large warehouses. Unionization drives among warehouse employees have consistently failed, with workers at a facility voting overwhelmingly against representation in February 2025. Similar outcomes occurred in prior elections, amid Amazon's expenditure of nearly $13 million on anti-union consultants in 2024. The company argues unions reduce operational flexibility, as stated in its 2024 , while facing NLRB complaints over alleged unfair practices; private-sector union membership remains below 6%. Amazon invests in upskilling, committing $2.5 billion to train 50 million people, including employees, for evolving roles.

Supplier Ecosystems and Economic Multipliers

Amazon's supplier encompasses a vast network of third-party sellers, private-label manufacturers, and upstream providers in , , and services, enabling its dominance. Third-party sellers, primarily small and medium-sized businesses, account for over 60% of units sold in Amazon's online stores as of 2023, with their sales surpassing first-party offerings. These sellers, numbering around 9.7 million globally with approximately 2 million active as of early 2025, generated significant economic activity, employing 1.8 million people in the United States alone in 2023. Additionally, Amazon's private-label brands rely on nearly 1,500 disclosed suppliers as of 2019, many of whom derive substantial revenue—over 10% for at least 21 public companies—from Amazon sales. This ecosystem extends to manufacturing and operational suppliers bound by Amazon's Supply Chain Standards and Supplier Code of Conduct, which mandate compliance with labor, environmental, and anti-corruption laws exceeding local requirements in some cases. Suppliers must adhere to principles prohibiting child labor, ensuring fair wages, and maintaining safe working conditions, with Amazon conducting audits to enforce these. The network's scale amplifies through partnerships in and , where suppliers procure materials and labor to fulfill Amazon's demands, creating dependencies that influence pricing and inventory strategies. Economically, Amazon's supplier interactions generate multipliers via indirect spending and . According to Amazon's 2024 U.S. , every $1 of company yields an additional $1.20 in broader economic activity, contributing over $1 to U.S. GDP since 2010 through supplier chains and seller ecosystems. This supports nearly 5 million total U.S. jobs in 2023, including over 2 million indirect roles in , retail, and supplier operations. Empirical studies on Amazon facility openings corroborate local multipliers, estimating a job creation effect of about 1.9—wherein each direct position spurs roughly 0.9 additional jobs through supplier expansion and employee spending—evidenced by 0.7-1.0 percentage point rises in employment-to-population ratios post-entry. These effects stem from causal links like increased local and demand, though they vary by region and are net of any displacement in competing sectors. Globally, third-party seller activity and supplier ripple effects bolster tax contributions, totaling $93 billion in 2023, underscoring the ecosystem's role in fiscal multipliers.

Consumer Benefits and Competitive Dynamics

Amazon provides consumers with access to an extensive product selection exceeding 350 million items from over two million active sellers worldwide, enabling one-stop shopping across categories from to . This breadth, combined with algorithmic recommendations and customer reviews, facilitates informed purchasing decisions, reducing search costs and compared to traditional retail. Empirical analyses indicate that Amazon's platform enhances consumer surplus through these features, with studies attributing benefits to the "Amazon effect" of heightened expectations for variety and . Pricing dynamics favor consumers due to Amazon's scale and competitive matching policies, where the company systematically compares and adjusts prices against physical and online rivals to maintain low everyday costs. Research on specific categories, such as toys, confirms Amazon consistently offers lower prices than brick-and-mortar competitors like Toys"R"Us, with margins reflecting efficiency rather than monopoly rents. membership amplifies these advantages, providing free two-day shipping on eligible items, which empirical data shows increases member spending to approximately $1,170 annually versus $570 for non-members, while delivering net value estimated at over $1,000 per year when factoring in bundled services like video streaming and exclusive deals. As of September 2025, Prime boasts 200 million U.S. members, representing about 58% of households and driving loyalty through tangible perks like ultrafast delivery options. In competitive dynamics, Amazon's dominance—holding 37.6% of the U.S. e-commerce market in 2024, projected to exceed 40% by year-end—intensifies rivalry across retail channels, compelling incumbents like Walmart to invest in online capabilities and logistics to match speed and pricing. This pressure has empirically lowered overall retail prices, as online competition heightens sensitivity to factors like exchange rates and demand fluctuations, narrowing gaps between online and offline pricing. Amazon's third-party marketplace model further bolsters dynamics by enabling small sellers to reach global audiences at low entry barriers, fostering price discovery and innovation without vertical integration squeezing suppliers in consumer-facing ways. While critics allege predatory tactics, causal evidence from market entry effects points to net consumer gains via reduced markups and accelerated adoption of efficient supply chains by rivals. These forces have transformed retail into a lower-cost ecosystem, where Amazon's investments in fulfillment infrastructure—spanning automated warehouses and delivery networks—scale efficiencies that diffuse broadly, benefiting shoppers through sustained competitive tension rather than complacency.

