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Amazon

amzn · NASDAQ Consumer Cyclical
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Ticker amzn
Exchange NASDAQ
Sector Consumer Cyclical
Industry Specialty Retail
Employees 10,000+
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FY2022 Annual Report · Amazon
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A N N U A L

R E P O R T

Dear shareholders:

As I sit down to write my second annual shareholder letter as CEO, I find myself optimistic and energized
by what lies ahead for Amazon. Despite 2022 being one of the harder macroeconomic years in recent memory,
and with some of our own operating challenges to boot, we still found a way to grow demand (on top of
the unprecedented growth we experienced in the first half of the pandemic). We innovated in our largest
businesses to meaningfully improve customer experience short and long term. And, we made important
adjustments in our investment decisions and the way in which we’ll invent moving forward, while still
preserving the long-term investments that we believe can change the future of Amazon for customers,
shareholders, and employees.

While there were an unusual number of simultaneous challenges this past year, the reality is that if you
operate in large, dynamic, global market segments with many capable and well-funded competitors (the
conditions in which Amazon operates all of its businesses), conditions rarely stay stagnant for long.

In the 25 years I’ve been at Amazon, there has been constant change, much of which we’ve initiated ourselves.
When I joined Amazon in 1997, we had booked $15M in revenue in 1996, were a books-only retailer, did
not have a third-party marketplace, and only shipped to addresses in the US. Today, Amazon sells nearly every
physical and digital retail item you can imagine, with a vibrant third-party seller ecosystem that accounts
for 60% of our unit sales, and reaches customers in virtually every country around the world. Similarly,
building a business around a set of technology infrastructure services in the cloud was not obvious in 2003
when we started pursuing AWS, and still wasn’t when we launched our first services in 2006. Having virtually
every book at your fingertips in 60 seconds, and then being able to store and retrieve them on a lightweight
digital reader was not “a thing” yet when we launched Kindle in 2007, nor was a voice-driven personal assistant
like Alexa (launched in 2014) that you could use to access entertainment, control your smart home, shop,
and retrieve all sorts of information.

There have also been times when macroeconomic conditions or operating inefficiencies have presented us
with new challenges. For instance, in the 2001 dot-com crash, we had to secure letters of credit to buy
inventory for the holidays, streamline costs to deliver better profitability for the business, yet still prioritized
the long-term customer experience and business we were trying to build (if you remember, we actually
lowered prices in most of our categories during that tenuous 2001 period). You saw this sort of balancing
again in 2008-2009 as we endured the recession provoked by the mortgage-backed securities financial crisis.
We took several actions to manage the cost structure and efficiency of our Stores business, but we also
balanced this streamlining with investment in customer experiences that we believed could be substantial
future businesses with strong returns for shareholders. In 2008, AWS was still a fairly small, fledgling business.
We knew we were on to something, but it still required substantial capital investment. There were voices
inside and outside of the company questioning why Amazon (known mostly as an online retailer then) would
be investing so much in cloud computing. But, we knew we were inventing something special that could
create a lot of value for customers and Amazon in the future. We had a head start on potential competitors;
and if anything, we wanted to accelerate our pace of innovation. We made the long-term decision to
continue investing in AWS. Fifteen years later, AWS is now an $85B annual revenue run rate business, with
strong profitability, that has transformed how customers from start-ups to multinational companies to public
sector organizations manage their technology infrastructure. Amazon would be a different company if
we’d slowed investment in AWS during that 2008-2009 period.

Change is always around the corner. Sometimes, you proactively invite it in, and sometimes it just comes
a-knocking. But, when you see it’s coming, you have to embrace it. And, the companies that do this well over
a long period of time usually succeed. I’m optimistic about our future prospects because I like the way our
team is responding to the changes we see in front of us.

Over the last several months, we took a deep look across the company, business by business, invention by
invention, and asked ourselves whether we had conviction about each initiative’s long-term potential to drive
enough revenue, operating income, free cash flow, and return on invested capital. In some cases, it led to us
shuttering certain businesses. For instance, we stopped pursuing physical store concepts like our Bookstores
and 4 Star stores, closed our Amazon Fabric and Amazon Care efforts, and moved on from some newer
devices where we didn’t see a path to meaningful returns. In other cases, we looked at some programs that
weren’t producing the returns we’d hoped (e.g. free shipping for all online grocery orders over $35) and
amended them. We also reprioritized where to spend our resources, which ultimately led to the hard decision
to eliminate 27,000 corporate roles. There are a number of other changes that we’ve made over the last
several months to streamline our overall costs, and like most leadership teams, we’ll continue to evaluate
what we’re seeing in our business and proceed adaptively.

We also looked hard at how we were working together as a team and asked our corporate employees to come
back to the office at least three days a week, beginning in May. During the pandemic, our employees rallied to
get work done from home and did everything possible to keep up with the unexpected circumstances that
presented themselves. It was impressive and I’m proud of the way our collective team came together to
overcome unprecedented challenges for our customers, communities, and business. But, we don’t think it’s the
best long-term approach. We’ve become convinced that collaborating and inventing is easier and more
effective when we’re working together and learning from one another in person. The energy and riffing on
one another’s ideas happen more freely, and many of the best Amazon inventions have had their breakthrough
moments from people staying behind after a meeting and working through ideas on a whiteboard, or
continuing the conversation on the walk back from a meeting, or just popping by a teammate’s office later
that day with another thought. Invention is often messy. It wanders and meanders and marinates.
Serendipitous interactions help it, and there are more of those in-person than virtually. It’s also significantly
easier to learn, model, practice, and strengthen our culture when we’re in the office together most of the
time and surrounded by our colleagues. Innovation and our unique culture have been incredibly important
in our first 29 years as a company, and I expect it will be comparably so in the next 29.

A critical challenge we’ve continued to tackle is the rising cost to serve in our Stores fulfillment network (i.e.
the cost to get a product from Amazon to a customer)—and we’ve made several changes that we believe will
meaningfully improve our fulfillment costs and speed of delivery.

During the early part of the pandemic, with many physical stores shut down, our consumer business grew
at an extraordinary clip, with annual revenue increasing from $245B in 2019 to $434B in 2022. This meant that
we had to double the fulfillment center footprint that we’d built over the prior 25 years and substantially
accelerate building a last-mile transportation network that’s now the size of UPS (along with a new sortation
center network to assist with efficiency and speed when items needed to traverse long distances)—all in the
span of about two years. This was no easy feat, and hundreds of thousands of Amazonians worked very hard
to make this happen. However, not surprisingly, with that rate and scale of change, there was a lot of
optimization needed to yield the intended productivity. Over the last several months, we’ve scrutinized every
process path in our fulfillment centers and transportation network and redesigned scores of processes and
mechanisms, resulting in steady productivity gains and cost reductions over the last few quarters. There’s
more work to do, but we’re pleased with our trajectory and the meaningful upside in front of us.

We also took this occasion to make larger structural changes that set us up better to deliver lower costs and
faster speed for many years to come. A good example was reevaluating how our US fulfillment network was
organized. Until recently, Amazon operated one national US fulfillment network that distributed inventory
from fulfillment centers spread across the entire country. If a local fulfillment center didn’t have the product a
customer ordered, we’d end up shipping it from other parts of the country, costing us more and increasing
delivery times. This challenge became more pronounced as our fulfillment network expanded to hundreds of
additional nodes over the last few years, distributing inventory across more locations and increasing the
complexity of connecting the fulfillment center and delivery station nodes efficiently. Last year, we started
rearchitecting our inventory placement strategy and leveraging our larger fulfillment center footprint to move
from a national fulfillment network to a regionalized network model. We made significant internal changes
(e.g. placement and logistics software, processes, physical operations) to create eight interconnected regions in
smaller geographic areas. Each of these regions has broad, relevant selection to operate in a largely self-
sufficient way, while still being able to ship nationally when necessary. Some of the most meaningful and hard

work came from optimizing the connections between this large amount of infrastructure. We also continue
to improve our advanced machine learning algorithms to better predict what customers in various parts of the
country will need so that we have the right inventory in the right regions at the right time. We’ve recently
completed this regional roll out and like the early results. Shorter travel distances mean lower cost to serve,
less impact on the environment, and customers getting their orders faster. On the latter, we’re excited about
seeing more next day and same-day deliveries, and we’re on track to have our fastest Prime delivery speeds
ever in 2023. Overall, we remain confident about our plans to lower costs, reduce delivery times, and build a
meaningfully larger retail business with healthy operating margins.

AWS has an $85B annualized revenue run rate, is still early in its adoption curve, but at a juncture where it’s
critical to stay focused on what matters most to customers over the long-haul. Despite growing 29% year-over-
year (“YoY”) in 2022 on a $62B revenue base, AWS faces short-term headwinds right now as companies
are being more cautious in spending given the challenging, current macroeconomic conditions. While some
companies might obsess over how they could extract as much money from customers as possible in these tight
times, it’s neither what customers want nor best for customers in the long term, so we’re taking a different
tack. One of the many advantages of AWS and cloud computing is that when your business grows, you can
seamlessly scale up; and conversely, if your business contracts, you can choose to give us back that capacity
and cease paying for it. This elasticity is unique to the cloud, and doesn’t exist when you’ve already made
expensive capital investments in your own on-premises datacenters, servers, and networking gear. In AWS,
like all our businesses, we’re not trying to optimize for any one quarter or year. We’re trying to build customer
relationships (and a business) that outlast all of us; and as a result, our AWS sales and support teams are
spending much of their time helping customers optimize their AWS spend so they can better weather this
uncertain economy. Many of these AWS customers tell us that they’re not cost-cutting as much as cost-
optimizing so they can take their resources and apply them to emerging and inventive new customer
experiences they’re planning. Customers have appreciated this customer-focused, long-term approach, and
we think it’ll bode well for both customers and AWS.

While these short-term headwinds soften our growth rate, we like a lot of the fundamentals that we’re seeing
in AWS. Our new customer pipeline is robust, as are our active migrations. Many companies use
discontinuous periods like this to step back and determine what they strategically want to change, and we
find an increasing number of enterprises opting out of managing their own infrastructure, and preferring to
move to AWS to enjoy the agility, innovation, cost-efficiency, and security benefits. And most importantly
for customers, AWS continues to deliver new capabilities rapidly (over 3,300 new features and services launched
in 2022), and invest in long-term inventions that change what’s possible.

Chip development is a good example. In last year’s letter, I mentioned the investment we were making in our
general-purpose CPU processors named Graviton. Graviton2-based compute instances deliver up to 40%
better price-performance than the comparable latest generation x86-based instances; and in 2022, we delivered
our Graviton3 chips, providing 25% better performance than the Graviton2 processors. Further, as machine
learning adoption has continued to accelerate, customers have yearned for lower-cost GPUs (the chips
most commonly used for machine learning). AWS started investing years ago in these specialized chips for
machine learning training and inference (inferences are the predictions or answers that a machine learning
model provides). We delivered our first training chip in 2022 (“Trainium”); and for the most common
machine learning models, Trainium-based instances are up to 140% faster than GPU-based instances at up
to 70% lower cost. Most companies are still in the training stage, but as they develop models that graduate to
large-scale production, they’ll find that most of the cost is in inference because models are trained
periodically whereas inferences are happening all the time as their associated application is being exercised.
We launched our first inference chips (“Inferentia”) in 2019, and they have saved companies like Amazon over
a hundred million dollars in capital expense already. Our Inferentia2 chip, which just launched, offers up
to four times higher throughput and ten times lower latency than our first Inferentia processor. With the
enormous upcoming growth in machine learning, customers will be able to get a lot more done with AWS’s
training and inference chips at a significantly lower cost. We’re not close to being done innovating here,
and this long-term investment should prove fruitful for both customers and AWS. AWS is still in the early
stages of its evolution, and has a chance for unusual growth in the next decade.

Similarly high potential, Amazon’s Advertising business is uniquely effective for brands, which is part of why it
continues to grow at a brisk clip. Akin to physical retailers’ advertising businesses selling shelf space, end-
caps, and placement in their circulars, our sponsored products and brands offerings have been an integral part

of the Amazon shopping experience for more than a decade. However, unlike physical retailers, Amazon
can tailor these sponsored products to be relevant to what customers are searching for given what we know
about shopping behaviors and our very deep investment in machine learning algorithms. This leads to
advertising that’s more useful for customers; and as a result, performs better for brands. This is part of why
our Advertising revenue has continued to grow rapidly (23% YoY in Q4 2022, 25% YoY overall for 2022
on a $31B revenue base), even as most large advertising-focused businesses’ growth have slowed over the last
several quarters.

We strive to be the best place for advertisers to build their brands. We have near and long-term opportunities
that will help us achieve that mission. We’re continuing to make large investments in machine learning to
keep honing our advertising selection algorithms. For the past couple of years, we’ve invested in building
comprehensive, flexible, and durable planning and measurement solutions, giving marketers greater insight
into advertising effectiveness. An example is Amazon Marketing Cloud (“AMC”). AMC is a “clean room”
(i.e. secure digital environment) in which advertisers can run custom audience and campaign analytics
across a range of first and third-party inputs, in a privacy-safe manner, to generate advertising and business
insights to inform their broader marketing and sales strategies. The Advertising and AWS teams have
collaborated to enable companies to store their data in AWS, operate securely in AMC with Amazon and
other third-party data sources, perform analytics in AWS, and have the option to activate advertising on
Amazon or third-party publishers through the Amazon Demand-Side Platform. Customers really like this
concerted capability. We also see future opportunity to thoughtfully integrate advertising into our video,
live sports, audio, and grocery products. We’ll continue to work hard to help brands uniquely engage with
the right audience, and grow this part of our business.

While it’s tempting in turbulent times only to focus on your existing large businesses, to build a sustainable,
long-lasting, growing company that helps customers across a large number of dimensions, you can’t stop
inventing and working on long-term customer experiences that can meaningfully impact customers and
your company.

When we look at new investment opportunities, we ask ourselves a few questions:

◦ If we were successful, could it be big and have a reasonable return on invested capital?

◦ Is the opportunity being well-served today?

◦ Do we have a differentiated approach?

◦ And, do we have competence in that area? And if not, can we acquire it quickly?

If we like the answers to those questions, then we’ll invest. This process has led to some expansions that
seem straightforward, and others that some folks might not have initially guessed.

The earliest example is when we chose to expand from just selling Books, to adding categories like Music,
Video, Electronics, and Toys. Back then (1998-1999), it wasn’t universally applauded, but in retrospect, it
seems fairly obvious.

The same could be said for our international Stores expansion. In 2022, our international consumer segment
drove $118B of revenue. In our larger, established international consumer businesses, we’re big enough to
be impacted by the slowing macroeconomic conditions; however, the growth in 2019-2021 on a large base was
remarkable—30% compound annual growth rate (“CAGR”) in the UK, 26% in Germany, and 21% in
Japan (excluding the impact of FX). Over the past several years, we’ve invested in new international
geographies, including India, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, various European countries, the Middle East, and
parts of Africa. These new countries take a certain amount of fixed investment to get started and to scale, but
we like the trajectory they’re on, and their growth patterns resemble what we’ve seen in North America
and our established international geographies. Emerging countries sometimes lack some of the infrastructure
and services that our business relies on (e.g. payment methods, transportation services, and internet/
telecom infrastructure). To solve these challenges, we continue to work with various partners to deliver
solutions for customers. Ultimately, we believe that this investment in serving a broader geographical footprint
will allow us to help more customers across the world, as well as build a larger free cash flow-generating
consumer business.

Beyond geographic expansion, we’ve been working to expand our customer offerings across some large,
unique product retail market segments. Grocery is an $800B market segment in the US alone, with the average
household shopping three to four times per week. Amazon has built a somewhat unusual, but significant
grocery business over nearly 20 years. Similar to how other mass merchants entered the grocery space in the
1980s, we began by adding products typically found in supermarket aisles that don’t require temperature
control such as paper products, canned and boxed food, candy and snacks, pet care, health and personal care,
and beauty. However, we offer more than three million items compared to a typical supermarket’s 30K for
the same categories. To date, we’ve also focused on larger pack sizes, given the current cost to serve online
delivery. While we’re pleased with the size and growth of our grocery business, we aspire to serve more of
our customers’ grocery needs than we do today. To do so, we need a broader physical store footprint given that
most of the grocery shopping still happens in physical venues. Whole Foods Market pioneered the natural
and organic specialty grocery store concept 40 years ago. Today, it’s a large and growing business that continues
to raise the bar for healthy and sustainable food. Over the past year, we’ve continued to invest in the
business while also making changes to drive better profitability. Whole Foods is on an encouraging path,
but to have a larger impact on physical grocery, we must find a mass grocery format that we believe is worth
expanding broadly. Amazon Fresh is the brand we’ve been experimenting with for a few years, and we’re
working hard to identify and build the right mass grocery format for Amazon scale. Grocery is a big growth
opportunity for Amazon.

Amazon Business is another example of an investment where our ecommerce and logistics capabilities
position us well to pursue this large market segment. Amazon Business allows businesses, municipalities,
and organizations to procure products like office supplies and other bulk items easily and at great savings.
While some areas of the economy have struggled over the past few years, Amazon Business has thrived. Why?
Because the team has translated what it means to deliver selection, value, and convenience into a business
procurement setting, constantly listening to and learning from customers, and innovating on their behalf.
Some people have never heard of Amazon Business, but, our business customers love it. Amazon Business
launched in 2015 and today drives roughly $35B in annualized gross sales. More than six million active
customers, including 96 of the global Fortune 100 companies, are enjoying Amazon Business’ one-stop
shopping, real-time analytics, and broad selection on hundreds of millions of business supplies. We believe
that we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible to date, and plan to keep building the features our
business customers tell us they need and want.

