aAbout 1 week In 2010, Amazon joined an exclusive club: its market capitalization exceeds $2 trillion, putting it alongside four other companies: Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia. Launched as an online bookstore in Seattle on July 5, 1994, Amazon has been incredibly successful in the three decades since. Its network of warehouses and vans delivers more packages each year than either FedEx or Amazon. UPSThe company sells $850 billion worth of goods worldwide. Its pioneering cloud computing business serves millions of customers and generates $100 billion in annual revenue. Outside of its core business, the company is also investing in delivery drones, satellite networks and self-driving cars.
This success is the result of the company's relentless focus on the customer and its willingness to experiment. Activists may complain that the company is killing brick-and-mortar stores. But shoppers rejoice in bags full of smiling faces. Amazon regularly tops customer satisfaction surveys. To please shoppers, the company eagerly reinvests profits back into its business. No company spent more money on research and development and capital expenditures last year than Amazon. Many companies claim to be customer-first, but for Amazon, that claim rings true.
What's in store for the company as it turns 40? In recent years, Apple and Microsoft have joined even rarer clubs: both are valued at more than $3 trillion. Whether Amazon can catch up will depend on how well it navigates three tricky areas: a slowdown in e-commerce, artificial intelligence (AI) and the growing threat of cyberattacks.artificial intelligence); and an onslaught from antitrust regulators.