Antitrust Scrutiny and Monopoly Claims

Amazon has encountered substantial antitrust investigations primarily from the U.S. and the , centered on claims that it maintains monopoly power in online retail through practices such as suppressing seller discounts, self-preferencing its private-label products, and leveraging its marketplace data to disadvantage competitors. These allegations posit that Amazon controls an "online superstores" market with approximately 82% share when narrowly defined to include only platforms like itself, , and .com, though broader definitions encompassing all retail channels yield a U.S. share of about 37.6-38% as of 2024-2025. The FTC, alongside 17 state attorneys general, filed suit against Amazon on September 26, 2023, accusing it of violating Section 5 of the FTC Act and Section 2 of the Sherman Act by engaging in anticompetitive conduct that harms consumers and sellers, including an alleged policy to penalize third-party sellers offering lower prices on other platforms. Amazon countered that such practices foster innovation and low prices, with its retail operations historically operating at slim margins—often below 3%—indicative of competitive pressures rather than monopoly rents, and that rivals like Walmart's omnichannel model and emerging players such as Temu erode any purported dominance. In October 2024, a federal judge in Washington denied Amazon's motion to dismiss in part, allowing monopoly maintenance claims to proceed while dismissing certain tying allegations related to Prime Video, though the case remains ongoing as of October 2025 with discovery advancing. Separate private class actions, such as De Coster et al. v. Amazon, echo these claims and have survived initial challenges, focusing on alleged overcharges to consumers due to suppressed competition. In cloud computing, scrutiny targets Amazon Web Services (AWS), which held a 31% global in early 2024, with regulators alleging bundling and exclusionary tactics that stifle rivals like . Economic analyses dispute monopoly status, noting AWS's growth amid intensifying and the absence of sustained supra-competitive , as cloud providers continually innovate to capture share. The UK's has probed AWS for potential anti-competitive contracts, but no formal monopoly finding has emerged. European regulators designated Amazon a "gatekeeper" under the Digital Markets Act in September 2023, subjecting it to ex-ante rules against self-preferencing and data misuse. The European Commission investigated Amazon's use of non-public seller data to advantage its own products, leading to binding commitments in 2022 that prohibit such practices and ensure equal access to key features like the Buy Box and Prime label, averting a formal infringement decision. As of late 2024, a potential follow-up probe into favoritism of Amazon's brands was anticipated for 2025, while Germany's Federal Cartel Office issued a preliminary assessment in June 2025 finding possible violations via automated price-monitoring tools that enforce most-favored-nation clauses. No EU court has upheld a monopoly determination against Amazon, with prior fines—such as a 2021 €1.13 billion penalty for intra-group data sharing—facing annulment risks on appeal. Overall, while regulators cite structural advantages like network effects and scale economies as erecting barriers, defenders argue Amazon's position stems from superior efficiency and consumer benefits, such as vast selection and rapid delivery, without evidence of output restriction or price inflation typical of monopolies; U.S. courts have historically required proof of under the consumer welfare standard, which FTC claims have yet to conclusively demonstrate. A separate FTC enforcement action in September 2025 resulted in a $2.5 billion settlement over deceptive Prime enrollment practices, but this addressed rather than antitrust violations. As of October 2025, no or structural remedies have been imposed, with cases testing evolving theories of in digital markets.

