What does Amazon do?
Amazon runs the world’s largest online store, the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud business, a fast-growing advertising arm and the Prime video and music services. Jeff Bezos founded it in July 1994 in a garage in Bellevue, Washington, as an online bookshop 3. It is based in Seattle.
How does Amazon make money?
Most of Amazon’s sales come from its own online store and the fees it charges third-party sellers, but most of its profit comes from AWS, which rents computing power and AI services to companies. Subscriptions such as Prime and advertising on its sites add to both. In 2024 Amazon reported revenue of $638 billion 3.
Who runs and owns Amazon?
Andy Jassy, who built AWS, has been chief executive since July 2021, when Bezos became executive chairman. After his 2019 divorce, Bezos owns about 8% of the company, and he has sold more than $49 billion of Amazon stock since its 1997 IPO 1. His former wife MacKenzie Scott is also a major shareholder.
How much is Amazon worth?
Amazon has been listed on Nasdaq since May 1997 under the ticker AMZN. At about $246 a share it was worth roughly $2.66 trillion in early November 2026, the fifth most valuable company in the world 2. Its shares fell about 4% in October 2026 1.
A short history
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 as an online bookshop. It added Prime (2005), AWS (2006), Kindle (2007) and Echo (2014), bought Whole Foods in 2017 and became one of the most valuable companies in the world 4.