While many brands and merchants successfully sell their products on Amazon’s marketplace, there are also
a large number of brands and sellers who have launched their own direct-to-consumer websites. One of the
challenges for these merchants is driving conversion from views to purchases. We invented Buy with Prime
to help with this challenge. Buy with Prime allows third-party brands and sellers to offer their products on
their own websites to our large Amazon Prime membership, and offer those customers fast, free Prime shipping
and seamless checkout with their Amazon account. Buy with Prime provides merchants several additional
benefits, including Amazon handling the product storage, picking, packing, delivery, payment, and any
returns, all through Amazon Pay and Fulfillment by Amazon. Buy with Prime has recently been made
available to all US merchants; and so far, Buy with Prime has increased shopper conversion on third-party
shopping sites by 25% on average. Merchants are excited about converting more sales and fulfilling these
shipments more easily, Prime members love that they can use their Prime benefits on more destinations,
and Buy with Prime allows us to improve the shopping experience across more of the web.

Expanding internationally, pursuing large retail market segments that are still nascent for Amazon, and
using our unique assets to help merchants sell more effectively on their own websites are somewhat natural
extensions for us. There are also a few investments we’re making that are further from our core businesses, but
where we see unique opportunity. In 2003, AWS would have been a classic example. In 2023, Amazon
Healthcare and Kuiper are potential analogues.

Our initial efforts in Healthcare began with pharmacy, which felt less like a major departure from ecommerce.
For years, Amazon customers had asked us when we’d offer them an online pharmacy as their frustrations
mounted with current providers. Launched in 2020, Amazon Pharmacy is a full-service, online pharmacy that
offers transparent pricing, easy refills, and savings for Prime members. The business is growing quickly,
and continues to innovate. An example is Amazon Pharmacy’s recent launch of RxPass, which for a $5 per

month flat fee, enables Prime members to get as many of the eligible prescription medications as they need
for dozens of common conditions, like high blood pressure, acid reflux, and anxiety. However, our customers
have continued to express a strong desire for Amazon to provide a better alternative to the inefficient and
unsatisfying broader healthcare experience. We decided to start with primary care as it’s a prevalent first stop
in the patient journey. We evaluated and studied the existing landscape extensively, including some early
Amazon experiments like Amazon Care. During this process, we identified One Medical’s patient-focused
experience as an excellent foundation upon which to build our future business; and in July 2022, we announced
our acquisition of One Medical. There are several elements that customers love about One Medical. It has
a fantastic digital app that makes it easy for patients to discuss issues with a medical practitioner via chat or
video conference. If a physical visit is required, One Medical has offices in cities across the US where
patients can book same or next day appointments. One Medical has relationships with specialty physicians
in each of its cities and works closely with local hospital systems to make seeing specialists easy, so One
Medical members can quickly access these resources when needed. Going forward, we strongly believe
that One Medical and Amazon will continue to innovate together to change what primary care will look like
for customers.

Kuiper is another example of Amazon innovating for customers over the long term in an area where there’s
high customer need. Our vision for Kuiper is to create a low-Earth orbit satellite system to deliver high-quality
broadband internet service to places around the world that don’t currently have it. There are hundreds of
millions of households and businesses who don’t have reliable access to the internet. Imagine what they’ll be
able to do with reliable connectivity, from people taking online education courses, using financial services,
starting their own businesses, doing their shopping, enjoying entertainment, to businesses and governments
improving their coverage, efficiency, and operations. Kuiper will deliver not only accessibility, but
affordability. Our teams have developed low-cost antennas (i.e. customer terminals) that will lower the
barriers to access. We recently unveiled the new terminals that will communicate with the satellites passing
overhead, and we expect to be able to produce our standard residential version for less than $400 each. They’re
small: 11 inches square, 1 inch thick, and weigh less than 5 pounds without their mounting bracket, but
they deliver speeds up to 400 megabits per second. And they’re powered by Amazon-designed baseband chips.
We’re preparing to launch two prototype satellites to test the entire end-to-end communications network
this year, and plan to be in beta with commercial customers in 2024. The customer reaction to what we’ve
shared thus far about Kuiper has been very positive, and we believe Kuiper represents a very large potential
opportunity for Amazon. It also shares several similarities to AWS in that it’s capital intensive at the start,
but has a large prospective consumer, enterprise, and government customer base, significant revenue and
operating profit potential, and relatively few companies with the technical and inventive aptitude, as well as
the investment hypothesis to go after it.

One final investment area that I’ll mention, that’s core to setting Amazon up to invent in every area of our
business for many decades to come, and where we’re investing heavily is Large Language Models (“LLMs”)
and Generative AI. Machine learning has been a technology with high promise for several decades, but it’s
only been the last five to ten years that it’s started to be used more pervasively by companies. This shift was
driven by several factors, including access to higher volumes of compute capacity at lower prices than was ever
available. Amazon has been using machine learning extensively for 25 years, employing it in everything
from personalized ecommerce recommendations, to fulfillment center pick paths, to drones for Prime Air,
to Alexa, to the many machine learning services AWS offers (where AWS has the broadest machine learning
functionality and customer base of any cloud provider). More recently, a newer form of machine learning,
called Generative AI, has burst onto the scene and promises to significantly accelerate machine learning
adoption. Generative AI is based on very Large Language Models (trained on up to hundreds of billions
of parameters, and growing), across expansive datasets, and has radically general and broad recall and
learning capabilities. We have been working on our own LLMs for a while now, believe it will transform and
improve virtually every customer experience, and will continue to invest substantially in these models
across all of our consumer, seller, brand, and creator experiences. Additionally, as we’ve done for years in
AWS, we’re democratizing this technology so companies of all sizes can leverage Generative AI. AWS is
offering the most price-performant machine learning chips in Trainium and Inferentia so small and large
companies can afford to train and run their LLMs in production. We enable companies to choose from
various LLMs and build applications with all of the AWS security, privacy and other features that customers
are accustomed to using. And, we’re delivering applications like AWS’s CodeWhisperer, which revolutionizes

developer productivity by generating code suggestions in real time. I could write an entire letter on LLMs
and Generative AI as I think they will be that transformative, but I’ll leave that for a future letter. Let’s just
say that LLMs and Generative AI are going to be a big deal for customers, our shareholders, and Amazon.

So, in closing, I’m optimistic that we’ll emerge from this challenging macroeconomic time in a stronger
position than when we entered it. There are several reasons for it and I’ve mentioned many of them above.
But, there are two relatively simple statistics that underline our immense future opportunity. While we have a
consumer business that’s $434B in 2022, the vast majority of total market segment share in global retail
still resides in physical stores (roughly 80%). And, it’s a similar story for Global IT spending, where we have
AWS revenue of $80B in 2022, with about 90% of Global IT spending still on-premises and yet to migrate
to the cloud. As these equations steadily flip—as we’re already seeing happen—we believe our leading customer
experiences, relentless invention, customer focus, and hard work will result in significant growth in the
coming years. And, of course, this doesn’t include the other businesses and experiences we’re pursuing at
Amazon, all of which are still in their early days.

I strongly believe that our best days are in front of us, and I look forward to working with my teammates at
Amazon to make it so.

Sincerely,

Andy Jassy
President and Chief Executive Officer
Amazon.com, Inc.

P.S. As we have always done, our original 1997 Shareholder Letter follows. What’s written there is as true
today as it was in 1997.

1997 LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS
(Reprinted from the 1997 Annual Report)

To our shareholders:

Amazon.com passed many milestones in 1997: by year-end, we had served more than 1.5 million customers,

yielding 838% revenue growth to $147.8 million, and extended our market leadership despite aggressive
competitive entry.

But this is Day 1 for the Internet and, if we execute well, for Amazon.com. Today, online commerce saves
customers money and precious time. Tomorrow, through personalization, online commerce will accelerate the
very process of discovery. Amazon.com uses the Internet to create real value for its customers and, by doing so,
hopes to create an enduring franchise, even in established and large markets.

We have a window of opportunity as larger players marshal the resources to pursue the online opportunity

and as customers, new to purchasing online, are receptive to forming new relationships. The competitive
landscape has continued to evolve at a fast pace. Many large players have moved online with credible offerings
and have devoted substantial energy and resources to building awareness, traffic, and sales. Our goal is to move
quickly to solidify and extend our current position while we begin to pursue the online commerce opportunities
in other areas. We see substantial opportunity in the large markets we are targeting. This strategy is not without
risk: it requires serious investment and crisp execution against established franchise leaders.

It’s All About the Long Term

We believe that a fundamental measure of our success will be the shareholder value we create over the long
term. This value will be a direct result of our ability to extend and solidify our current market leadership position.
The stronger our market leadership, the more powerful our economic model. Market leadership can translate
directly to higher revenue, higher profitability, greater capital velocity, and correspondingly stronger returns on
invested capital.

Our decisions have consistently reflected this focus. We first measure ourselves in terms of the metrics most

indicative of our market leadership: customer and revenue growth, the degree to which our customers continue to
purchase from us on a repeat basis, and the strength of our brand. We have invested and will continue to invest
aggressively to expand and leverage our customer base, brand, and infrastructure as we move to establish an
enduring franchise.

Because of our emphasis on the long term, we may make decisions and weigh tradeoffs differently than

some companies. Accordingly, we want to share with you our fundamental management and decision-making
approach so that you, our shareholders, may confirm that it is consistent with your investment philosophy:

• We will continue to focus relentlessly on our customers.

• We will continue to make investment decisions in light of long-term market leadership considerations

rather than short-term profitability considerations or short-term Wall Street reactions.

• We will continue to measure our programs and the effectiveness of our investments analytically, to

jettison those that do not provide acceptable returns, and to step up our investment in those that work
best. We will continue to learn from both our successes and our failures.

• We will make bold rather than timid investment decisions where we see a sufficient probability of

gaining market leadership advantages. Some of these investments will pay off, others will not, and we
will have learned another valuable lesson in either case.

• When forced to choose between optimizing the appearance of our GAAP accounting and maximizing

the present value of future cash flows, we’ll take the cash flows.

• We will share our strategic thought processes with you when we make bold choices (to the extent

competitive pressures allow), so that you may evaluate for yourselves whether we are making rational
long-term leadership investments.

• We will work hard to spend wisely and maintain our lean culture. We understand the importance of

continually reinforcing a cost-conscious culture, particularly in a business incurring net losses.

• We will balance our focus on growth with emphasis on long-term profitability and capital management.
At this stage, we choose to prioritize growth because we believe that scale is central to achieving the
potential of our business model.

• We will continue to focus on hiring and retaining versatile and talented employees, and continue to
weight their compensation to stock options rather than cash. We know our success will be largely
affected by our ability to attract and retain a motivated employee base, each of whom must think like,
and therefore must actually be, an owner.

We aren’t so bold as to claim that the above is the “right” investment philosophy, but it’s ours, and we

would be remiss if we weren’t clear in the approach we have taken and will continue to take.

With this foundation, we would like to turn to a review of our business focus, our progress in 1997, and our

outlook for the future.

Obsess Over Customers

From the beginning, our focus has been on offering our customers compelling value. We realized that the

Web was, and still is, the World Wide Wait. Therefore, we set out to offer customers something they simply
could not get any other way, and began serving them with books. We brought them much more selection than
was possible in a physical store (our store would now occupy 6 football fields), and presented it in a useful, easy-
to-search, and easy-to-browse format in a store open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. We maintained a dogged
focus on improving the shopping experience, and in 1997 substantially enhanced our store. We now offer
customers gift certificates, 1-ClickSM shopping, and vastly more reviews, content, browsing options, and
recommendation features. We dramatically lowered prices, further increasing customer value. Word of mouth
remains the most powerful customer acquisition tool we have, and we are grateful for the trust our customers
have placed in us. Repeat purchases and word of mouth have combined to make Amazon.com the market leader
in online bookselling.

By many measures, Amazon.com came a long way in 1997:

• Sales grew from $15.7 million in 1996 to $147.8 million – an 838% increase.

• Cumulative customer accounts grew from 180,000 to 1,510,000 – a 738% increase.

• The percentage of orders from repeat customers grew from over 46% in the fourth quarter of 1996 to

over 58% in the same period in 1997.

• In terms of audience reach, per Media Metrix, our Web site went from a rank of 90th to within the

top 20.

• We established long-term relationships with many important strategic partners, including America

Online, Yahoo!, Excite, Netscape, GeoCities, AltaVista, @Home, and Prodigy.

Infrastructure

During 1997, we worked hard to expand our business infrastructure to support these greatly increased

traffic, sales, and service levels:

• Amazon.com’s employee base grew from 158 to 614, and we significantly strengthened our

management team.

• Distribution center capacity grew from 50,000 to 285,000 square feet, including a 70% expansion of our

Seattle facilities and the launch of our second distribution center in Delaware in November.

• Inventories rose to over 200,000 titles at year-end, enabling us to improve availability for our customers.

• Our cash and investment balances at year-end were $125 million, thanks to our initial public offering in

May 1997 and our $75 million loan, affording us substantial strategic flexibility.

Our Employees

The past year’s success is the product of a talented, smart, hard-working group, and I take great pride in
being a part of this team. Setting the bar high in our approach to hiring has been, and will continue to be, the
single most important element of Amazon.com’s success.

It’s not easy to work here (when I interview people I tell them, “You can work long, hard, or smart, but at

Amazon.com you can’t choose two out of three”), but we are working to build something important, something
that matters to our customers, something that we can all tell our grandchildren about. Such things aren’t meant to
be easy. We are incredibly fortunate to have this group of dedicated employees whose sacrifices and passion
build Amazon.com.

Goals for 1998

We are still in the early stages of learning how to bring new value to our customers through Internet

commerce and merchandising. Our goal remains to continue to solidify and extend our brand and customer base.
This requires sustained investment in systems and infrastructure to support outstanding customer convenience,
selection, and service while we grow. We are planning to add music to our product offering, and over time we
believe that other products may be prudent investments. We also believe there are significant opportunities to
better serve our customers overseas, such as reducing delivery times and better tailoring the customer experience.
To be certain, a big part of the challenge for us will lie not in finding new ways to expand our business, but in
prioritizing our investments.

We now know vastly more about online commerce than when Amazon.com was founded, but we still have

so much to learn. Though we are optimistic, we must remain vigilant and maintain a sense of urgency. The
challenges and hurdles we will face to make our long-term vision for Amazon.com a reality are several:
aggressive, capable, well-funded competition; considerable growth challenges and execution risk; the risks of
product and geographic expansion; and the need for large continuing investments to meet an expanding market
opportunity. However, as we’ve long said, online bookselling, and online commerce in general, should prove to
be a very large market, and it’s likely that a number of companies will see significant benefit. We feel good about
what we’ve done, and even more excited about what we want to do.

1997 was indeed an incredible year. We at Amazon.com are grateful to our customers for their business and

trust, to each other for our hard work, and to our shareholders for their support and encouragement.

Jeffrey P. Bezos
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Amazon.com, Inc.

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
 ____________________________________
FORM 10-K 

____________________________________ 

(Mark One)

☒

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 

or

☐

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from            to             .

Commission File No. 000-22513 
____________________________________

AMAZON.COM, INC. 

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)

91-1646860
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)

410 Terry Avenue North 
 Seattle, Washington 98109-5210
(206) 266-1000 
(Address and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of Each Class

Common Stock, par value $.01 per share

Trading Symbol(s)

AMZN

Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered

Nasdaq Global Select Market

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
 ____________________________________

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing 
requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of 

Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an 
emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in 
Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer
Non-accelerated filer

☒
☐

Accelerated filer
Smaller reporting company
Emerging growth company

☐
☐
☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or 

revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control 
over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its 
audit report. ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

Aggregate market value of voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 30, 2022

Number of shares of common stock outstanding as of January 25, 2023

$ 

944,744,113,598 

10,247,259,757 

____________________________________ 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

The information required by Part III of this Report, to the extent not set forth herein, is incorporated herein by reference from the registrant’s definitive proxy 

statement relating to the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held in 2023, which definitive proxy statement shall be filed with the Securities and Exchange 
Commission within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year to which this Report relates.

 
 
 
AMAZON.COM, INC.
FORM 10-K
For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 

INDEX

PART I

Item 1.

Business

Item 1A.

Risk Factors

Item 1B.

Unresolved Staff Comments

Item 2.

Item 3.

Item 4.

Item 5.

Item 6.

Item 7.

Properties

Legal Proceedings

Mine Safety Disclosures

PART II

Market for the Registrant’s Common Stock, Related Shareholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of 
Equity Securities
Reserved

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Item 7A.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Item 8.

Item 9.

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

Item 9A.

Controls and Procedures

Item 9B.

Other Information

Item 9C.

Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections

Directors, Executive Officers, and Corporate Governance

Executive Compensation

PART III

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

Principal Accountant Fees and Services

Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

Form 10-K Summary

PART IV

Item 10.

Item 11.

Item 12.

Item 13.

Item 14.

Item 15.

Item 16.

Signatures

Page

3

6

16

17

17

17

18

18

19

31

33

69

69

71

71

71

71

71

71

71

72

74

75

2

 
 
 
AMAZON.COM, INC.

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 and outcomes may differ 
materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. See Item 1A of Part I — “Risk Factors.” As used herein, 
“Amazon.com,” “we,” “our,” and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc. and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates 
otherwise.

General

We seek to be Earth’s most customer-centric company. We are guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than 

competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. In each of our 
segments, we serve our primary customer sets, consisting of consumers, sellers, developers, enterprises, content creators, 
advertisers, and employees.

We have organized our operations into three segments: North America, International, and Amazon Web Services 
(“AWS”). These segments reflect the way the Company evaluates its business performance and manages its operations. 
Information on our net sales is contained in Item 8 of Part II, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data — Note 10 — 
Segment Information.”