Labor Practices and Employment Litigation

Amazon employs over 1.5 million fulfillment and transportation workers in the United States as of 2024, with average hourly wages for these roles reaching approximately $22.75 following annual adjustments, including a 2025 increase of up to $1.50 per hour for some positions. The company provides benefits such as eligibility from day one, , and stock grants, which it states exceed industry norms for entry-level retail and jobs. However, empirical analyses indicate that wages in Amazon-dominated counties lag behind comparable non-Amazon warehouse roles by about 18%, or $822 monthly, potentially reflecting competitive pressures from Amazon's scale and investments. Worker turnover in Amazon's U.S. fulfillment centers averages 150% annually for hourly staff, roughly double the retail and warehousing industry benchmark of 70-80%, contributing to costs estimated in the billions and linking to factors like quota-driven demands. Safety records show elevated injury rates, with total recordable incidents at 5.2 per 100 workers in 2023—80% above Amazon's internal 2025 target of 2.9—and serious injuries (requiring days away) at 6.8 per 100, twice the 3.3 rate for other large warehouses. Musculoskeletal disorders account for 57% of cases, attributed by regulators to ergonomic hazards from repetitive tasks and pace pressures, despite Amazon's reported 32% improvement in such incidents over five years through and training. Unionization drives have largely faltered, with workers at facilities in (2022), New York, and (February 2025) rejecting representation by margins exceeding 2-to-1, amid allegations of employer interference like mandatory meetings and surveillance, though Amazon maintains these reflect voluntary choices and offers direct negotiation channels. The sole U.S. warehouse unionized under the independent in (April 2022) remains unrecognized by Amazon, which contests the election via the , while a Quebec facility closure in 2025 eliminated 1,700 jobs shortly after organizing activity, prompting claims of retaliation denied by the company. Employment litigation has centered on safety and , with the U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA issuing citations at six warehouses in 2023 for exposing workers to heightened musculoskeletal risks, leading to a December 2024 settlement requiring Amazon to enhance hazard assessments, train staff on , and pay $145,000 in penalties—over 90% of the initial assessment—without admitting fault. Broader suits, including class actions over unpaid breaks and quotas, have yielded mixed outcomes, such as a 2023 California settlement for overtime claims, but federal probes into discrimination and retaliation continue, with critics from labor advocacy groups highlighting systemic underreporting of injuries to meet quotas, countered by Amazon's data transparency commitments to OSHA. These disputes underscore tensions between operational efficiency—yielding low consumer prices—and worker protections, with causal links from high-velocity systems to injuries supported by internal metrics showing peak rates during prime periods like holidays.

Taxation, Lobbying, and Policy Engagements

Amazon has utilized various legal tax strategies, including substantial credits, on capital investments, and stock-based compensation deductions, resulting in effective federal rates below the statutory 21% corporate rate in recent years. In 2021, the company's effective federal rate was 6% on $35 billion in U.S. pretax income, leading to an avoidance of approximately $5.2 billion in federal taxes through these mechanisms. By 2023, the effective rate rose to 18.96%, with Amazon reporting $7.12 billion in total income tax provision, reflecting increased profitability and reduced losses from prior investments. In 2024, the rate declined to 13.5%, with taxes provisioned at $9.265 billion, amid ongoing expansions in AWS and logistics infrastructure that generate deductible expenses. Critics, including left-leaning think tanks like the Institute on Taxation and , have highlighted these low rates as aggressive avoidance, though such strategies align with U.S. code incentives designed to encourage and growth; Amazon has countered that its overall tax contributions, including , , and taxes, exceed $10 billion annually in recent years when aggregated beyond federal income taxes alone. Historically, Amazon paid no federal income taxes in 2017 and due to net operating losses carried forward from heavy investments, but recorded a $162 million liability in as profits stabilized. These practices have drawn scrutiny for contributing to revenue shortfalls in states reliant on sales es, prompting "Amazon " legislation in places like to mandate collection on remote sales prior to the decision, which broadly required economic for out-of-state sellers. Post-Wayfair, Amazon collects and remits sales taxes nationwide, mitigating prior advantages, though debates persist over international profit shifting via European subsidiaries, where effective rates have been reported as low as 12% from 2010- by groups. Empirical assessments indicate that while effective rates remain below peers in mature industries, Amazon's scale amplifies absolute payments, supporting infrastructure that generates broader economic activity. Amazon's lobbying expenditures have escalated with its market dominance, reaching $17.85 million in 2023 and $19.14 million in 2024, primarily targeting federal issues like technology regulation, , and taxation. These efforts involve over 100 lobbyists and firms, focusing on preserving deductions for R&D and opposing hikes in corporate rates, as seen in advocacy around the 2017 , which reduced the top rate and enabled executive savings estimated at $6.6 million for CEO Andrew Jassy through lower marginal taxes. also addresses antitrust reforms, with Amazon engaging to counter proposals that could mandate or platform decoupling, arguing such measures would harm innovation without of consumer harm. In policy engagements, Amazon has actively responded to antitrust scrutiny, including the FTC's 2023 lawsuit alleging monopolistic practices in and marketplaces; the company asserted that remedies like algorithmic restrictions would elevate consumer prices and delay deliveries, citing internal data showing competitive pricing dynamics. On taxation, engagements include support for incentives and opposition to global minimum taxes under frameworks, which could increase liabilities on foreign earnings. These positions reflect causal priorities of sustaining low-cost operations amid regulatory pressures, with lobbying disclosures indicating influence on bills related to digital services taxes and policies, though outcomes depend on broader congressional dynamics uninfluenced by single actors.

