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PART I
Item 1. Business
This Annual Report on Form 10-K and the documents incorporated herein by reference contain forward-
looking statements based on expectations, estimates and projections as of the date of this filing. Actual results
may differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. See ‘‘Management’s Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Forward-Looking Statements.’’
General
Amazon.com, Inc. commenced operations on the World Wide Web in July 1995. We seek to be the
world’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they may want to buy
online. We list millions of unique items in categories such as books, music, DVDs, videos, consumer
electronics, toys, camera and photo items, software, computer and video games, tools and hardware, lawn and
patio items, kitchen products, and wireless products. Through our Amazon Marketplace, Auctions and zShops
services, any business or individual can sell virtually anything to our approximately 30 million cumulative
customers, and with Amazon.com Payments, sellers can accept credit card transactions. In addition to our
U.S.-based Web site, www.amazon.com, we operate four internationally-focused Web sites: www.amazon.co.uk,
www.amazon.de,www.amazon.fr and www.amazon.co.jp. We also operate the Internet Movie Database
(www.imdb.com), a comprehensive and authoritative source of information on movies and entertainment titles,
and cast and crew members.
Amazon.com is principally organized into three operating segments. The U.S. Books, Music and
DVD/video segment consists of our U.S. online stores for books, music and DVDs/videos, as well as
commissions earned on the sales of these products through Amazon Marketplace, Auctions and zShops. The
Early-Stage Businesses and Other segment consists of our U.S. online stores for all other products, as well as
commissions earned on sales of these products through Amazon Marketplace, Auctions and zShops, and all
other activities that generate service revenue rather than retail revenue, such as strategic partnerships which
often involve co-branded Web sites. The International segment consists of operations associated with our
internationally-focused Web sites. See Note 15 of ‘‘Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements’’ included in
Item 8 of Part II for additional information regarding our segments.
Amazon.com was incorporated in 1994 in the state of Washington and reincorporated in 1996 in the state
of Delaware. Our principal corporate offices are located in Seattle, Washington. Amazon.com completed its
initial public offering in May 1997, and its common stock is listed on the Nasdaq National Market under the
symbol ‘‘AMZN.’’
As used herein, ‘‘Amazon.com’’ includes Amazon.com, Inc. and its subsidiaries, unless the context
indicates otherwise.
Business Strategy
Amazon.com seeks to be the world’s most customer-centric company where customers can find and
discover anything they may want to buy online. We intend to continue to optimize our Internet platform to
expand the range of products and services offered to our customers and partners. This platform consists of
strong global brand recognition, a large and growing customer base, innovative technology, extensive and
sophisticated fulfillment capabilities (consisting of fulfillment and customer service) and significant e-commerce
expertise. We believe that this platform allows us to launch new e-commerce businesses quickly, with a high
quality of customer experience, economical incremental cost and good prospects for success. We also believe
that this platform’s flexibility allows us to expand the range of products and services offered to our customers
through relationships with strategic partners on terms that are attractive to our customers, our strategic partners
and us.
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