Consumers

We serve consumers through our online and physical stores and focus on selection, price, and convenience. We design 

our stores to enable hundreds of millions of unique products to be sold by us and by third parties across dozens of product 
categories. Customers access our offerings through our websites, mobile apps, Alexa, devices, streaming, and physically 
visiting our stores. We also manufacture and sell electronic devices, including Kindle, Fire tablet, Fire TV, Echo, Ring, Blink, 
and eero, and we develop and produce media content. We seek to offer our customers low prices, fast and free delivery, easy-
to-use functionality, and timely customer service. In addition, we offer subscription services such as Amazon Prime, a 
membership program that includes fast, free shipping on millions of items, access to award-winning movies and series, and 
other benefits.

We fulfill customer orders in a number of ways, including through: North America and International fulfillment networks 
that we operate; co-sourced and outsourced arrangements in certain countries; digital delivery; and through our physical stores. 
We operate customer service centers globally, which are supplemented by co-sourced arrangements. See Item 2 of Part I, 
“Properties.”

Sellers

We offer programs that enable sellers to grow their businesses, sell their products in our stores, and fulfill orders through 
us. We are not the seller of record in these transactions. We earn fixed fees, a percentage of sales, per-unit activity fees, interest, 
or some combination thereof, for our seller programs.

Developers and Enterprises

We serve developers and enterprises of all sizes, including start-ups, government agencies, and academic institutions, 
through AWS, which offers a broad set of on-demand technology services, including compute, storage, database, analytics, and 
machine learning, and other services. 

Content Creators

We offer programs that allow authors, independent publishers, musicians, filmmakers, Twitch streamers, skill and app 

developers, and others to publish and sell content.

Advertisers

We provide advertising services to sellers, vendors, publishers, authors, and others, through programs such as sponsored 

ads, display, and video advertising.

3

Competition

Our businesses encompass a large variety of product types, service offerings, and delivery channels. The worldwide 
marketplace in which we compete is evolving rapidly and intensely competitive, and we face a broad array of competitors from 
many different industry sectors around the world. Our current and potential competitors include: (1) physical, e-commerce, and 
omnichannel retailers, publishers, vendors, distributors, manufacturers, and producers of the products we offer and sell to 
consumers and businesses; (2) publishers, producers, and distributors of physical, digital, and interactive media of all types and 
all distribution channels; (3) web search engines, comparison shopping websites, social networks, web portals, and other online 
and app-based means of discovering, using, or acquiring goods and services, either directly or in collaboration with other 
retailers; (4) companies that provide e-commerce services, including website development and hosting, omnichannel sales, 
inventory and supply chain management, advertising, fulfillment, customer service, and payment processing; (5) companies that 
provide fulfillment and logistics services for themselves or for third parties, whether online or offline; (6) companies that 
provide information technology services or products, including on-premises or cloud-based infrastructure and other services; 
(7) companies that design, manufacture, market, or sell consumer electronics, telecommunication, and electronic devices; (8) 
companies that sell grocery products online and in physical stores; and (9) companies that provide advertising services, whether 
in digital or other formats. We believe that the principal competitive factors in our retail businesses include selection, price, and 
convenience, including fast and reliable fulfillment. Additional competitive factors for our seller and enterprise services include 
the quality, speed, and reliability of our services and tools, as well as customers’ ability and willingness to change business 
practices. Some of our current and potential competitors have greater resources, longer histories, more customers, greater brand 
recognition, and greater control over inputs critical to our various businesses. They may secure better terms from suppliers, 
adopt more aggressive pricing, pursue restrictive distribution agreements that restrict our access to supply, direct consumers to 
their own offerings instead of ours, lock-in potential customers with restrictive terms, and devote more resources to technology, 
infrastructure, fulfillment, and marketing. The Internet facilitates competitive entry and comparison shopping, which enhances 
the ability of new, smaller, or lesser-known businesses to compete against us. Each of our businesses is also subject to rapid 
change and the development of new business models and the entry of new and well-funded competitors. Other companies also 
may enter into business combinations or alliances that strengthen their competitive positions.

Intellectual Property

We regard our trademarks, service marks, copyrights, patents, domain names, trade dress, trade secrets, proprietary 

technologies, and similar intellectual property as critical to our success, and we rely on trademark, copyright, and patent law, 
trade-secret protection, and confidentiality and/or license agreements with our employees, customers, partners, and others to 
protect our proprietary rights. We have registered, or applied for the registration of, a number of U.S. and international domain 
names, trademarks, service marks, and copyrights. Additionally, we have filed U.S. and international patent applications 
covering certain of our proprietary technology. 

Seasonality

Our business is affected by seasonality, which historically has resulted in higher sales volume during our fourth quarter, 

which ends December 31. 

Human Capital

Our employees are critical to our mission of being Earth’s most customer-centric company. As of December 31, 2022, we 

employed approximately 1,541,000 full-time and part-time employees. Additionally, we use independent contractors and 
temporary personnel to supplement our workforce. Competition for qualified personnel is intense, particularly for software 
engineers, computer scientists, and other technical staff, and constrained labor markets have increased competition for 
personnel across other parts of our business.

As we strive to be Earth’s best employer, we focus on investment and innovation, inclusion and diversity, safety, and 
engagement to hire and develop the best talent. We rely on numerous and evolving initiatives to implement these objectives and 
invent mechanisms for talent development, including competitive pay and benefits, flexible work arrangements, and skills 
training and educational programs such as Amazon Career Choice (funded education for hourly employees) and the Amazon 
Technical Academy (software development engineer training). Over 100,000 Amazon employees around the world have 
participated in Career Choice. We also continue to inspect and refine the mechanisms we use to hire, develop, evaluate, and 
retain our employees to promote equity for all candidates and employees. In addition, safety is integral to everything we do at 
Amazon and we continue to invest in safety improvements such as capital improvements, new safety technology, vehicle safety 
controls, and engineering ergonomic solutions. Our safety team is dedicated to using the science of safety to solve complex 
problems and establish new industry best practices. We also provide mentorship and support resources to our employees, and 
have deployed numerous programs that advance employee engagement, communication, and feedback.

4

Available Information

Our investor relations website is amazon.com/ir and we encourage investors to use it as a way of easily finding 
information about us. We promptly make available on this website, free of charge, the reports that we file or furnish with the 
Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), corporate governance information (including our Code of Business Conduct 
and Ethics), and select press releases.

Executive Officers and Directors

The following tables set forth certain information regarding our Executive Officers and Directors as of January 25, 2023:

Information About Our Executive Officers

Name
Jeffrey P. Bezos
Andrew R. Jassy
Douglas J. Herrington
Brian T. Olsavsky
Shelley L. Reynolds
Adam N. Selipsky
David A. Zapolsky

Age
59
55
56
59
58
56
59

Position

Executive Chair 
President and Chief Executive Officer
CEO Worldwide Amazon Stores
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Vice President, Worldwide Controller, and Principal Accounting Officer
CEO Amazon Web Services
Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary

Jeffrey P. Bezos. Mr. Bezos founded Amazon.com in 1994 and has served as Executive Chair since July 2021. He has 

served as Chair of the Board since 1994 and served as Chief Executive Officer from May 1996 until July 2021, and as President 
from 1994 until June 1999 and again from October 2000 to July 2021.

Andrew R. Jassy. Mr. Jassy has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since July 2021, CEO Amazon Web 

Services from April 2016 until July 2021, and Senior Vice President, Amazon Web Services, from April 2006 until April 2016.

Douglas J. Herrington. Mr. Herrington has served as CEO Worldwide Amazon Stores since July 2022, Senior Vice 
President, North America Consumer from January 2015 to July 2022, and Senior Vice President, Consumables from May 2014 
to December 2014.

Brian T. Olsavsky. Mr. Olsavsky has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since June 2015, Vice 

President, Finance for the Global Consumer Business from December 2011 to June 2015, and numerous financial leadership 
roles across Amazon with global responsibility since April 2002. 

Shelley L. Reynolds. Ms. Reynolds has served as Vice President, Worldwide Controller, and Principal Accounting 

Officer since April 2007.

Adam N. Selipsky. Mr. Selipsky has served as CEO Amazon Web Services since July 2021, Senior Vice President, 

Amazon Web Services from May 2021 until July 2021, President and CEO of Tableau Software from September 2016 until 
May 2021, and Vice President, Marketing, Sales and Support of Amazon Web Services from May 2005 to September 2016.

David A. Zapolsky. Mr. Zapolsky has served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary since May 2014, 

Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary from September 2012 to May 2014, and as Vice President and Associate 
General Counsel for Litigation and Regulatory matters from April 2002 until September 2012.

5

Board of Directors

Name
Jeffrey P. Bezos
Andrew R. Jassy
Keith B. Alexander
Edith W. Cooper
Jamie S. Gorelick
Daniel P. Huttenlocher
Judith A. McGrath
Indra K. Nooyi
Jonathan J. Rubinstein
Patricia Q. Stonesifer
Wendell P. Weeks

Item 1A.

Risk Factors

Age
59
55
71
61
72
64
70
67
66
66
63

Position

Executive Chair 
President and Chief Executive Officer
CEO, President, and Chair of IronNet, Inc.
Former Executive Vice President, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
Partner, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
Dean, MIT Schwarzman College of Computing
Former Chair and CEO, MTV Networks
Former Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo, Inc.
Former co-CEO, Bridgewater Associates, LP
Former President and Chief Executive Officer, Martha’s Table
Chief Executive Officer, Corning Incorporated

Please carefully consider the following discussion of significant factors, events, and uncertainties that make an 

investment in our securities risky. The events and consequences discussed in these risk factors could, in circumstances we may 
or may not be able to accurately predict, recognize, or control, have a material adverse effect on our business, growth, 
reputation, prospects, financial condition, operating results (including components of our financial results), cash flows, 
liquidity, and stock price. These risk factors do not identify all risks that we face; our operations could also be affected by 
factors, events, or uncertainties that are not presently known to us or that we currently do not consider to present significant 
risks to our operations. In addition to the factors discussed in Item 7 of Part II, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of 
Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Overview,” and in the risk factors below, global economic and geopolitical 
conditions and additional or unforeseen circumstances, developments, or events may give rise to or amplify many of the risks 
discussed below. Many of the risks discussed below also impact our customers, including third-party sellers, which could 
indirectly have a material adverse effect on us.

Business and Industry Risks

We Face Intense Competition

Our businesses are rapidly evolving and intensely competitive, and we have many competitors across geographies, 
including cross-border competition, and in different industries, including physical, e-commerce, and omnichannel retail, e-
commerce services, web and infrastructure computing services, electronic devices, digital content, advertising, grocery, and 
transportation and logistics services. Some of our current and potential competitors have greater resources, longer histories, 
more customers, and/or greater brand recognition, particularly with our newly-launched products and services and in our newer 
geographic regions. They may secure better terms from vendors, adopt more aggressive pricing, and devote more resources to 
technology, infrastructure, fulfillment, and marketing.

Competition continues to intensify, including with the development of new business models and the entry of new and 
well-funded competitors, and as our competitors enter into business combinations or alliances and established companies in 
other market segments expand to become competitive with our business. In addition, new and enhanced technologies, including 
search, web and infrastructure computing services, digital content, and electronic devices continue to increase our competition. 
The Internet facilitates competitive entry and comparison shopping, which enhances the ability of new, smaller, or lesser known 
businesses to compete against us. As a result of competition, our product and service offerings may not be successful, we may 
fail to gain or may lose business, and we may be required to increase our spending or lower prices, any of which could 
materially reduce our sales and profits.

Our Expansion into New Products, Services, Technologies, and Geographic Regions Subjects Us to Additional Risks

We may have limited or no experience in our newer market segments, and our customers may not adopt our product or 

service offerings. These offerings, which can present new and difficult technology challenges, may subject us to claims if 
customers of these offerings experience, or are otherwise impacted by, service disruptions, delays, setbacks, or failures or 
quality issues. In addition, profitability, if any, in our newer activities may not meet our expectations, and we may not be 
successful enough in these newer activities to recoup our investments in them, which investments are often significant. Failure 
to realize the benefits of amounts we invest in new technologies, products, or services could result in the value of those 
investments being written down or written off. In addition, our sustainability initiatives may be unsuccessful for a variety of 

6

reasons, including if we are unable to realize the expected benefits of new technologies or if we do not successfully plan or 
execute new strategies, which could harm our business or damage our reputation.

Our International Operations Expose Us to a Number of Risks

Our international activities are significant to our revenues and profits, and we plan to further expand internationally. In 

certain international market segments, we have relatively little operating experience and may not benefit from any first-to-
market advantages or otherwise succeed. It is costly to establish, develop, and maintain international operations and stores, and 
promote our brand internationally. Our international operations may not become profitable on a sustained basis.

In addition to risks described elsewhere in this section, our international sales and operations are subject to a number of 

risks, including:

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

local economic and political conditions;

government regulation (such as regulation of our product and service offerings and of competition); restrictive 
governmental actions (such as trade protection measures, including export duties and quotas and custom duties and 
tariffs); nationalization; and restrictions on foreign ownership;

restrictions on sales or distribution of certain products or services and uncertainty regarding liability for products, 
services, and content, including uncertainty as a result of less Internet-friendly legal systems, local laws, lack of legal 
precedent, and varying rules, regulations, and practices regarding the physical and digital distribution of media 
products and enforcement of intellectual property rights;

business licensing or certification requirements, such as for imports, exports, web services, and electronic devices;

limitations on the repatriation and investment of funds and foreign currency exchange restrictions;

limited fulfillment and technology infrastructure;

shorter payable and longer receivable cycles and the resultant negative impact on cash flow;

laws and regulations regarding privacy, data use, data protection, data security, data localization, network security, 
consumer protection, payments, advertising, and restrictions on pricing or discounts;

lower levels of use of the Internet;

lower levels of consumer spending and fewer opportunities for growth compared to the U.S.;

lower levels of credit card usage and increased payment risk;

difficulty in staffing, developing, and managing foreign operations as a result of distance, language, and cultural 
differences;

different employee/employer relationships and the existence of works councils and labor unions;

compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other applicable U.S. and foreign laws prohibiting 
corrupt payments to government officials and other third parties;

laws and policies of the U.S. and other jurisdictions affecting trade, foreign investment, loans, and taxes; and

geopolitical events, including war and terrorism.

As international physical, e-commerce, and omnichannel retail, cloud services, and other services grow, competition will 

intensify, including through adoption of evolving business models. Local companies may have a substantial competitive 
advantage because of their greater understanding of, and focus on, the local customer, as well as their more established local 
brand names. The inability to hire, train, retain, and manage sufficient required personnel may limit our international growth.

The People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) and India regulate Amazon’s and its affiliates’ businesses and operations in 
country through regulations and license requirements that may restrict (i) foreign investment in and operation of the Internet, IT 
infrastructure, data centers, retail, delivery, and other sectors, (ii) Internet content, and (iii) the sale of media and other products 
and services. For example, in order to meet local ownership, regulatory licensing, and cybersecurity requirements, we provide 
certain technology services in China through contractual relationships with third parties that hold PRC licenses to provide 
services. In India, the government restricts the ownership or control of Indian companies by foreign entities involved in online 
multi-brand retail trading activities. For www.amazon.in, we provide certain marketing tools and logistics services to third-
party sellers to enable them to sell online and deliver to customers, and we hold indirect minority interests in entities that are 
third-party sellers on the www.amazon.in marketplace. Although we believe these structures and activities comply with existing 
laws, they involve unique risks, and the PRC and India may from time to time consider and implement additional changes in 
their regulatory, licensing, or other requirements that could impact these structures and activities. There are substantial 
uncertainties regarding the interpretation of PRC and Indian laws and regulations, and it is possible that these governments will 

7

ultimately take a view contrary to ours. In addition, our Chinese and Indian businesses and operations may be unable to 
continue to operate if we or our affiliates are unable to access sufficient funding or, in China, enforce contractual relationships 
we or our affiliates have in place. Violation of any existing or future PRC, Indian, or other laws or regulations or changes in the 
interpretations of those laws and regulations could result in our businesses in those countries being subject to fines and other 
financial penalties, having licenses revoked, or being forced to restructure our operations or shut down entirely. 

The Variability in Our Retail Business Places Increased Strain on Our Operations

Demand for our products and services can fluctuate significantly for many reasons, including as a result of seasonality, 

promotions, product launches, or unforeseeable events, such as in response to global economic conditions such as recessionary 
fears or rising inflation, natural or human-caused disasters (including public health crises) or extreme weather (including as a 
result of climate change), or geopolitical events. For example, we expect a disproportionate amount of our retail sales to occur 
during our fourth quarter. Our failure to stock or restock popular products in sufficient amounts such that we fail to meet 
customer demand could significantly affect our revenue and our future growth. When we overstock products, we may be 
required to take significant inventory markdowns or write-offs and incur commitment costs, which could materially reduce 
profitability. We regularly experience increases in our net shipping cost due to complimentary upgrades, split-shipments, and 
additional long-zone shipments necessary to ensure timely delivery for the holiday season. If too many customers access our 
websites within a short period of time due to increased demand, we may experience system interruptions that make our websites 
unavailable or prevent us from efficiently fulfilling orders, which may reduce the volume of goods we offer or sell and the 
attractiveness of our products and services. In addition, we may be unable to adequately staff our fulfillment network and 
customer service centers during these peak periods and delivery and other fulfillment companies and customer service co-
sourcers may be unable to meet the seasonal demand. Risks described elsewhere in this Item 1A relating to fulfillment network 
optimization and inventory are magnified during periods of high demand.

As a result of holiday sales, as of December 31 of each year, our cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities 
balances typically reach their highest level (other than as a result of cash flows provided by or used in investing and financing 
activities) because consumers primarily use credit cards in our stores and the related receivables settle quickly. Typically, there 
is also a corresponding increase in accounts payable as of December 31 due to inventory purchases and third-party seller sales. 
Our accounts payable balance generally declines during the first three months of the year as vendors and sellers are paid, 
resulting in a corresponding decline in our cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities balances.