Controversies and Empirical Assessments

Environmental Footprint and Sustainability Efforts

Amazon's operations generate substantial , primarily from its global logistics network, , and . In 2024, the company's total carbon emissions reached 68.25 million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent, marking a 6% increase from 64.38 million metric tons in 2023 and the first annual rise in three years. This uptick was attributed to expanded construction for workloads and higher fuel use by delivery providers. Despite the absolute growth, Amazon reported a 4% reduction in carbon intensity—emissions per dollar of sales—reflecting efficiency gains amid business expansion. Critics have questioned the completeness of Amazon's emissions accounting, particularly Scope 3 emissions from suppliers and product use, with independent analyses suggesting undercounting relative to peers like . A 2025 class-action accused the company of greenwashing by overstating progress in marketing, including claims about climate-neutral deliveries. Employee surveys in 2024 highlighted internal concerns over the environmental impacts of AI-driven growth and perceived gaps in climate leadership. Such critiques align with broader observations that rapid scaling in and inherently drives higher absolute emissions, even as per-unit efficiencies improve. Amazon has pursued sustainability through the 2019 Climate Pledge, committing to net-zero carbon by 2040, ahead of the Paris Agreement's 2050 timeline. Key achievements include matching 100% of consumed electricity with renewable sources in 2024—for the second consecutive year and seven years ahead of an initial 2030 target—via over 500 wind and solar projects globally. The company deployed recyclable paper fillers in place of plastic air pillows across packaging by end-2024, yielding a 16.4% reduction in material volume for affected shipments. In transportation, Amazon advanced electric vehicle adoption, meeting a goal of 10,000 EVs in India by 2025 and integrating custom Rivian vans into its U.S. fleet. These initiatives, while reducing operational footprints in targeted areas, face scrutiny for not offsetting overall emission growth from business volume.

