Amazon Statistics (2023)

Amazon is one of the most recognisable brands in the world, responsible for $386 billion revenue in 2020. It was the fourth tech company to reach a $1 trillion market cap, and is quickly on its way to $2 trillion. 

Originally launched as an online bookstore in 1995, Amazon spent its first few years as a brokerage for other sellers, similar to eBay. However, founder Jeff Bezos always envisioned it would be an “everything store” and quickly added other items to the e-commerce platform.

By the start of the 2000s, Amazon already had its own distribution hubs, although it wouldn’t be until later on in the decade when it started its own delivery services. 

– Advertisement –

Amazon Web Services (AWS) was also launched at the start of the 2000s, originally built to help third-party retailers build websites quickly. It has since become the largest cloud computing business in the world, with over 30 percent market share. 

As Amazon’s e-commerce platform continued to grow, Amazon looked for new ways to generate revenue. It launched the Kindle, an e-reader, in 2007, as the primary hardware for its Kindle e-book store. It also launched tablets and connected TV devices, under the Fire brand. 

Not all of Amazon’s hardware has been successful, in 2014, it launched the Fire Phone, which had a clunky 3D screen. Like the HTC First (Facebook Phone), it failed to capture an audience in the US or abroad and was cancelled soon after. 

To get customers locked in to the platform, Amazon created Prime in 2005. The service provided subscribers with free delivery on most items, and Amazon has added video and music streaming, alongside other services. 

As of 2021, Amazon has over 200 million Prime subscribers. 147 million are based in the US. Amazon Prime Video counted more than 175 million unique viewers in 2021, and Amazon recently acquired MGM Studios for $8.4 billion, adding more exclusive movies to the platform. 

In 2014, Amazon also acquired Twitch.TV for $970 million, a live streaming service primarily dedicated to games. In 2017, it made its largest acquisition to date, paying $17.4 billion for Whole Foods. 

Next year, Amazon launched Go, a small chain of stores which use cameras and sensors instead of cashiers. Amazon has launched eight stores so far in the US, but has failed to interest any third-party retailers. 

Amazon is one of the largest competitors in the Internet of Things market, with the Amazon Echo as the hub and Alexa as the personal assistant. It acquired Ring doorbell for $1 billion in 2018 and has since launched other types of Echo devices. 

While Amazon still makes a majority of its revenue from its e-commerce platform, it has seen huge increases in revenue from AWS and subscriptions in the past year. The coronavirus pandemic provided Amazon with a boost in sales across the board, which can be seen in the almost doubling of Amazon’s stock price since March 2020. 

We have collected data and statistics on Amazon. Read on below to find out more.

Amazon key statistics

• Amazon generated $470 billion revenue in 2021, making it the third largest company in the world by revenue
• Amazon Web Services was responsible for 13% of that revenue
• Amazon earned $33.3 billion net income in 2021, around half of which came from AWS
• Over 200 million customers subscribe to Amazon Prime worldwide, with 147 million in the US alone
• Amazon Prime Video had 175 million users in 2021, while Prime Music reached 68 million in 2021

Amazon overview

Amazon revenue

Amazon is the third largest public company by revenue in the world, behind Walmart and China’s State Grid. It saw a 37.6% increase in revenue in 2020, its largest percentage gain since 2011, partly due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Amazon quarterly revenue 2005 to 2022 ($bn)

Amazon annual revenue 2005 to 2021 ($bn)

Source: Company data

Amazon revenue breakdown

Amazon breaks out revenue by segment and region. Even though the majority of revenue comes from e-commerce, Amazon is a first-party and third-party reseller, alongside providing subscription services and owning Whole Foods.

Amazon revenue breakdown by segment 2014 to 2021 ($bn)

Note: Amazon broke out advertising from its Other segment in 2020. Source: Company data

Amazon revenue breakdown by region 2006 to 2021 ($bn)

Source: Company data

Amazon profit

Amazon was considered a low-profit venture for the first decade and a half of its existence, with CEO Jeff Bezos reinvesting most of Amazon’s profits back into the company. This is no longer the case, with highly profitable segments like AWS pushing the company’s total profit above $10 billion in 2018 and $20 billion in 2020.

Amazon quarterly net income 2005 to 2022 ($mm)

Amazon annual net income 2005 to 2021 ($bn)

Source: Company data

Amazon Web Services revenue

What started off as a side venture inside of Amazon has become a significant part of the company’s profit margin growth. It is the largest cloud computing service in the world with an estimated 32% of the total cloud market.