We Are Impacted by Fraudulent or Unlawful Activities of Sellers

The law relating to the liability of online service providers is currently unsettled. In addition, governmental agencies have 

in the past and could in the future require changes in the way this business is conducted. Under our seller programs, we 
maintain policies and processes designed to prevent sellers from collecting payments, fraudulently or otherwise, when buyers 
never receive the products they ordered or when the products received are materially different from the sellers’ descriptions, 
and to prevent sellers in our stores or through other stores from selling unlawful, counterfeit, pirated, or stolen goods, selling 
goods in an unlawful or unethical manner, violating the proprietary rights of others, or otherwise violating our policies. When 
these policies and processes are circumvented or fail to operate sufficiently, it can harm our business or damage our reputation 
and we could face civil or criminal liability for unlawful activities by our sellers. Under our A-to-z Guarantee, we may 
reimburse customers for payments up to certain limits in these situations, and as our third-party seller sales grow, the cost of 
this program will increase and could negatively affect our operating results. 

We Face Risks Related to Adequately Protecting Our Intellectual Property Rights and Being Accused of Infringing 

Intellectual Property Rights of Third Parties

We regard our trademarks, service marks, copyrights, patents, trade dress, trade secrets, proprietary technology, and 

similar intellectual property as critical to our success, and we rely on trademark, copyright, and patent law, trade secret 
protection, and confidentiality and/or license agreements with our employees, customers, and others to protect our proprietary 
rights. Effective intellectual property protection is not available in every country in which our products and services are made 
available. We also may not be able to acquire or maintain appropriate domain names in all countries in which we do business. 
Furthermore, regulations governing domain names may not protect our trademarks and similar proprietary rights. We may be 
unable to prevent third parties from acquiring domain names that are similar to, infringe upon, or diminish the value of our 
trademarks and other proprietary rights.

We are not always able to discover or determine the extent of any unauthorized use of our proprietary rights. Actions 

taken by third parties that license our proprietary rights may materially diminish the value of our proprietary rights or 
reputation. The protection of our intellectual property requires the expenditure of significant financial and managerial resources. 
Moreover, the steps we take to protect our intellectual property do not always adequately protect our rights or prevent third 

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parties from infringing or misappropriating our proprietary rights. We also cannot be certain that others will not independently 
develop or otherwise acquire equivalent or superior technology or other intellectual property rights.

We have been subject to, and expect to continue to be subject to, claims and legal proceedings regarding alleged 
infringement by us of the intellectual property rights of third parties. Such claims, whether or not meritorious, have in the past, 
and may in the future, result in the expenditure of significant financial and managerial resources, injunctions against us, or 
significant payments for damages, including to satisfy indemnification obligations or to obtain licenses from third parties who 
allege that we have infringed their rights. Such licenses may not be available on terms acceptable to us or at all. These risks 
have been amplified by the increase in third parties whose sole or primary business is to assert such claims.

Our digital content offerings depend in part on effective digital rights management technology to control access to digital 

content. Breach or malfunctioning of the digital rights management technology that we use could subject us to claims, and 
content providers may be unwilling to include their content in our service.

We Have Foreign Exchange Risk

The results of operations of, and certain of our intercompany balances associated with, our international stores and 
product and service offerings are exposed to foreign exchange rate fluctuations. Due to these fluctuations, operating results may 
differ materially from expectations, and we may record significant gains or losses on the remeasurement of intercompany 
balances. As we have expanded our international operations, our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations has increased. We also 
hold cash equivalents and/or marketable securities in foreign currencies such as British Pounds, Canadian Dollars, Euros, and 
Japanese Yen. When the U.S. Dollar strengthens compared to these currencies, cash equivalents, and marketable securities 
balances, when translated, may be materially less than expected and vice versa.

Operating Risks

Our Expansion Places a Significant Strain on our Management, Operational, Financial, and Other Resources

We are continuing to rapidly and significantly expand our global operations, including increasing our product and service 
offerings and scaling our infrastructure to support our retail and services businesses. The complexity of the current scale of our 
business can place significant strain on our management, personnel, operations, systems, technical performance, financial 
resources, and internal financial control and reporting functions, and our expansion increases these factors. Failure to manage 
growth effectively could damage our reputation, limit our growth, and negatively affect our operating results.

We Experience Significant Fluctuations in Our Operating Results and Growth Rate

We are not always able to accurately forecast our growth rate. We base our expense levels and investment plans on sales 

estimates. A significant portion of our expenses and investments is fixed, and we are not always able to adjust our spending 
quickly enough if our sales are less than expected.

Our revenue growth may not be sustainable, and our percentage growth rates may decrease. Our revenue and operating 
profit growth depends on the continued growth of demand for the products and services offered by us or our sellers, and our 
business is affected by general economic, business, and geopolitical conditions worldwide. A softening of demand, whether 
caused by changes in customer preferences or a weakening of the U.S. or global economies, may result in decreased revenue or 
growth.

Our sales and operating results will also fluctuate for many other reasons, including due to factors described elsewhere in 

this section and the following:

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our ability to retain and increase sales to existing customers, attract new customers, and satisfy our customers’ 
demands;

our ability to retain and expand our network of sellers;

our ability to offer products on favorable terms, manage inventory, and fulfill orders;

the introduction of competitive stores, websites, products, services, price decreases, or improvements;

changes in usage or adoption rates of the Internet, e-commerce, electronic devices, and web services, including 
outside the U.S.;

timing, effectiveness, and costs of expansion and upgrades of our systems and infrastructure;

the success of our geographic, service, and product line expansions;

the extent to which we finance, and the terms of any such financing for, our current operations and future growth;

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the outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, which may include significant monetary damages or injunctive relief 
and could have a material adverse impact on our operating results;

variations in the mix of products and services we sell;

variations in our level of merchandise and vendor returns;

the extent to which we offer fast and free delivery, continue to reduce prices worldwide, and provide additional 
benefits to our customers;

factors affecting our reputation or brand image (including any actual or perceived inability to achieve our goals or 
commitments, whether related to sustainability, customers, employees, or other topics);

the extent to which we invest in technology and content, fulfillment, and other expense categories;

increases in the prices of transportation (including fuel), energy products, commodities like paper and packing 
supplies and hardware products, and technology infrastructure products, including as a result of inflationary 
pressures;

constrained labor markets, which increase our payroll costs;

the extent to which operators of the networks between our customers and our stores successfully charge fees to grant 
our customers unimpaired and unconstrained access to our online services;

our ability to collect amounts owed to us when they become due;

the extent to which new and existing technologies, or industry trends, restrict online advertising or affect our ability to 
customize advertising or otherwise tailor our product and service offerings;

the extent to which use of our services is affected by spyware, viruses, phishing and other spam emails, denial of 
service attacks, data theft, computer intrusions, outages, and similar events; and

disruptions from natural or human-caused disasters (including public health crises) or extreme weather (including as a 
result of climate change), geopolitical events and security issues (including terrorist attacks and armed hostilities), 
labor or trade disputes (including restrictive governmental actions impacting us and our third-party sellers in China or 
other foreign countries), and similar events.

We Face Risks Related to Successfully Optimizing and Operating Our Fulfillment Network and Data Centers

Failures to adequately predict customer demand or otherwise optimize and operate our fulfillment network and data 

centers successfully from time to time result in excess or insufficient fulfillment or data center capacity, service interruptions, 
increased costs, and impairment charges, any of which could materially harm our business. As we continue to add fulfillment 
and data center capability or add new businesses with different requirements, our fulfillment and data center networks become 
increasingly complex and operating them becomes more challenging. There can be no assurance that we will be able to operate 
our networks effectively.

In addition, failure to optimize inventory or staffing in our fulfillment network increases our net shipping cost by 

requiring long-zone or partial shipments. We and our co-sourcers may be unable to adequately staff our fulfillment network and 
customer service centers. For example, productivity across our fulfillment network currently is being affected by regional labor 
market and global supply chain constraints, which increase payroll costs and make it difficult to hire, train, and deploy a 
sufficient number of people to operate our fulfillment network as efficiently as we would like. 

Under some of our commercial agreements, we maintain the inventory of other companies, thereby increasing the 
complexity of tracking inventory and operating our fulfillment network. Our failure to properly handle such inventory or the 
inability of the other businesses on whose behalf we perform inventory fulfillment services to accurately forecast product 
demand may result in us being unable to secure sufficient storage space or to optimize our fulfillment network or cause other 
unexpected costs and other harm to our business and reputation.

We rely on a limited number of shipping companies to deliver inventory to us and completed orders to our customers. An 
inability to negotiate acceptable terms with these companies or performance problems, staffing limitations, or other difficulties 
experienced by these companies or by our own transportation systems, including as a result of labor market constraints and 
related costs, could negatively impact our operating results and customer experience. In addition, our ability to receive inbound 
inventory efficiently and ship completed orders to customers also may be negatively affected by natural or human-caused 
disasters (including public health crises) or extreme weather (including as a result of climate change), geopolitical events and 
security issues, labor or trade disputes, and similar events.

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We Could Be Harmed by Data Loss or Other Security Breaches

Because we collect, process, store, and transmit large amounts of data, including confidential, sensitive, proprietary, and 

business and personal information, failure to prevent or mitigate data loss, theft, misuse, or other security breaches or 
vulnerabilities affecting our or our vendors’ or customers’ technology, products, and systems, could: expose us or our 
customers to a risk of loss, disclosure, or misuse of such information; adversely affect our operating results; result in litigation, 
liability, or regulatory action (including under laws related to privacy, data use, data protection, data security, network security, 
and consumer protection); deter customers or sellers from using our stores, products, and services; and otherwise harm our 
business and reputation. We use third-party technology and systems for a variety of reasons, including, without limitation, 
encryption and authentication technology, employee email, content delivery to customers, back-office support, and other 
functions. Some of our systems have experienced past security breaches, and, although they did not have a material adverse 
effect on our operating results, there can be no assurance that future incidents will not have material adverse effects on our 
operations or financial results. Although we have developed systems and processes that are designed to protect customer data 
and prevent such incidents, including systems and processes designed to reduce the impact of a security breach at a third-party 
vendor or customer, such measures cannot provide absolute security and may fail to operate as intended or be circumvented.

We Face Risks Related to System Interruption and Lack of Redundancy

We experience occasional system interruptions and delays that make our websites and services unavailable or slow to 
respond and prevent us from efficiently accepting or fulfilling orders or providing services to customers and third parties, which 
may reduce our net sales and the attractiveness of our products and services. Steps we take to add software and hardware, 
upgrade our systems and network infrastructure, and improve the stability and efficiency of our systems may not be sufficient to 
avoid system interruptions or delays that could adversely affect our operating results.

Our computer and communications systems and operations in the past have been, or in the future could be, damaged or 

interrupted due to events such as natural or human-caused disasters (including public health crises) or extreme weather 
(including as a result of climate change), geopolitical events and security issues (including terrorist attacks and armed 
hostilities), computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins, operational failures (including from energy shortages), and 
similar events or disruptions. Any of these events could cause system interruption, delays, and loss of critical data, and could 
prevent us from accepting and fulfilling customer orders and providing services, which could make our product and service 
offerings less attractive and subject us to liability. Our systems are not fully redundant and our disaster recovery planning may 
not be sufficient. In addition, our insurance may not provide sufficient coverage to compensate for related losses. Any of these 
events could damage our reputation and be expensive to remedy.

The Loss of Key Senior Management Personnel or the Failure to Hire and Retain Highly Skilled and Other Personnel 

Could Negatively Affect Our Business

We depend on our senior management and other key personnel, including our President and CEO. We do not have “key 

person” life insurance policies. We also rely on other highly skilled personnel. Competition for qualified personnel in the 
industries in which we operate, as well as senior management, has historically been intense. For example, we experience 
significant competition in the technology industry, particularly for software engineers, computer scientists, and other technical 
staff. In addition, changes we make to our current and future work environments may not meet the needs or expectations of our 
employees or may be perceived as less favorable compared to other companies’ policies, which could negatively impact our 
ability to hire and retain qualified personnel. The loss of any of our executive officers or other key employees, the failure to 
successfully transition key roles, or the inability to hire, train, retain, and manage qualified personnel, could harm our business.

We also rely on a significant number of personnel to operate our stores, fulfillment network, and data centers and carry 

out our other operations. Failure to successfully hire, train, manage, and retain sufficient personnel to meet our needs can strain 
our operations, increase payroll and other costs, and harm our business and reputation. In addition, changes in laws and 
regulations applicable to employees, independent contractors, and temporary personnel could increase our payroll costs, 
decrease our operational flexibility, and negatively impact how we are able to staff our operations and supplement our 
workforce.

We are also subject to labor union efforts to organize groups of our employees from time to time. These organizational 

efforts, if successful, decrease our operational flexibility, which could adversely affect our operating efficiency. In addition, our 
response to any organizational efforts could be perceived negatively and harm our business and reputation.

Our Supplier Relationships Subject Us to a Number of Risks

We have significant suppliers, including content and technology licensors, and in some cases, limited or single-sources of 

supply, that are important to our sourcing, services, manufacturing, and any related ongoing servicing of merchandise and 
content. We do not have long-term arrangements with most of our suppliers to guarantee availability of merchandise, content, 

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components, or services, particular payment terms, or the extension of credit limits. Decisions by our current suppliers to limit 
or stop selling or licensing merchandise, content, components, or services to us on acceptable terms, or delay delivery, 
including as a result of one or more supplier bankruptcies due to poor economic conditions, as a result of natural or human-
caused disasters (including public health crises), or for other reasons, may result in our being unable to procure alternatives 
from other suppliers in a timely and efficient manner and on acceptable terms, or at all. In addition, violations by our suppliers 
or other vendors of applicable laws, regulations, contractual terms, intellectual property rights of others, or our Supply Chain 
Standards, as well as products or practices regarded as unethical, unsafe, or hazardous, could expose us to claims, damage our 
reputation, limit our growth, and negatively affect our operating results.

Our Commercial Agreements, Strategic Alliances, and Other Business Relationships Expose Us to Risks

We provide physical, e-commerce, and omnichannel retail, cloud services, and other services to businesses through 
commercial agreements, strategic alliances, and business relationships. Under these agreements, we provide web services, 
technology, fulfillment, computing, digital storage, and other services, as well as enable sellers to offer products or services 
through our stores. These arrangements are complex and require substantial infrastructure capacity, personnel, and other 
resource commitments, which may limit the amount of business we can service. We may not be able to implement, maintain, 
and develop the components of these commercial relationships, which may include web services, fulfillment, customer service, 
inventory management, tax collection, payment processing, hardware, content, and third-party software, and engaging third 
parties to perform services. The amount of compensation we receive under certain of our commercial agreements is partially 
dependent on the volume of the other company’s sales. Therefore, when the other company’s offerings are not successful, the 
compensation we receive may be lower than expected or the agreement may be terminated. Moreover, we may not be able to 
enter into additional or alternative commercial relationships and strategic alliances on favorable terms. We also may be subject 
to claims from businesses to which we provide these services if we are unsuccessful in implementing, maintaining, or 
developing these services.

As our agreements terminate, we may be unable to renew or replace these agreements on comparable terms, or at all. We 

may in the future enter into amendments on less favorable terms or encounter parties that have difficulty meeting their 
contractual obligations to us, which could adversely affect our operating results.

Our present and future commercial agreements, strategic alliances, and business relationships create additional risks such 

as:

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disruption of our ongoing business, including loss of management focus on existing businesses;

impairment of other relationships;

variability in revenue and income from entering into, amending, or terminating such agreements or relationships; and

difficulty integrating under the commercial agreements.

Our Business Suffers When We Are Unsuccessful in Making, Integrating, and Maintaining Acquisitions and Investments

We have acquired and invested in a number of companies, and we may in the future acquire or invest in or enter into joint 

ventures with additional companies. These transactions involve risks such as:

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disruption of our ongoing business, including loss of management focus on existing businesses;

problems retaining key personnel;

additional operating losses and expenses of the businesses we acquired or in which we invested;

the potential impairment of tangible and intangible assets and goodwill, including as a result of acquisitions;

the potential impairment of customer and other relationships of the company we acquired or in which we invested or 
our own customers as a result of any integration of operations;

the difficulty of completing such transactions, including obtaining regulatory approvals or satisfying other closing 
conditions, and achieving anticipated benefits within expected timeframes, or at all; 

the difficulty of incorporating acquired operations, technology, and rights into our offerings, and unanticipated 
expenses related to such integration;

the difficulty of integrating a new company’s accounting, financial reporting, management, information and data 
security, human resource, and other administrative systems to permit effective management, and the lack of control if 
such integration is delayed or not successfully implemented;

losses we may incur as a result of declines in the value of an investment or as a result of incorporating an investee’s 
financial performance into our financial results;

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for investments in which an investee’s financial performance is incorporated into our financial results, either in full or 
in part, or investments for which we are required to file financial statements or provide financial information, the 
dependence on the investee’s accounting, financial reporting, and similar systems, controls, and processes;

the difficulty of implementing at companies we acquire the controls, procedures, and policies appropriate for a larger 
public company;

the risks associated with businesses we acquire or invest in, which may differ from or be more significant than the 
risks our other businesses face;

potential unknown liabilities associated with a company we acquire or in which we invest; and

for foreign transactions, additional risks related to the integration of operations across different cultures and 
languages, and the economic, political, and regulatory risks associated with specific countries.

As a result of future acquisitions or mergers, we might need to issue additional equity securities, spend our cash, or incur 
debt, contingent liabilities, or amortization expenses related to intangible assets, any of which could reduce our profitability and 
harm our business or only be available on unfavorable terms, if at all. In addition, valuations supporting our acquisitions and 
strategic investments could change rapidly. We could determine that such valuations have experienced impairments or other-
than-temporary declines in fair value which could adversely impact our financial results.