Corporate Culture, DEI Policies, and Internal Governance

Amazon's corporate culture is defined by its 16 Leadership Principles, which emphasize customer obsession, ownership, bias for action, and frugality, guiding decision-making, hiring, and performance evaluations across the organization. These principles, originally developed under founder , promote a "Day 1" mentality of innovation and urgency, with practices such as working backwards from needs and encouraging employees to "" to foster rapid execution. However, the culture has been characterized by intense performance demands, including historical use of stack ranking systems that pitted employees against each other, contributing to a high-pressure environment focused on metrics over collaboration. Empirical data highlights elevated employee turnover as a hallmark of this culture, with leaked internal documents from 2022 revealing an annual rate of 150% in fulfillment centers—double the industry average—and costing the company billions in recruitment and training. Surveys indicate persistent dissatisfaction, such as a 2024 poll of over 2,500 Amazon professionals where 91% opposed the CEO's five-day return-to-office mandate, correlating with broader concerns over work-life balance and burnout. While Amazon attributes high turnover to competitive labor markets and growth, critics, including employee reports and academic analyses, link it to relentless quotas, surveillance via productivity tracking, and limited upward mobility, though the company maintains these practices drive efficiency and innovation. Regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, Amazon historically invested in programs aimed at increasing representation, including employee resource groups (ERGs), training initiatives, and supplier diversity goals, as outlined in prior annual reports committing to inclusive hiring and technology for equitable experiences. However, facing legal challenges, shareholder pressure, and shifting political climates, the company scaled back these efforts starting in late 2024; an internal memo announced the wind-down of certain DEI programs by year-end, including elimination of explicit hiring quotas and dissolution of specialized roles. Amazon's 2024 annual report, filed in February 2025, omitted previous DEI references, redirecting focus to "proven outcomes" in talent development amid broader tech sector retreats from such initiatives. This pivot followed conservative backlash and Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action, with Amazon citing adaptability to evolving regulations over ideological commitments. Internal governance at Amazon centers on a board of directors with a majority of independent members, overseeing strategy through committees on audit, compensation, and corporate governance, while the senior leadership team (S-team) handles day-to-day operations under CEO Andy Jassy. Shareholders rejected a May 2025 proposal to mandatorily separate the CEO and board chair roles—previously split under Bezos but recombined— with 82% voting against, affirming trust in consolidated executive authority for agility. Governance has faced scrutiny over executive compensation, with 32% of shareholders opposing the 2023 pay package due to perceived misalignment with performance metrics, and repeated rejections of proposals on worker rights and transparency. Notable issues include 2021 revelations of internal data mishandling, such as employee voyeurism into customer accounts and retaliation against security whistleblowers, prompting policy reviews but limited public accountability. These incidents underscore tensions between operational secrecy and oversight, with Amazon emphasizing internal controls while critics highlight insufficient board intervention.

Ethical Business Practices and Third-Party Issues

Amazon's , which facilitates sales by over two million third-party sellers accounting for more than 60% of its platform's , has been criticized for enabling the proliferation of and substandard products, leading to harm including allergic reactions and . Lawsuits, such as those involving fake Stanley tumblers marketed as authentic in 2024 and detected in 2025 testing that contained carcinogenic ingredients, highlight systemic failures in vetting sellers despite Amazon's policies. Amazon has pursued legal actions, including winning cases against over 75 fake review websites in 2025 and joint lawsuits with brands like Canon against counterfeiters, yet empirical data shows persistent issues, with U.S. law firms filing hundreds of suits against Chinese sellers annually. Third-party seller practices often involve deceptive tactics like inventory, where authentic from one seller are substituted with counterfeits from another, misleading consumers about product origin and quality. Fake reviews exacerbate this, with brokers inadvertently exposing on over 10 million manipulated ratings as early as 2021, undermining trust in product legitimacy. Amazon's and AI-driven tools have blocked millions of counterfeit listings, but critics argue the platform's scale—millions of unvetted sellers—prioritizes volume over rigorous oversight, fostering a "chaotic bazaar" environment. Amazon's internal policies toward third-party sellers have drawn ethical scrutiny for allegedly favoring its own private-label products and extracting high fees, which reached 15% or more on by 2025, passed onto consumers via inflated prices. A 2025 class-action certified nationwide claims Amazon violates antitrust laws by restricting sellers from offering lower prices elsewhere, effectively maintaining monopoly power and degrading . In the UK, a 2025 advanced a £2.7 billion claim alleging Amazon's abuse of dominance forced sellers to pay excessive fees and lost due to preferential treatment of first-party listings. While Amazon contends these practices enhance efficiency and seller revenues—third-party grew despite —empirical analyses indicate private labels suppress third-party , reducing overall benefits. Broader ethical concerns include Amazon's consumer-facing practices, such as deceptive enrollment in Prime subscriptions, resulting in a $2.5 billion FTC settlement on September 25, 2025, comprising a record $1 billion for Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act violations and $1.5 billion in refunds for millions affected by "dark patterns" that hindered cancellations. This reflects a pattern where platform incentives prioritize retention over transparency, though Amazon maintains compliance with evolving regulations. Legislative responses like the 2023 INFORM Consumers Act aim to mandate better seller verification to curb , underscoring ongoing tensions between Amazon's model and ethical .

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