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Amazon

Public company · NASDAQ: AMZNamazon.comSEC verified

Facts on this card come from SEC filings unless they're marked otherwise.

In one line

“They’re basically the world's biggest online store that also rents computers to companies.”

Amazon sells almost everything online—clothes, books, electronics, you name it—and delivers it to your door. They also have Prime, a membership that gives you fast shipping and movies. On the side, they run AWS, which is like renting out computing power to businesses and developers who need to run their apps and store data. Think of it like owning a huge storage unit that you rent out by the hour to companies instead of people.

How they make money

revenue, fiscal year ended Dec 2025
Total revenue$717B
Main wayRetail sales and commissions

Amazon sells products directly to consumers through its online store and physical locations, and earns a percentage of sales and per-unit fees from third-party sellers who use Amazon's marketplace and fulfillment services.

Also makes money from
  • AWS cloud servicesAmazon Web Services provides on-demand computing, storage, databases, and AI services to developers, startups, and enterprises, charging based on usage.
  • Amazon Prime membershipConsumers pay annual or monthly subscription fees for Prime, which includes fast shipping, video streaming, and other benefits.Stated
  • Advertising servicesAmazon sells ad space to sellers, vendors, and publishers who want to reach customers shopping on Amazon.

What it looks like

Captured when this card was made
Screenshot of homepage
Homepage open

Follow the incentives

Best guess
Who pays

Consumers buy stuff and pay for Prime memberships; businesses pay for AWS services; advertisers pay to reach shoppers.

Who uses it

Hundreds of millions of consumers shop on Amazon; millions of businesses and developers use AWS; third-party sellers use Amazon's marketplace to reach customers.

So they want

Make shopping as easy and fast as possible while growing AWS by serving more businesses with cloud services.

Competes withWalmarteBayAlibabaMicrosoft Azure

Say it at dinner

“Amazon makes money by selling you stuff online and renting computers to businesses.”

Receipts

Updated
What the labels mean
Verified
From a government filing, like an SEC annual report
Stated
The company says it on its own website
Best guess
Our reading of the sources when nothing says it outright
Background
From Wikipedia, for history only, never numbers

Written by AI from public sources. It can be wrong, and it isn't financial advice. Terms

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