We Face Significant Inventory Risk

In addition to risks described elsewhere in this Item 1A relating to fulfillment network and inventory optimization by us 

and third parties, we are exposed to significant inventory risks that may adversely affect our operating results as a result of 
seasonality, new product launches, rapid changes in product cycles and pricing, defective merchandise, changes in customer 
demand and consumer spending patterns, changes in consumer tastes with respect to our products, spoilage, and other factors. 
We endeavor to accurately predict these trends and avoid overstocking or understocking products we manufacture and/or sell. 
Demand for products, however, can change significantly between the time inventory or components are ordered and the date of 
sale. In addition, when we begin selling or manufacturing a new product, it may be difficult to establish vendor relationships, 
determine appropriate product or component selection, and accurately forecast demand. The acquisition of certain types of 
inventory or components requires significant lead-time and prepayment and they may not be returnable. We carry a broad 
selection and significant inventory levels of certain products, such as consumer electronics, and at times we are unable to sell 
products in sufficient quantities or to meet demand during the relevant selling seasons. Any one of the inventory risk factors set 
forth above may adversely affect our operating results.

We Are Subject to Payments-Related Risks

We accept payments using a variety of methods, including credit card, debit card, credit accounts (including promotional 

financing), gift cards, direct debit from a customer’s bank account, consumer invoicing, physical bank check, and payment 
upon delivery. For existing and future payment options we offer to our customers, we currently are subject to, and may become 
subject to additional, regulations and compliance requirements (including obligations to implement enhanced authentication 
processes that could result in significant costs and reduce the ease of use of our payments products), as well as fraud. For 
certain payment methods, including credit and debit cards, we pay interchange and other fees, which may increase over time 
and raise our operating costs and lower profitability. We rely on third parties to provide certain Amazon-branded payment 
methods and payment processing services, including the processing of credit cards, debit cards, electronic checks, and 
promotional financing. In each case, it could disrupt our business if these companies become unwilling or unable to provide 
these services to us. We also offer co-branded credit card programs, which could adversely affect our operating results if 
renewed on less favorable terms or terminated. We are also subject to payment card association operating rules, including data 
security rules, certification requirements, and rules governing electronic funds transfers, which could change or be reinterpreted 
to make it difficult or impossible for us to comply. Failure to comply with these rules or requirements, as well as any breach, 
compromise, or failure to otherwise detect or prevent fraudulent activity involving our data security systems, could result in our 
being liable for card issuing banks’ costs, subject to fines and higher transaction fees, and loss of our ability to accept credit and 
debit card payments from our customers, process electronic funds transfers, or facilitate other types of online payments, and our 
business and operating results could be adversely affected.

In addition, we provide regulated services in certain jurisdictions because we enable customers to keep account balances 

with us and transfer money to third parties, and because we provide services to third parties to facilitate payments on their 
behalf. Jurisdictions subject us to requirements for licensing, regulatory inspection, bonding and capital maintenance, the use, 
handling, and segregation of transferred funds, consumer disclosures, maintaining or processing data, and authentication. We 
are also subject to or voluntarily comply with a number of other laws and regulations relating to payments, money laundering, 
international money transfers, privacy, data use, data protection, data security, data localization, network security, consumer 

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protection, and electronic fund transfers. If we were found to be in violation of applicable laws or regulations, we could be 
subject to additional requirements and civil and criminal penalties, or forced to cease providing certain services.

We Have a Rapidly Evolving Business Model and Our Stock Price Is Highly Volatile

We have a rapidly evolving business model. The trading price of our common stock fluctuates significantly in response 

to, among other risks, the risks described elsewhere in this Item 1A, as well as:

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changes in interest rates;

conditions or trends in the Internet and the industry segments we operate in;

quarterly variations in operating results;

fluctuations in the stock market in general and market prices for Internet-related companies in particular;

changes in financial estimates by us or decisions to increase or decrease future spending or investment levels; 

changes in financial estimates and recommendations by securities analysts;

changes in our capital structure, including issuance of additional debt or equity to the public;

changes in the valuation methodology of, or performance by, other e-commerce or technology companies; and

transactions in our common stock by major investors and certain analyst reports, news, and speculation.

Volatility in our stock price could adversely affect our business and financing opportunities and force us to increase our 
cash compensation to employees or grant larger stock awards than we have historically, which could hurt our operating results 
or reduce the percentage ownership of our existing stockholders, or both.

Legal and Regulatory Risks

Government Regulation Is Evolving and Unfavorable Changes Could Harm Our Business

We are subject to general business regulations and laws, as well as regulations and laws specifically governing the 
Internet, physical, e-commerce, and omnichannel retail, digital content, web services, electronic devices, advertising, artificial 
intelligence technologies and services, and other products and services that we offer or sell. These regulations and laws cover 
taxation, privacy, data use, data protection, data security, data localization, network security, consumer protection, pricing, 
content, copyrights, distribution, transportation, mobile communications, electronic device certification, electronic waste, 
energy consumption, environmental regulation, electronic contracts and other communications, competition, employment, trade 
and protectionist measures, web services, the provision of online payment services, registration, licensing, and information 
reporting requirements, unencumbered Internet access to our services or access to our facilities, the design and operation of 
websites, health, safety, and sanitation standards, the characteristics, legality, and quality of products and services, product 
labeling, the commercial operation of unmanned aircraft systems, healthcare, and other matters. It is not clear how existing laws 
governing issues such as property ownership, libel, privacy, data use, data protection, data security, data localization, network 
security, and consumer protection apply to aspects of our operations such as the Internet, e-commerce, digital content, web 
services, electronic devices, advertising, and artificial intelligence technologies and services. A large number of jurisdictions 
regulate our operations, and the extent, nature, and scope of such regulations is evolving and expanding as the scope of our 
businesses expand. We are regularly subject to formal and informal reviews, investigations, and other proceedings by 
governments and regulatory authorities under existing laws, regulations, or interpretations or pursuing new and novel 
approaches to regulate our operations. For example, we face a number of open investigations based on claims that aspects of 
our operations violate competition rules, including aspects of Amazon’s U.S. and European marketplace for sellers, particularly 
with respect to use of data, fulfillment services, and featured offers, and legislative and regulatory initiatives in Europe and 
elsewhere allow authorities to restrict or prohibit certain operations or actions pre-emptively without the need to assess specific 
competitive effects. Unfavorable regulations, laws, decisions, or interpretations by government or regulatory authorities 
applying those laws and regulations, or inquiries, investigations, or enforcement actions threatened or initiated by them, could 
cause us to incur substantial costs, expose us to unanticipated civil and criminal liability or penalties (including substantial 
monetary fines), diminish the demand for, or availability of, our products and services, increase our cost of doing business, 
require us to change our business practices in a manner materially adverse to our business, damage our reputation, impede our 
growth, or otherwise have a material effect on our operations. The media, political, and regulatory scrutiny we face, which may 
continue to increase, amplifies these risks. 

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Claims, Litigation, Government Investigations, and Other Proceedings May Adversely Affect Our Business and Results of 

Operations

As an innovative company offering a wide range of consumer and business products and services around the world, we 

are regularly subject to actual and threatened claims, litigation, reviews, investigations, and other proceedings, including 
proceedings by governments and regulatory authorities, involving a wide range of issues, including patent and other intellectual 
property matters, taxes, labor and employment, competition and antitrust, privacy, data use, data protection, data security, data 
localization, network security, consumer protection, commercial disputes, goods and services offered by us and by third parties, 
and other matters. The number and scale of these proceedings have increased over time as our businesses have expanded in 
scope and geographic reach, as our products, services, and operations have become more complex and available to, and used 
by, more people, and as governments and regulatory authorities seek to regulate us on a pre-emptive basis. For example, we are 
litigating a number of matters alleging price fixing, monopolization, and consumer protection claims, including those brought 
by state attorneys general. Any of these types of proceedings can have an adverse effect on us because of legal costs, disruption 
of our operations, diversion of management resources, negative publicity, and other factors. The outcomes of these matters are 
inherently unpredictable and subject to significant uncertainties. Determining legal reserves or possible losses from such 
matters involves judgment and may not reflect the full range of uncertainties and unpredictable outcomes. Until the final 
resolution of such matters, we may be exposed to losses in excess of the amount recorded, and such amounts could be material. 
Should any of our estimates and assumptions change or prove to have been incorrect, it could have a material effect on our 
business, consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. In addition, it is possible that a resolution of one 
or more such proceedings, including as a result of a settlement, could involve licenses, sanctions, consent decrees, or orders 
requiring us to make substantial future payments, preventing us from offering certain products or services, requiring us to 
change our business practices in a manner materially adverse to our business, requiring development of non-infringing or 
otherwise altered products or technologies, damaging our reputation, or otherwise having a material effect on our operations. 

We Are Subject to Product Liability Claims When People or Property Are Harmed by the Products We Sell or 

Manufacture

Some of the products we sell or manufacture expose us to product liability or food safety claims relating to personal 
injury or illness, death, or environmental or property damage, and can require product recalls or other actions. Third parties who 
sell products using our services and stores also expose us to product liability claims. Additionally, under our A-to-z Guarantee, 
we may reimburse customers for certain product liability claims up to certain limits in these situations, and as our third-party 
seller sales grow, the cost of this program will increase and could negatively affect our operating results. Although we maintain 
liability insurance, we cannot be certain that our coverage will be adequate for liabilities actually incurred or that insurance will 
continue to be available to us on economically reasonable terms, or at all. Although we impose contractual terms on sellers that 
are intended to prohibit sales of certain type of products, we may not be able to detect, enforce, or collect sufficient damages for 
breaches of such agreements. In addition, some of our agreements with our vendors and sellers do not indemnify us from 
product liability.

We Face Additional Tax Liabilities and Collection Obligations

We are subject to a variety of taxes and tax collection obligations in the U.S. (federal and state) and numerous foreign 

jurisdictions. We may recognize additional tax expense and be subject to additional tax liabilities, including other liabilities for 
tax collection obligations due to changes in laws, regulations, administrative practices, principles, and interpretations related to 
tax, including changes to the global tax framework, competition, and other laws and accounting rules in various jurisdictions. 
Such changes could come about as a result of economic, political, and other conditions. An increasing number of jurisdictions 
are considering or have adopted laws or administrative practices that impose new tax measures, including revenue-based taxes, 
targeting online commerce and the remote selling of goods and services. These include new obligations to withhold or collect 
sales, consumption, value added, or other taxes on online marketplaces and remote sellers, or other requirements that may result 
in liability for third party obligations. For example, non-U.S. jurisdictions have proposed or enacted taxes on online advertising 
and marketplace service revenues. Proliferation of these or similar unilateral tax measures may continue unless broader 
international tax reform is implemented. Our results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected by additional 
taxes imposed on us prospectively or retroactively or additional taxes or penalties resulting from the failure to comply with any 
collection obligations or failure to provide information about our customers, suppliers, and other third parties for tax reporting 
purposes to various government agencies. In some cases we also may not have sufficient notice to enable us to build systems 
and adopt processes to properly comply with new reporting or collection obligations by the effective date.

Our tax expense and liabilities are also affected by other factors, such as changes in our business operations, acquisitions, 
investments, entry into new businesses and geographies, intercompany transactions, the relative amount of our foreign earnings, 
losses incurred in jurisdictions for which we are not able to realize related tax benefits, the applicability of special or 
extraterritorial tax regimes, changes in foreign currency exchange rates, changes in our stock price, changes to our forecasts of 
income and loss and the mix of jurisdictions to which they relate, and changes in our tax assets and liabilities and their 

15

valuation. In the ordinary course of our business, there are many transactions and calculations for which the ultimate tax 
determination is uncertain. Significant judgment is required in evaluating and estimating our tax expense, assets, and liabilities.

We are also subject to tax controversies in various jurisdictions that can result in tax assessments against us. 

Developments in an audit, investigation, or other tax controversy can have a material effect on our operating results or cash 
flows in the period or periods for which that development occurs, as well as for prior and subsequent periods. Due to the 
inherent complexity and uncertainty of these matters, interpretations of certain tax laws by authorities, and judicial, 
administrative, and regulatory processes in certain jurisdictions, the final outcome of any such controversy may be materially 
different from our expectations. For example, in February 2023, the Indian Tax Authority determined that tax applies to cloud 
services fees paid to the U.S. We are contesting this determination; however, if this matter is adversely resolved, we may be 
required to pay additional amounts with respect to current and prior periods and our taxes in the future could increase. We 
regularly assess the likelihood of an adverse outcome resulting from these proceedings to determine the adequacy of our tax 
accruals. Although we believe our tax estimates are reasonable, the final outcome of audits, investigations, and any other tax 
controversies could be materially different from our historical tax accruals.

We Are Subject to Risks Related to Government Contracts and Related Procurement Regulations

Our contracts with U.S., as well as state, local, and foreign, government entities are subject to various procurement 

regulations and other requirements relating to their formation, administration, and performance. We are subject to audits and 
investigations relating to our government contracts, and any violations could result in various civil and criminal penalties and 
administrative sanctions, including termination of contract, refunding or suspending of payments, forfeiture of profits, payment 
of fines, and suspension or debarment from future government business. In addition, some of these contracts are subject to 
periodic funding approval and/or provide for termination by the government at any time, without cause.

Item 1B.

Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

16

Item 2.

Properties

As of December 31, 2022, we operated the following facilities (in thousands):

Description of Use
Office space
Office space
Physical stores (2)
Physical stores (2)
Fulfillment, data centers, and other
Fulfillment, data centers, and other
Total

Leased Square 
Footage (1)

Owned Square 
Footage

Location

30,611
23,956
22,881
291
391,598
148,146
617,483

6,792 North America
1,802 International

662 North America
— International
22,058 North America
12,613 International
43,927

 ___________________
(1) For leased properties, represents the total leased space excluding sub-leased space.
(2) This includes 611 North America and 32 International stores as of December 31, 2022. 

Segment
North America
International
AWS
Total

Leased Square 
Footage (1)

Owned Square 
Footage (1)

403,984
140,898
18,034
562,916

13,595
6,292
15,446
35,333

 ___________________
(1) Segment amounts exclude corporate facilities. Shared facilities are allocated among the segments based on usage and 

primarily relate to facilities that hold our technology infrastructure. See Item 8 of Part II, “Financial Statements and 
Supplementary Data — Note 10 — Segment Information.”

We own and lease our corporate headquarters in Washington’s Puget Sound region and Arlington, Virginia.

Item 3.

Legal Proceedings

See Item 8 of Part II, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data — Note 7 — Commitments and Contingencies — 

Legal Proceedings.”

Item 4.

Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

17

PART II

Item 5.

Market for the Registrant’s Common Stock, Related Shareholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity 
Securities

Market Information

Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “AMZN.” 

Holders

As of January 25, 2023, there were 10,845 shareholders of record of our common stock, although there is a much larger 

number of beneficial owners.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

None.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

None.

Item 6.

Reserved

18

Item 7.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities 
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding guidance, 
industry prospects, or future results of operations or financial position, made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are forward-
looking. We use words such as anticipates, believes, expects, future, intends, and similar expressions to identify forward-
looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect management’s current expectations and are inherently uncertain. 
Actual results and outcomes could differ materially for a variety of reasons, including, among others, fluctuations in foreign 
exchange rates, changes in global economic conditions and customer demand and spending, inflation, interest rates, regional 
labor market and global supply chain constraints, world events, the rate of growth of the Internet, online commerce, and cloud 
services, the amount that Amazon.com invests in new business opportunities and the timing of those investments, the mix of 
products and services sold to customers, the mix of net sales derived from products as compared with services, the extent to 
which we owe income or other taxes, competition, management of growth, potential fluctuations in operating results, 
international growth and expansion, the outcomes of claims, litigation, government investigations, and other proceedings, 
fulfillment, sortation, delivery, and data center optimization, risks of inventory management, variability in demand, the degree 
to which we enter into, maintain, and develop commercial agreements, proposed and completed acquisitions and strategic 
transactions, payments risks, and risks of fulfillment throughput and productivity. In addition, global economic and geopolitical 
conditions and additional or unforeseen circumstances, developments, or events may give rise to or amplify many of these risks. 
These risks and uncertainties, as well as other risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results or outcomes to differ 
significantly from management’s expectations, are described in greater detail in Item 1A of Part I, “Risk Factors.”

Overview

Our primary source of revenue is the sale of a wide range of products and services to customers. The products offered 
through our stores include merchandise and content we have purchased for resale and products offered by third-party sellers, 
and we also manufacture and sell electronic devices and produce media content. Generally, we recognize gross revenue from 
items we sell from our inventory as product sales and recognize our net share of revenue of items sold by third-party sellers as 
service sales. We seek to increase unit sales across our stores, through increased product selection, across numerous product 
categories. We also offer other services such as compute, storage, and database offerings, fulfillment, advertising, publishing, 
and digital content subscriptions.

Our financial focus is on long-term, sustainable growth in free cash flows. Free cash flows are driven primarily by 
increasing operating income and efficiently managing accounts receivable, inventory, accounts payable, and cash capital 
expenditures, including our decision to purchase or lease property and equipment. Increases in operating income primarily 
result from increases in sales of products and services and efficiently managing our operating costs, partially offset by 
investments we make in longer-term strategic initiatives, including capital expenditures focused on improving the customer 
experience. To increase sales of products and services, we focus on improving all aspects of the customer experience, including 
lowering prices, improving availability, offering faster delivery and performance times, increasing selection, producing original 
content, increasing product categories and service offerings, expanding product information, improving ease of use, improving 
reliability, and earning customer trust. See “Results of Operations — Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for additional 
information on our non-GAAP free cash flows financial measures.