Amazon Web Services quarterly revenue ($bn)

Amazon Web Services annual revenue ($bn)

Source: Company data

Amazon subscription revenue

The bulk of Amazon’s subscription revenue comes from Prime, through which it also offers video and music streaming, free books and magazines, photo storage and other perks.

Amazon annual subscription revenue 2014 to 2021 ($bn)

Source: Company data

Amazon advertising revenue

Amazon has built a rather respectable advertising platform, which it runs on its store. In 2021, it made more revenue than PayPal or eBay.

Amazon annual advertising revenue 2020 to 2021 ($bn)

Source: Company data

Amazon valuation

Amazon’s valuation has skyrocketed in the past five years, from $172 billion in 2015 to $1.6 trillion in 2022. Amazon was one of the big winners of the coronavirus pandemic, in terms of stock price, with a 67% increase in valuation from March 2020 to March 2021.

Amazon annual valuation 2010 to 2022 ($bn)

Note: Valuation was taken on March of each respective year. Source: Macrotrends

Amazon Prime subscribers

Amazon Prime has grown in value as Amazon has expanded its store and delivery targets. With Video, Music, e-books, magazines, cloud storage and other add-ons, Amazon has created a lock-in effect similar to Apple’s iOS.

Amazon Prime annual subscribers 2016 to 2021 (mm)

Sources: Vox, CNBC, Company data

Amazon Prime US annual subscribers 2016 to 2021 (mm)

Sources: CIRP, Company data

Amazon Prime Video users

Amazon has saw enormous growth in its Prime Video offering over the last three years. It started investing in original programming in 2015 with Man in the High Castle, and acquired MGM Studios for $8.4 billion to add more exclusive content.

Amazon Prime Video users 2019 to 2021 (mm)

Source: Company data

Amazon Prime content spend

Amazon spent $13 billion on content for Amazon Prime Video in 2021, a $2 billion increase on 2020 figures.

Source: Variety

Amazon Prime Music users

Prime Music reached 68 million users in 2021, making it the third most popular music streaming platform in the West. It does not disclose how many users pay for the service, as Prime Music is available for free with ads.

Amazon Prime Music annual users 2018 to 2021 (mm)

Source: Company data

Amazon Music vs competitors: subscribers

Spotify is the clear leader of the pack when it comes to overall users, although this chart only covers YouTube Premium users. YouTube has far more total users.

Music streaming platforms subscribers 2016 to 2021 (mm)

Amazon Echo sales

Amazon Echo is the most popular smart hub, which now comes in several form factors including Show, Dot, Sub and Flex. Amazon’s smart assistant, Alexa, also operates on the Fire TV stick and other third-party accessories.

Amazon Echo annual sales 2014 to 2021 (mm)

Source: Strategy Analytics 

Amazon Fire TV market share

Even though Roku is the leader in the US, Amazon’s Fire TV is the most popular connected TV device, even surpassing gaming consoles in sales. Google’s Chromecast has failed to live up to its early success, with Samsung’s connected TVs in second place.

Global connected TV market share Q4 2020

Note: This includes all connected TV devices, smart TVs and games consoles sales. Source: Strategy Analytics

Amazon Appstore apps

Amazon’s Appstore runs on Android, but as the Fire platform has become more popular, developers have fine-tuned apps to Amazon specifications. We are bound to see more of this as Amazon’s Appstore will be available on Windows 11.

Number of apps in the Amazon Appstore 2015 to 2021

Note: Measurements taken at Q1 of each year. Source: Appfigures

Amazon FAQ

How many Kindles have been sold?

Amazon has sold between 20 and 90 million Kindle e-readers since launch (Goodreader)

What is Amazon’s e-book marketshare?

Amazon controls between 67 to 85 percent of the e-book market, according to About eBooks

How much Amazon stock does Jeff Bezos own?

Ex-CEO Jeff Bezos owns 10.3 percent of Amazon and was the wealthiest person on the planet on May 2021 (Forbes)

How many products are available on Amazon?

Amazon sells over 350 million products on Amazon. This includes 12 million products sold by Amazon itself

How many people shop on Amazon?

Amazon does not publish this information. We know that over 90 percent of shoppers in the US and UK actively use the app. Estimates on monthly active users range from 300 to 600 million, although some of these will not make a purchase in that time