We seek to reduce our variable costs per unit and work to leverage our fixed costs. Our variable costs include product 
and content costs, payment processing and related transaction costs, picking, packaging, and preparing orders for shipment, 
transportation, customer service support, costs necessary to run AWS, and a portion of our marketing costs. Our fixed costs 
include the costs necessary to build and run our technology infrastructure; to build, enhance, and add features to our online 
stores, web services, electronic devices, and digital offerings; and to build and optimize our fulfillment network. Variable costs 
generally change directly with sales volume, while fixed costs generally are dependent on the timing of capacity needs, 
geographic expansion, category expansion, and other factors. To decrease our variable costs on a per unit basis and enable us to 
lower prices for customers, we seek to increase our direct sourcing, increase discounts from suppliers, and reduce defects in our 
processes. To minimize unnecessary growth in fixed costs, we seek to improve process efficiencies and maintain a lean culture.

We seek to turn inventory quickly and collect from consumers before our payments to vendors and sellers become due. 

Because consumers primarily use credit cards in our stores, our receivables from consumers settle quickly. We expect 
variability in inventory turnover over time since it is affected by numerous factors, including our product mix, the mix of sales 
by us and by third-party sellers, our continuing focus on in-stock inventory availability and selection of product offerings, 
supply chain disruptions and resulting vendor lead times, our investment in new geographies and product lines, and the extent 
to which we choose to utilize third-party fulfillment providers. We also expect some variability in accounts payable days over 
time since they are affected by several factors, including the mix of product sales, the mix of sales by third-party sellers, the mix 

19

of suppliers, seasonality, and changes in payment and other terms over time, including the effect of balancing pricing and 
timing of payment terms with suppliers.

We expect spending in technology and content will increase over time as we add computer scientists, designers, software 
and hardware engineers, and merchandising employees. Our technology and content investment and capital spending projects 
often support a variety of product and service offerings due to geographic expansion and the cross-functionality of our systems 
and operations. We seek to invest efficiently in several areas of technology and content, including AWS, and expansion of new 
and existing product categories and service offerings, as well as in technology infrastructure to enhance the customer 
experience and improve our process efficiencies. We believe that advances in technology, specifically the speed and reduced 
cost of processing power, data storage and analytics, improved wireless connectivity, and the practical applications of artificial 
intelligence and machine learning, will continue to improve users’ experience on the Internet and increase its ubiquity in 
people’s lives. To best take advantage of these continued advances in technology, we are investing in AWS, which offers a 
broad set of on-demand technology services, including compute, storage, database, analytics, and machine learning, and other 
services, to developers and enterprises of all sizes. We are also investing in initiatives to build and deploy innovative and 
efficient software and electronic devices as well as other initiatives including the development of a satellite network for global 
broadband service and autonomous vehicles for ride-hailing services. 

We seek to efficiently manage shareholder dilution while maintaining the flexibility to issue shares for strategic purposes, 

such as financings, acquisitions, and aligning employee compensation with shareholders’ interests. We utilize restricted stock 
units as our primary vehicle for equity compensation because we believe this compensation model aligns the long-term interests 
of our shareholders and employees. In measuring shareholder dilution, we include all vested and unvested stock awards 
outstanding, without regard to estimated forfeitures. Total shares outstanding plus outstanding stock awards were 10.5 billion 
and 10.6 billion as of December 31, 2021 and 2022.

Our financial reporting currency is the U.S. Dollar and changes in foreign exchange rates significantly affect our 
reported results and consolidated trends. For example, if the U.S. Dollar weakens year-over-year relative to currencies in our 
international locations, our consolidated net sales and operating expenses will be higher than if currencies had remained 
constant. Likewise, if the U.S. Dollar strengthens year-over-year relative to currencies in our international locations, our 
consolidated net sales and operating expenses will be lower than if currencies had remained constant. We believe that our 
increasing diversification beyond the U.S. economy through our growing international businesses benefits our shareholders 
over the long-term. We also believe it is useful to evaluate our operating results and growth rates before and after the effect of 
currency changes.

In addition, the remeasurement of our intercompany balances can result in significant gains and losses associated with the 

effect of movements in foreign currency exchange rates. Currency volatilities may continue, which may significantly impact 
(either positively or negatively) our reported results and consolidated trends and comparisons.

For additional information about each line item addressed above, refer to Item 8 of Part II, “Financial Statements and 

Supplementary Data — Note 1 — Description of Business, Accounting Policies, and Supplemental Disclosures.”

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 includes a discussion and analysis of our 

financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 in Item 7 of Part II, “Management’s 
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

Critical Accounting Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles of the United States 
(“GAAP”) requires estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenues and expenses, 
and related disclosures of contingent liabilities in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Critical 
accounting estimates are those estimates made in accordance with GAAP that involve a significant level of estimation 
uncertainty and have had or are reasonably likely to have a material impact on the financial condition or results of operations of 
the Company. Based on this definition, we have identified the critical accounting estimates addressed below. We also have 
other key accounting policies, which involve the use of estimates, judgments, and assumptions that are significant to 
understanding our results. For additional information, see Item 8 of Part II, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data — 
Note 1 — Description of Business, Accounting Policies, and Supplemental Disclosures.” Although we believe that our 
estimates, assumptions, and judgments are reasonable, they are based upon information presently available. Actual results may 
differ significantly from these estimates under different assumptions, judgments, or conditions.

Inventories

Inventories, consisting of products available for sale, are primarily accounted for using the first-in first-out method, and 

are valued at the lower of cost and net realizable value. This valuation requires us to make judgments, based on currently 
available information, about the likely method of disposition, such as through sales to individual customers, returns to product 

20

vendors, or liquidations, and expected recoverable values of each disposition category. These assumptions about future 
disposition of inventory are inherently uncertain and changes in our estimates and assumptions may cause us to realize material 
write-downs in the future. As a measure of sensitivity, for every 1% of additional inventory valuation allowance as of 
December 31, 2022, we would have recorded an additional cost of sales of approximately $390 million.

In addition, we enter into supplier commitments for certain electronic device components and certain products. These 

commitments are based on forecasted customer demand. If we reduce these commitments, we may incur additional costs.

Income Taxes

We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. (federal and state) and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Tax laws, regulations, 

administrative practices, principles, and interpretations in various jurisdictions may be subject to significant change, with or 
without notice, due to economic, political, and other conditions, and significant judgment is required in evaluating and 
estimating our provision and accruals for these taxes. There are many transactions that occur during the ordinary course of 
business for which the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. In addition, our actual and forecasted earnings are subject to 
change due to economic, political, and other conditions and significant judgment is required in determining our ability to use 
our deferred tax assets. 

Our effective tax rates could be affected by numerous factors, such as changes in our business operations, acquisitions, 

investments, entry into new businesses and geographies, intercompany transactions, the relative amount of our foreign earnings, 
including earnings being lower than anticipated in jurisdictions where we have lower statutory rates and higher than anticipated 
in jurisdictions where we have higher statutory rates, losses incurred in jurisdictions for which we are not able to realize related 
tax benefits, the applicability of special tax regimes, changes in foreign currency exchange rates, changes in our stock price, 
changes to our forecasts of income and loss and the mix of jurisdictions to which they relate, changes in our deferred tax assets 
and liabilities and their valuation, changes in the laws, regulations, administrative practices, principles, and interpretations 
related to tax, including changes to the global tax framework, competition, and other laws and accounting rules in various 
jurisdictions. In addition, a number of countries have enacted or are actively pursuing changes to their tax laws applicable to 
corporate multinationals. 

We are also currently subject to tax controversies in various jurisdictions, and these jurisdictions may assess additional 
income tax liabilities against us. Developments in an audit, investigation, or other tax controversy could have a material effect 
on our operating results or cash flows in the period or periods for which that development occurs, as well as for prior and 
subsequent periods. We regularly assess the likelihood of an adverse outcome resulting from these proceedings to determine the 
adequacy of our tax accruals. Although we believe our tax estimates are reasonable, the final outcome of audits, investigations, 
and any other tax controversies could be materially different from our historical income tax provisions and accruals.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Cash flow information is as follows (in millions):

Cash provided by (used in):

Operating activities
Investing activities
Financing activities

Year Ended December 31,

2021

2022

$ 

46,327  $ 
(58,154)   
6,291 

46,752 
(37,601) 
9,718 

Our principal sources of liquidity are cash flows generated from operations and our cash, cash equivalents, and 
marketable securities balances, which, at fair value, were $96.0 billion and $70.0 billion as of December 31, 2021 and 2022. 
Amounts held in foreign currencies were $22.7 billion and $18.3 billion as of December 31, 2021 and 2022. Our foreign 
currency balances include British Pounds, Canadian Dollars, Euros, and Japanese Yen. 

Cash provided by (used in) operating activities was $46.3 billion and $46.8 billion in 2021 and 2022. Our operating cash 
flows result primarily from cash received from our consumer, seller, developer, enterprise, and content creator customers, and 
advertisers, offset by cash payments we make for products and services, employee compensation, payment processing and 
related transaction costs, operating leases, and interest payments. Cash received from our customers and other activities 
generally corresponds to our net sales. The increase in operating cash flow in 2022, compared to the prior year, was primarily 
due to the increase in net income, excluding non-cash expenses, partially offset by changes in working capital. Working capital 
at any specific point in time is subject to many variables, including variability in demand, inventory management and category 
expansion, the timing of cash receipts and payments, customer and vendor payment terms, and fluctuations in foreign exchange 
rates.

21

  
 
 
 
 
Cash provided by (used in) investing activities corresponds with cash capital expenditures, including leasehold 
improvements, incentives received from property and equipment vendors, proceeds from asset sales, cash outlays for 
acquisitions, investments in other companies and intellectual property rights, and purchases, sales, and maturities of marketable 
securities. Cash provided by (used in) investing activities was $(58.2) billion and $(37.6) billion in 2021 and 2022, with the 
variability caused primarily by purchases, sales, and maturities of marketable securities. Cash capital expenditures were $55.4 
billion, and $58.3 billion in 2021 and 2022, which primarily reflect investments in technology infrastructure (the majority of 
which is to support AWS business growth) and in additional capacity to support our fulfillment network. We expect to continue 
these investments over time, with increased spending on technology infrastructure. We made cash payments, net of acquired 
cash, related to acquisition and other investment activity of $2.0 billion and $8.3 billion in 2021 and 2022. We funded the 
acquisition of MGM Holdings Inc. with cash on hand. We expect to fund the acquisitions of 1Life Healthcare, Inc. (One 
Medical) and iRobot Corporation with cash on hand.

Cash provided by (used in) financing activities was $6.3 billion and $9.7 billion in 2021 and 2022. Cash inflows from 
financing activities resulted from proceeds from short-term debt, and other and long-term-debt of $27.0 billion and $62.7 billion 
in 2021 and 2022. Cash outflows from financing activities resulted from repurchases of common stock, payments of short-term 
debt, and other, long-term debt, finance leases, and financing obligations of $20.7 billion and $53.0 billion in 2021 and 2022. 
Property and equipment acquired under finance leases was $7.1 billion and $675 million in 2021 and 2022.

We had no borrowings outstanding under the two unsecured revolving credit facilities, $6.8 billion of borrowings 

outstanding under the commercial paper programs, and $1.0 billion of borrowings outstanding under the secured revolving 
credit facility as of December 31, 2022. See Item 8 of Part II, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data — Note 6 — 
Debt” for additional information. 

As of December 31, 2022, cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities held by foreign subsidiaries were $4.7 
billion. We intend to invest substantially all of our foreign subsidiary earnings, as well as our capital in our foreign subsidiaries, 
indefinitely outside of the U.S. in those jurisdictions in which we would incur significant, additional costs upon repatriation of 
such amounts.

Our U.S. taxable income is reduced by accelerated depreciation deductions and increased by the impact of capitalized 
research and development expenses. U.S. tax rules provide for enhanced accelerated depreciation deductions by allowing the 
election of full expensing of qualified property, primarily equipment, through 2022. Our federal tax provision included a partial 
election for 2020 and 2021, and a full election for 2022. Effective January 1, 2022, research and development expenses are 
required to be capitalized and amortized for U.S. tax purposes, which delays the deductibility of these expenses. Cash taxes 
paid (net of refunds) were $3.7 billion and $6.0 billion for 2021 and 2022. 

As of December 31, 2021 and 2022, restricted cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $260 million and 

$365 million. See Item 8 of Part II, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data — Note 6 — Debt” and “Financial 
Statements and Supplementary Data — Note 7 — Commitments and Contingencies” for additional discussion of our principal 
contractual commitments, as well as our pledged assets. Additionally, we have purchase obligations and open purchase orders, 
including for inventory and capital expenditures, that support normal operations and are primarily due in the next twelve 
months. These purchase obligations and open purchase orders are generally cancellable in full or in part through the contractual 
provisions.

We believe that cash flows generated from operations and our cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities balances, 

as well as our borrowing arrangements, will be sufficient to meet our anticipated operating cash needs for at least the next 
twelve months. However, any projections of future cash needs and cash flows are subject to substantial uncertainty. See 
Item 1A of Part I, “Risk Factors.” We continually evaluate opportunities to sell additional equity or debt securities, obtain credit 
facilities, obtain finance and operating lease arrangements, enter into financing obligations, repurchase common stock, pay 
dividends, or repurchase, refinance, or otherwise restructure our debt for strategic reasons or to further strengthen our financial 
position. 

The sale of additional equity or convertible debt securities would be dilutive to our shareholders. In addition, we will, 

from time to time, consider the acquisition of, or investment in, complementary businesses, products, services, capital 
infrastructure, and technologies, which might affect our liquidity requirements or cause us to secure additional financing, or 
issue additional equity or debt securities. There can be no assurance that additional credit lines or financing instruments will be 
available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. In addition, economic conditions and actions by policymaking 
bodies are contributing to rising interest rates and significant capital market volatility, which, along with increases in our 
borrowing levels, could increase our future borrowing costs. 

22

Results of Operations

We have organized our operations into three segments: North America, International, and AWS. These segments reflect 

the way the Company evaluates its business performance and manages its operations. See Item 8 of Part II, “Financial 
Statements and Supplementary Data — Note 10 — Segment Information.” 

Overview

Macroeconomic factors, including inflation, increased interest rates, significant capital market volatility, the prolonged 

COVID-19 pandemic, global supply chain constraints, and global economic and geopolitical developments, have direct and 
indirect impacts on our results of operations that are difficult to isolate and quantify. These factors contributed to increases in 
our operating costs during 2022, particularly across our North America and International segments, primarily due to a return to 
more normal, seasonal demand volumes in relation to our fulfillment network fixed costs, increased transportation and utility 
costs, and increased wage rates. In addition, rising fuel, utility, and food costs, rising interest rates, and recessionary fears may 
impact customer demand and our ability to forecast consumer spending patterns. We also expect the current macroeconomic 
environment and enterprise customer cost optimization efforts to impact our AWS revenue growth rates. We expect some or all 
of these factors to continue to impact our operations into Q1 2023.

Net Sales

Net sales include product and service sales. Product sales represent revenue from the sale of products and related shipping 

fees and digital media content where we record revenue gross. Service sales primarily represent third-party seller fees, which 
includes commissions and any related fulfillment and shipping fees, AWS sales, advertising services, Amazon Prime 
membership fees, and certain digital content subscriptions. Net sales information is as follows (in millions):

Net Sales:

North America

International

AWS

Consolidated

Year-over-year Percentage Growth (Decline):

North America

International

AWS

Consolidated

Year-over-year Percentage Growth, excluding the effect of foreign exchange rates:

North America

International

AWS

Consolidated

Net sales mix:

North America

International

AWS

Consolidated

Year Ended December 31,

2021

2022

$  279,833 

$  315,880 

  127,787 

  118,007 

62,202 

80,096 

$  469,822 

$  513,983 

 18 %

 22 

 37 

 22 

 13 %

 (8) 

 29 

 9 

 18 %

 13 %

 20 
 37 

 21 

 60 %

 27 

 13 

 100 %

 4 
 29 

 13 

 61 %

 23 

 16 

 100 %

Sales increased 9% in 2022, compared to the prior year. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates reduced net sales by 
$15.5 billion in 2022. For a discussion of the effect of foreign exchange rates on sales growth, see “Effect of Foreign Exchange 
Rates” below.

North America sales increased 13% in 2022, compared to the prior year. The sales growth primarily reflects increased 
unit sales, including sales by third-party sellers, advertising sales, and subscription services. Increased unit sales were driven 
largely by our continued focus on price, selection, and convenience for our customers, including from our shipping offers.

23

  
 
 
 
International sales decreased 8% in 2022, compared to the prior year, primarily due to the impact of changes in foreign 

currency exchange rates, partially offset by increased unit sales, including sales by third-party sellers, advertising sales, and 
subscription services. Increased unit sales were driven largely by our continued focus on price, selection, and convenience for 
our customers, including from our shipping offers. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates reduced International net sales 
by $15.0 billion in 2022.

AWS sales increased 29% in 2022, compared to the prior year. The sales growth primarily reflects increased customer 

usage, partially offset by pricing changes, primarily driven by long-term customer contracts.

Operating Income (Loss) 

Operating income (loss) by segment is as follows (in millions):

Operating Income (Loss)
North America

International

AWS

Consolidated

Year Ended December 31,

2021

2022

$ 

7,271  $ 

(924)   

18,532 

$ 

24,879  $ 

(2,847) 

(7,746) 

22,841 

12,248 

Operating income was $24.9 billion and $12.2 billion for 2021 and 2022. We believe that operating income is a more 

meaningful measure than gross profit and gross margin due to the diversity of our product categories and services.

The North America operating loss in 2022, as compared to the operating income in the prior year, is primarily due to 
increased fulfillment and shipping costs, due in part to increases in investments in our fulfillment network, transportation costs, 
and wage rates and incentives, increased technology and content costs, and growth in certain operating expenses, partially offset 
by increased unit sales, including sales by third-party sellers, and advertising sales. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates 
positively impacted operating loss by $274 million in 2022.

The increase in International operating loss in absolute dollars in 2022, compared to the prior year, is primarily due to 

increased fulfillment and shipping costs, due in part to increases in investments in our fulfillment network, transportation costs, 
and wage rates and incentives, increased technology and content costs, and growth in certain operating expenses, partially offset 
by increased advertising sales and increased unit sales, including sales by third-party sellers. Changes in foreign currency 
exchange rates negatively impacted operating loss by $857 million in 2022. 

The increase in AWS operating income in absolute dollars in 2022, compared to the prior year, is primarily due to 
increased sales and cost structure productivity, including a reduction in depreciation and amortization expense from our change 
in the estimated useful lives of our servers and networking equipment, partially offset by increased payroll and related expenses 
and spending on technology infrastructure, all of which were primarily driven by additional investments to support AWS 
business growth. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates positively impacted operating income by $1.4 billion in 2022.

24

 
 
 
Operating Expenses

Information about operating expenses is as follows (in millions): 

Operating expenses:

Cost of sales

Fulfillment

Technology and content

Sales and marketing

General and administrative

Other operating expense (income), net

Total operating expenses

Year-over-year Percentage Growth (Decline):

Cost of sales

Fulfillment

Technology and content

Sales and marketing
General and administrative

Other operating expense (income), net

Percent of Net Sales:

Cost of sales

Fulfillment

Technology and content

Sales and marketing
General and administrative

Other operating expense (income), net

Cost of Sales

Year Ended December 31,

2021

2022

$  272,344 

$  288,831 

75,111 

56,052 

32,551 

8,823 

62 

84,299 

73,213 

42,238 

11,891 

1,263 

$  444,943 

$  501,735 

 17 %

 6 %

 28 

 31 

 48 
 32 

 12 

 31 

 30 
 35 

 (183) 

 1,936 

 58.0 %

 56.2 %

 16.0 

 11.9 

 6.9 

 1.9 

 0.0 

 16.4 

 14.2 

 8.2 

 2.3 

 0.2 

Cost of sales primarily consists of the purchase price of consumer products, inbound and outbound shipping costs, 
including costs related to sortation and delivery centers and where we are the transportation service provider, and digital media 
content costs where we record revenue gross, including video and music.

The increase in cost of sales in absolute dollars in 2022, compared to the prior year, is primarily due to increased shipping 

and product costs resulting from increased sales and increases in investments in our fulfillment network, transportation costs, 
and wage rates and incentives. Changes in foreign exchange rates reduced cost of sales by $10.8 billion in 2022.

Shipping costs to receive products from our suppliers are included in our inventory and recognized as cost of sales upon 

sale of products to our customers. Shipping costs, which include sortation and delivery centers and transportation costs, were 
$76.7 billion and $83.5 billion in 2021 and 2022. We expect our cost of shipping to continue to increase to the extent our 
customers accept and use our shipping offers at an increasing rate, we use more expensive shipping methods, including faster 
delivery, and we offer additional services. We seek to mitigate costs of shipping over time in part through achieving higher 
sales volumes, optimizing our fulfillment network, negotiating better terms with our suppliers, and achieving better operating 
efficiencies. We believe that offering low prices to our customers is fundamental to our future success, and one way we offer 
lower prices is through shipping offers.

Costs to operate our AWS segment are primarily classified as “Technology and content” as we leverage a shared 

infrastructure that supports both our internal technology requirements and external sales to AWS customers.

Fulfillment

Fulfillment costs primarily consist of those costs incurred in operating and staffing our North America and International 

fulfillment centers, physical stores, and customer service centers and payment processing costs. While AWS payment 
processing and related transaction costs are included in “Fulfillment,” AWS costs are primarily classified as “Technology and 
content.” Fulfillment costs as a percentage of net sales may vary due to several factors, such as payment processing and related 

25

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
transaction costs, our level of productivity and accuracy, changes in volume, size, and weight of units received and fulfilled, the 
extent to which third-party sellers utilize Fulfillment by Amazon services, timing of fulfillment network and physical store 
expansion, the extent we utilize fulfillment services provided by third parties, mix of products and services sold, and our ability 
to affect customer service contacts per unit by implementing improvements in our operations and enhancements to our 
customer self-service features. Additionally, sales by our sellers have higher payment processing and related transaction costs 
as a percentage of net sales compared to our retail sales because payment processing costs are based on the gross purchase price 
of underlying transactions.

The increase in fulfillment costs in absolute dollars in 2022, compared to the prior year, is primarily due to increased 

investments in our fulfillment network and variable costs corresponding with increased product and service sales volume and 
inventory levels, and increased wage rates and incentives. Changes in foreign exchange rates reduced fulfillment costs by $2.5 
billion in 2022.

We seek to expand our fulfillment network to accommodate a greater selection and in-stock inventory levels and to meet 

anticipated shipment volumes from sales of our own products as well as sales by third parties for which we provide the 
fulfillment services. We regularly evaluate our facility requirements.

Technology and Content

Technology and content costs include payroll and related expenses for employees involved in the research and 
development of new and existing products and services, development, design, and maintenance of our stores, curation and 
display of products and services made available in our online stores, and infrastructure costs. Infrastructure costs include 
servers, networking equipment, and data center related depreciation and amortization, rent, utilities, and other expenses 
necessary to support AWS and other Amazon businesses. Collectively, these costs reflect the investments we make in order to 
offer a wide variety of products and services to our customers, including expenditures related to initiatives to build and deploy 
innovative and efficient software and electronic devices and the development of a satellite network for global broadband service 
and autonomous vehicles for ride-hailing services. 

We seek to invest efficiently in numerous areas of technology and content so we may continue to enhance the customer 
experience and improve our process efficiency through rapid technology developments, while operating at an ever increasing 
scale. Our technology and content investment and capital spending projects often support a variety of product and service 
offerings due to geographic expansion and the cross-functionality of our systems and operations. We expect spending in 
technology and content to increase over time as we continue to add employees and technology infrastructure. These costs are 
allocated to segments based on usage. The increase in technology and content costs in absolute dollars in 2022, compared to the 
prior year, is primarily due to increased payroll and related costs associated with technical teams responsible for expanding our 
existing products and services and initiatives to introduce new products and service offerings, and an increase in spending on 
technology infrastructure, partially offset by a reduction in depreciation and amortization expense from our change in the 
estimated useful lives of our servers and networking equipment. See Item 8 of Part II, “Financial Statements and Supplementary 
Data — Note 1 — Description of Business, Accounting Policies, and Supplemental Disclosures — Use of Estimates” for 
additional information on the change in estimated useful lives of our servers and networking equipment.

Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing costs include advertising and payroll and related expenses for personnel engaged in marketing and 

selling activities, including sales commissions related to AWS. We direct customers to our stores primarily through a number of 
marketing channels, such as our sponsored search, social and online advertising, third party customer referrals, television 
advertising, and other initiatives. Our marketing costs are largely variable, based on growth in sales and changes in rates. To the 
extent there is increased or decreased competition for these traffic sources, or to the extent our mix of these channels shifts, we 
would expect to see a corresponding change in our marketing costs.

The increase in sales and marketing costs in absolute dollars in 2022, compared to the prior year, is primarily due to 

increased payroll and related expenses for personnel engaged in marketing and selling activities and higher marketing spend.

While costs associated with Amazon Prime membership benefits and other shipping offers are not included in sales and 

marketing expense, we view these offers as effective worldwide marketing tools, and intend to continue offering them 
indefinitely.

General and Administrative

The increase in general and administrative costs in absolute dollars in 2022, compared to the prior year, is primarily due 

to increases in payroll and related expenses and professional fees.

26

Other Operating Expense (Income), Net

Other operating expense (income), net was $62 million and $1.3 billion during 2021 and 2022, and was primarily related 

to the amortization of intangible assets and, for 2022, $1.1 billion of impairments of property and equipment and operating 
leases.

Interest Income and Expense

Our interest income was $448 million and $989 million during 2021 and 2022, primarily due to an increase in prevailing 
rates. We generally invest our excess cash in AAA-rated money market funds and investment grade short- to intermediate-term 
fixed income securities. Our interest income corresponds with the average balance of invested funds based on the prevailing 
rates, which vary depending on the geographies and currencies in which they are invested.

Interest expense was $1.8 billion and $2.4 billion in 2021 and 2022 and was primarily related to debt and finance leases. 
See Item 8 of Part II, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data — Note 4 — Leases and Note 6 — Debt” for additional 
information.

Our long-term lease liabilities were $67.7 billion and $73.0 billion as of December 31, 2021 and 2022. Our long-term 
debt was $48.7 billion and $67.1 billion as of December 31, 2021 and 2022. See Item 8 of Part II, “Financial Statements and 
Supplementary Data — Note 4 — Leases and Note 6 — Debt” for additional information.

Other Income (Expense), Net

Other income (expense), net was $14.6 billion and $(16.8) billion during 2021 and 2022. The primary components of 

other income (expense), net are related to equity securities valuations and adjustments, equity warrant valuations, and foreign 
currency. Included in other income (expense), net in 2021 and 2022 is a marketable equity securities valuation gain (loss) of 
$11.8 billion and $(12.7) billion from our equity investment in Rivian.

Income Taxes

Our effective tax rate is subject to significant variation due to several factors, including variability in our pre-tax and 
taxable income and loss and the mix of jurisdictions to which they relate, intercompany transactions, the applicability of special 
tax regimes, changes in how we do business, acquisitions, investments, developments in tax controversies, changes in our stock 
price, changes in our deferred tax assets and liabilities and their valuation, foreign currency gains (losses), changes in statutes, 
regulations, case law, and administrative practices, principles, and interpretations related to tax, including changes to the global 
tax framework, competition, and other laws and accounting rules in various jurisdictions, and relative changes of expenses or 
losses for which tax benefits are not recognized. Our effective tax rate can be more or less volatile based on the amount of pre-
tax income or loss. For example, the impact of discrete items and non-deductible expenses on our effective tax rate is greater 
when our pre-tax income is lower. In addition, we record valuation allowances against deferred tax assets when there is 
uncertainty about our ability to generate future income in relevant jurisdictions. 

We recorded a provision (benefit) for income taxes of $4.8 billion and $(3.2) billion in 2021 and 2022. See Item 8 of Part 

II, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data — Note 9 — Income Taxes” for additional information.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Regulation G, Conditions for Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures, and other SEC regulations define and prescribe the 

conditions for use of certain non-GAAP financial information. Our measures of free cash flows and the effect of foreign 
exchange rates on our consolidated statements of operations meet the definition of non-GAAP financial measures. 

We provide multiple measures of free cash flows because we believe these measures provide additional perspective on 

the impact of acquiring property and equipment with cash and through finance leases and financing obligations.

27

Free Cash Flow

Free cash flow is cash flow from operations reduced by “Purchases of property and equipment, net of proceeds from sales 

and incentives.” The following is a reconciliation of free cash flow to the most comparable GAAP cash flow measure, “Net 
cash provided by (used in) operating activities,” for 2021 and 2022 (in millions):

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

Purchases of property and equipment, net of proceeds from sales and incentives

Free cash flow

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

Year Ended December 31,

2021

2022

46,327  $ 

46,752 

(55,396)   

(58,321) 

(9,069)  $ 

(11,569) 

(58,154)  $ 

(37,601) 

6,291  $ 

9,718 

$ 

$ 

$ 

$ 

Free Cash Flow Less Principal Repayments of Finance Leases and Financing Obligations

Free cash flow less principal repayments of finance leases and financing obligations is free cash flow reduced by 
“Principal repayments of finance leases” and “Principal repayments of financing obligations.” Principal repayments of finance 
leases and financing obligations approximates the actual payments of cash for our finance leases and financing obligations. The 
following is a reconciliation of free cash flow less principal repayments of finance leases and financing obligations to the most 
comparable GAAP cash flow measure, “Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities,” for 2021 and 2022 (in millions):

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

Purchases of property and equipment, net of proceeds from sales and incentives

Free cash flow

Principal repayments of finance leases

Principal repayments of financing obligations

Year Ended December 31,

2021

2022

$ 

46,327  $ 

46,752 

(55,396)   

(9,069)   

(11,163)   

(162)   

(58,321) 

(11,569) 

(7,941) 

(248) 

Free cash flow less principal repayments of finance leases and financing obligations

$ 

(20,394)  $ 

(19,758) 

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

$ 

$ 

(58,154)  $ 

(37,601) 

6,291  $ 

9,718 

28

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Free Cash Flow Less Equipment Finance Leases and Principal Repayments of All Other Finance Leases and Financing 

Obligations 

Free cash flow less equipment finance leases and principal repayments of all other finance leases and financing 
obligations is free cash flow reduced by equipment acquired under finance leases, which is included in “Property and 
equipment acquired under finance leases, net of remeasurements and modifications,” principal repayments of all other finance 
lease liabilities, which is included in “Principal repayments of finance leases,” and “Principal repayments of financing 
obligations.” All other finance lease liabilities and financing obligations consists of property. In this measure, equipment 
acquired under finance leases is reflected as if these assets had been purchased with cash, which is not the case as these assets 
have been leased. The following is a reconciliation of free cash flow less equipment finance leases and principal repayments of 
all other finance leases and financing obligations to the most comparable GAAP cash flow measure, “Net cash provided by 
(used in) operating activities,” for 2021 and 2022 (in millions):

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

Purchases of property and equipment, net of proceeds from sales and incentives

Free cash flow

Equipment acquired under finance leases (1)

Principal repayments of all other finance leases (2)

Principal repayments of financing obligations
Free cash flow less equipment finance leases and principal repayments of all other finance 
leases and financing obligations

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

Year Ended December 31,

2021

2022

$ 

46,327  $ 

46,752 

(55,396)   

(9,069)   

(4,422)   

(687)   

(162)   

(58,321) 

(11,569) 

(299) 

(670) 

(248) 

$ 

(14,340)  $ 

(12,786) 

$ 

$ 

(58,154)  $ 

(37,601) 

6,291  $ 

9,718 

___________________
(1) For the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2022, this amount relates to equipment included in “Property and equipment 

acquired under finance leases, net of remeasurements and modifications” of $7,061 million and $675 million. 

(2) For the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2022, this amount relates to property included in “Principal repayments of 

finance leases” of $11,163 million and $7,941 million. 

All of these free cash flows measures have limitations as they omit certain components of the overall cash flow statement 

and do not represent the residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures. For example, these measures of free cash 
flows do not incorporate the portion of payments representing principal reductions of debt or cash payments for business 
acquisitions. Additionally, our mix of property and equipment acquisitions with cash or other financing options may change 
over time. Therefore, we believe it is important to view free cash flows measures only as a complement to our entire 
consolidated statements of cash flows.

Effect of Foreign Exchange Rates

Information regarding the effect of foreign exchange rates, versus the U.S. Dollar, on our net sales, operating expenses, 
and operating income is provided to show reported period operating results had the foreign exchange rates remained the same 
as those in effect in the comparable prior year period. The effect on our net sales, operating expenses, and operating income 
from changes in our foreign exchange rates versus the U.S. Dollar is as follows (in millions):

Net sales

Operating expenses

Operating income

Year Ended December 31, 2021

Year Ended December 31, 2022

As
Reported

Exchange
Rate
Effect (1)

At Prior
Year
Rates (2)

As
Reported

Exchange
Rate
Effect (1)

At Prior
Year
Rates (2)

$ 469,822  $  (3,804)  $ 466,018  $ 513,983  $  15,495  $ 529,478 

  444,943 

(3,653)   441,290 

  501,735 

  16,356 

  518,091 

  24,879 

(151)    24,728 

  12,248 

(861)    11,387 

___________________
(1) Represents the change in reported amounts resulting from changes in foreign exchange rates from those in effect in the 

comparable prior year period for operating results.

(2) Represents the outcome that would have resulted had foreign exchange rates in the reported period been the same as those 

in effect in the comparable prior year period for operating results.

29

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
Guidance

We provided guidance on February 2, 2023, in our earnings release furnished on Form 8-K as set forth below. These 

forward-looking statements reflect Amazon.com’s expectations as of February 2, 2023, and are subject to substantial 
uncertainty. Our results are inherently unpredictable and may be materially affected by many factors, such as uncertainty 
regarding the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, changes in global economic and 
geopolitical conditions and customer demand and spending (including the impact of recessionary fears), inflation, interest rates, 
regional labor market and global supply chain constraints, world events, the rate of growth of the Internet, online commerce, 
and cloud services, as well as those outlined in Item 1A of Part I, “Risk Factors.” 

First Quarter 2023 Guidance

•

•

•

Net sales are expected to be between $121.0 billion and $126.0 billion, or to grow between 4% and 8% compared 
with first quarter 2022. This guidance anticipates an unfavorable impact of approximately 210 basis points from 
foreign exchange rates. 

Operating income is expected to be between $0 and $4.0 billion, compared with $3.7 billion in first quarter 2022.  

This guidance assumes, among other things, that no additional business acquisitions, restructurings, or legal 
settlements are concluded.

30

Item 7A.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

We are exposed to market risk for the effect of interest rate changes, foreign currency fluctuations, and changes in the 

market values of our investments. Information relating to quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk is set forth 
below and in Item 7 of Part II, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — 
Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

Interest Rate Risk

Our exposure to market risk for changes in interest rates relates primarily to our investment portfolio and our debt. Our 

long-term debt is carried at amortized cost and fluctuations in interest rates do not impact our consolidated financial statements. 
However, the fair value of our long-term debt, which pays interest at a fixed rate, will generally fluctuate with movements of 
interest rates, increasing in periods of declining rates of interest and declining in periods of increasing rates of interest.  

We generally invest our excess cash in AAA-rated money market funds and investment grade short- to intermediate-term 

fixed income securities. Fixed income securities may have their fair market value adversely affected due to a rise in interest 
rates, and we may suffer losses in principal if forced to sell securities that have declined in market value due to changes in 
interest rates. The following table provides information about our cash equivalents and marketable fixed income securities, 
including principal cash flows by expected maturity and the related weighted-average interest rates as of December 31, 2022 (in 
millions, except percentages):

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

Thereafter

Total

Estimated 
Fair Value 
as of 
December 
31, 2022

Money market funds

$ 27,899 

$  — 

$  — 

$  — 

$  — 

$  — 

$ 27,899 

$ 

27,899 

Weighted average interest rate

 4.18 %

 — %

 — %

 — %

 — %

 — %

 4.18 %

Corporate debt securities

  17,500 

  2,486 

  2,332 

748 

9 

— 

  23,075 

22,627 

Weighted average interest rate

 4.06 %

 0.97 %

 1.23 %

 1.45 %  2.33 %

 — %

 3.35 %

U.S. government and agency 
securities

819 

358 

554 

396 

80 

75 

  2,282 

2,146 

Weighted average interest rate

 1.05 %

 0.98 %

 0.81 %

 0.83 %  1.24 %

 1.83 %

 0.98 %

Asset-backed securities

1,059 

872 

413 

146 

  128 

72 

  2,690 

2,572 

Weighted average interest rate

 0.99 %

 1.30 %

 1.37 %

 1.39 %  1.41 %

 1.06 %

 1.19 %

Foreign government and agency 
securities

519 

19 

  — 

  — 

  — 

Weighted average interest rate

 4.24 %

 0.60 %

 — %

 — %

 — %

Other fixed income securities

138 

61 

48 

  — 

  — 

Weighted average interest rate

 0.40 %

 0.56 %

 1.15 %

 — %

 — %

— 

 — %

— 

 — %

538 

 4.11 %

247 

 0.58 %

535 

237 

$ 47,934 

$ 3,796 

$ 3,347 

$ 1,290 

$  217 

$ 

147 

$ 56,731 

Cash equivalents and 
marketable fixed income 
securities

$ 

56,016 

As of December 31, 2022, we had long-term debt with a face value of $70.5 billion, including the current portion, 
primarily consisting of fixed rate unsecured senior notes. See Item 8 of Part II, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 
— Note 6 — Debt” for additional information.

31

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Foreign Exchange Risk

During 2022, net sales from our International segment accounted for 23% of our consolidated revenues. Net sales and 
related expenses generated from our internationally-focused stores, including within Canada and Mexico (which are included in 
our North America segment), are primarily denominated in the functional currencies of the corresponding stores and primarily 
include Euros, British Pounds, and Japanese Yen. The results of operations of, and certain of our intercompany balances 
associated with, our internationally-focused stores and AWS are exposed to foreign exchange rate fluctuations. Upon 
consolidation, as foreign exchange rates vary, net sales and other operating results may differ materially from expectations, and 
we may record significant gains or losses on the remeasurement of intercompany balances. For example, as a result of 
fluctuations in foreign exchange rates throughout the year compared to rates in effect the prior year, International segment net 
sales decreased by $15.0 billion in comparison with the prior year.

We have foreign exchange risk related to foreign-denominated cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities (“foreign 

funds”). Based on the balance of foreign funds as of December 31, 2022, of $18.3 billion, an assumed 5%, 10%, and 20% 
adverse change to foreign exchange would result in declines of $915 million, $1.8 billion, and $3.7 billion. 

We also have foreign exchange risk related to our intercompany balances denominated in various foreign currencies. 

Based on the intercompany balances as of December 31, 2022, an assumed 5%, 10%, and 20% adverse change to foreign 
exchange rates would result in losses of $275 million, $555 million, and $1.1 billion, recorded to “Other income (expense), 
net.”

See Item 7 of Part II, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — 
Results of Operations — Effect of Foreign Exchange Rates” for additional information on the effect on reported results of 
changes in foreign exchange rates.

Equity Investment Risk

As of December 31, 2022, our recorded value in equity and equity warrant investments in public and private companies 

was $7.2 billion. Our equity and equity warrant investments in publicly traded companies, which primarily relate to Rivian, 
represent $5.0 billion of our investments as of December 31, 2022, and are recorded at fair value, which is subject to market 
price volatility. We record our equity warrant investments in private companies at fair value and adjust our equity investments 
in private companies for observable price changes or impairments. Valuations of private companies are inherently more 
complex due to the lack of readily available market data. The current global economic conditions provide additional 
uncertainty. As such, we believe that market sensitivities are not practicable. See Item 8 of Part II, “Financial Statements and 
Supplementary Data — Note 1 — Description of Business, Accounting Policies, and Supplemental Disclosures” for additional 
information.

32

Item 8.

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Report of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID: 42)
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Consolidated Statements of Operations
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Consolidated Balance Sheets
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

Page

34
36
37
38
39
40
41

33

 
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Directors and Shareholders
Amazon.com, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Amazon.com, Inc. (the Company) as of December 31, 

2022 and 2021, and the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), stockholders’ equity, and 
cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2022, and the related notes (collectively referred to as 
the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material 
respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2022 and 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash 
flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2022, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting 
principles. 

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United 

States) (PCAOB), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022, based on criteria 
established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway 
Commission (2013 framework) and our report dated February 2, 2023 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

Basis for Opinion

These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to 

express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm 
registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal 
securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and 

perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material 
misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material 
misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to 
those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the 
consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates 
made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that 
our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matter

The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the consolidated 

financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to 
accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, 
subjective or complex judgments. The communication of the critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the 
consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, 
providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.

34

Description of
the Matter

Uncertain Tax Positions
As discussed in Notes 1 and 9 of the consolidated financial statements, the Company is subject to income 
taxes in the U.S. and numerous foreign jurisdictions and during the ordinary course of business, there are 
many tax positions for which the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. As a result, significant judgment 
is required in evaluating the Company’s tax positions and determining its provision for income taxes. The 
Company uses significant judgment in (1) determining whether a tax position’s technical merits are more 
likely than not to be sustained and (2) measuring the amount of tax benefit that qualifies for recognition. 
As of December 31, 2022, the Company reported accrued liabilities of $4.0 billion for various tax 
contingencies.

Auditing the recognition and measurement of the Company’s tax contingencies was challenging because 
the evaluation of whether a tax position is more likely than not to be sustained and the measurement of the 
benefit of various tax positions can be complex and involves significant auditor judgment. Management’s 
evaluation of tax positions is based on interpretations of tax laws and legal rulings, and may be impacted 
by regulatory changes and judicial and examination activity.

How We 
Addressed the 
Matter in Our 
Audit

We tested controls over the Company’s process to assess the technical merits of its tax contingencies, 
including controls over: the assessment as to whether a tax position is more likely than not to be sustained; 
the measurement of the benefit of its tax positions, both initially and on an ongoing basis; and the 
development of the related disclosures. 

We involved our international tax, transfer pricing, and research and development tax professionals in 
assessing the technical merits of certain of the Company’s tax positions. Depending on the nature of the 
specific tax position and, as applicable, developments with the relevant tax authorities relating thereto, our 
procedures included obtaining and examining the Company’s analysis including the Company’s 
correspondence with such tax authorities and evaluating the underlying facts upon which the tax positions 
are based. We used our knowledge of and experience with international, transfer pricing, and other income 
tax laws of the relevant taxing jurisdictions to evaluate the Company’s accounting for its tax 
contingencies. We evaluated developments in the applicable regulatory environments to assess potential 
effects on the Company’s positions, including recent decisions in relevant court cases. We analyzed the 
appropriateness of the Company’s assumptions and the accuracy of the Company’s calculations and data 
used to determine the amount of tax benefits to recognize. We evaluated the Company’s income tax 
disclosures in relation to these matters.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 1996. 
Seattle, Washington
February 2, 2023 

35

AMAZON.COM, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(in millions)

CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS, AND RESTRICTED CASH, BEGINNING OF 
PERIOD
OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net income (loss)

Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash from operating activities:

Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment and capitalized content 
costs, operating lease assets, and other
Stock-based compensation

Other expense (income), net

Deferred income taxes

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

Inventories

Accounts receivable, net and other

Accounts payable

Accrued expenses and other

Unearned revenue

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Purchases of property and equipment
Proceeds from property and equipment sales and incentives

Acquisitions, net of cash acquired, and other

Sales and maturities of marketable securities

Purchases of marketable securities

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Common stock repurchased

Proceeds from short-term debt, and other

Repayments of short-term debt, and other

Proceeds from long-term debt

Repayments of long-term debt

Principal repayments of finance leases

Principal repayments of financing obligations

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

Foreign currency effect on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash

Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash

Year Ended December 31,

2020

2021

2022

$ 

36,410  $ 

42,377  $ 

36,477 

21,331 

33,364 

(2,722) 

25,180 

9,208 

(2,582) 

(554) 

(2,849) 

(8,169) 

17,480 

5,754 

1,265 

66,064 

34,433 

12,757 

(14,306) 

(310) 

(9,487) 

(18,163) 

3,602 

2,123 

2,314 

46,327 

41,921 

19,621 

16,966 

(8,148) 

(2,592) 

(21,897) 

2,945 

(1,558) 

2,216 

46,752 

(40,140) 

(61,053) 

(63,645) 

5,096 

(2,325) 

50,237 

(72,479) 

(59,611) 

— 

6,796 

(6,177) 

10,525 

(1,553) 

5,657 

(1,985) 

59,384 

(60,157) 

(58,154) 

— 

7,956 

(7,753) 

19,003 

(1,590) 

(10,642) 

(11,163) 

(53) 

(1,104) 

618 

5,967 

(162) 

6,291 

(364) 

(5,900) 

5,324 

(8,316) 

31,601 

(2,565) 

(37,601) 

(6,000) 

41,553 

(37,554) 

21,166 

(1,258) 

(7,941) 

(248) 

9,718 

(1,093) 

17,776 

54,253 

CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS, AND RESTRICTED CASH, END OF PERIOD

$ 

42,377  $ 

36,477  $ 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

36

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
AMAZON.COM, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in millions, except per share data)

Net product sales

Net service sales

Total net sales

Operating expenses:

Cost of sales

Fulfillment

Technology and content

Sales and marketing

General and administrative

Other operating expense (income), net

Total operating expenses

Operating income

Interest income

Interest expense

Other income (expense), net

Total non-operating income (expense)

Income (loss) before income taxes

Benefit (provision) for income taxes

Equity-method investment activity, net of tax

Net income (loss)

Basic earnings per share

Diluted earnings per share

Weighted-average shares used in computation of earnings per share:

Basic

Diluted

Year Ended December 31,

2020

2021

2022

$ 

215,915  $ 

241,787  $ 

242,901 

170,149 

386,064 

228,035 

469,822 

271,082 

513,983 

233,307 

272,344 

288,831 

58,517 

42,740 

22,008 

6,668 

(75)   

363,165 

22,899 

555 

75,111 

56,052 

32,551 

8,823 

62 

444,943 

24,879 

448 

(1,647)   

(1,809)   

2,371 

1,279 

24,178 

14,633 

13,272 

38,151 

(2,863)   

(4,791)   

16 

4 

84,299 

73,213 

42,238 

11,891 

1,263 

501,735 

12,248 

989 

(2,367) 

(16,806) 

(18,184) 

(5,936) 

3,217 

(3) 

$ 

$ 

$ 

21,331  $ 

33,364  $ 

(2,722) 

2.13  $ 

2.09  $ 

3.30  $ 

3.24  $ 

(0.27) 

(0.27) 

10,005 

10,198 

10,117 

10,296 

10,189 

10,189 

 See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

37

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
AMAZON.COM, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) 
(in millions)

Net income (loss)

Other comprehensive income (loss):

Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of tax of $(36), $47, and 
$100
Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale debt 
securities:

Year Ended December 31,

2020

2021

2022

$ 

21,331  $ 

33,364  $ 

(2,722) 

561 

(819)   

(2,586) 

Unrealized gains (losses), net of tax of $(83), $72, and $159

273 

(343)   

(823) 

Reclassification adjustment for losses (gains) included in “Other 
income (expense), net,” net of tax of $8, $13, and $0

Net unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale debt 
securities

Total other comprehensive income (loss)

Comprehensive income (loss)

(28)   

(34)   

298 

245 

806 

(377)   

(1,196)   

$ 

22,137  $ 

32,168  $ 

(525) 

(3,111) 

(5,833) 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

38

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
AMAZON.COM, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in millions, except per share data)

ASSETS

December 31,

2021

2022

$ 

36,220  $ 

59,829 

32,640 

32,891 

161,580 

160,281 

56,082 

15,371 

27,235 

53,888 

16,138 

34,405 

42,360 

146,791 

186,715 

66,123 

20,288 

42,758 

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

Marketable securities

Inventories

Accounts receivable, net and other

Total current assets

Property and equipment, net

Operating leases

Goodwill

Other assets

Total assets
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

$ 

420,549  $ 

462,675 

$ 

78,664  $ 

51,775 

11,827 

142,266 

67,651 

48,744 

23,643 

— 

106 

(1,837)   
55,437 

(1,376)   
85,915 

138,245 

79,600 

62,566 

13,227 

155,393 

72,968 

67,150 

21,121 

— 

108 

(7,837) 
75,066 

(4,487) 
83,193 

146,043 

462,675 

Current liabilities:

Accounts payable

Accrued expenses and other

Unearned revenue

Total current liabilities

Long-term lease liabilities

Long-term debt

Other long-term liabilities

Commitments and contingencies (Note 7)

Stockholders’ equity:

Preferred stock ($0.01 par value; 500 shares authorized; no shares issued or outstanding)  
Common stock ($0.01 par value; 100,000 shares authorized; 10,644 and 10,757 shares 
issued; 10,175 and 10,242 shares outstanding)

Treasury stock, at cost

Additional paid-in capital

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)

Retained earnings

Total stockholders’ equity

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

$ 

420,549  $ 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

39

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
AMAZON.COM, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(in millions)

Balance as of January 1, 2020

Net income

Other comprehensive income (loss)

Stock-based compensation and issuance of 
employee benefit plan stock

Balance as of December 31, 2020

Net income

Other comprehensive income (loss)

Stock-based compensation and issuance of 
employee benefit plan stock

Balance as of December 31, 2021

Net loss

Other comprehensive income (loss)

Stock-based compensation and issuance of 
employee benefit plan stock

Common stock repurchased

Balance as of December 31, 2022

Common Stock

Shares

Amount

Treasury
Stock

Additional
Paid-In
Capital

Accumulated 
Other 
Comprehensive 
Income (Loss)

Retained
Earnings

Total
Stockholders’
Equity

9,950  $ 

104  $ 

(1,837)  $  33,559  $ 

(986)  $  31,220  $ 

62,060 

— 

— 

116 

10,066 

— 

— 

109 

10,175 

— 

— 

113 

(46) 

— 

— 

1 

105 

— 

— 

1 

106 

— 

— 

2 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

9,206 

(1,837) 

42,765 

— 

— 

— 

(1,837) 

— 

— 

— 

(6,000) 

— 

— 

12,672 

55,437 

— 

— 

19,629 

— 

— 

806 

— 

(180) 

— 

(1,196) 

— 

21,331 

21,331 

— 

— 

52,551 

33,364 

— 

— 

806 

9,207 

93,404 

33,364 

(1,196) 

12,673 

(1,376) 

85,915 

138,245 

— 

(2,722) 

(3,111) 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

(2,722) 

(3,111) 

19,631 

(6,000) 

10,242  $ 

108  $ 

(7,837)  $  75,066  $ 

(4,487)  $  83,193  $  146,043 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

40

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
AMAZON.COM, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Note 1 — DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTING POLICIES, AND SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURES

Description of Business

We seek to be Earth’s most customer-centric company. In each of our segments, we serve our primary customer sets, 
consisting of consumers, sellers, developers, enterprises, content creators, advertisers, and employees. We serve consumers 
through our online and physical stores and focus on selection, price, and convenience. We offer programs that enable sellers to 
grow their businesses, sell their products in our stores, and fulfill orders through us, and programs that allow authors, 
independent publishers, musicians, filmmakers, Twitch streamers, skill and app developers, and others to publish and sell 
content. We serve developers and enterprises of all sizes through AWS, which offers a broad set of on-demand technology 
services, including compute, storage, database, analytics, and machine learning, and other services. We also manufacture and 
sell electronic devices. In addition, we provide advertising services to sellers, vendors, publishers, authors, and others, through 
programs such as sponsored ads, display, and video advertising.

We have organized our operations into three segments: North America, International, and AWS. See “Note 10 — 

Segment Information.” 

Common Stock Split

On May 27, 2022, we effected a 20-for-1 stock split of our common stock and proportionately increased the number of 

authorized shares of common stock. All share, restricted stock unit (“RSU”), and per share or per RSU information throughout 
this Annual Report on Form 10-K has been retroactively adjusted to reflect the stock split. The shares of common stock retain a 
par value of $0.01 per share. Accordingly, an amount equal to the par value of the increased shares resulting from the stock split 
was reclassified from “Additional paid-in capital” to “Common stock.”

Prior Period Reclassifications

Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation. “Other operating 
expense (income), net” was reclassified into “Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment and capitalized content 
costs, operating lease assets, and other” on our consolidated statements of cash flows.

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Amazon.com, Inc. and its consolidated entities 
(collectively, the “Company”), consisting of its wholly-owned subsidiaries and those entities in which we have a variable 
interest and of which we are the primary beneficiary, including certain entities in India and certain entities that support our 
seller lending financing activities. Intercompany balances and transactions between consolidated entities are eliminated.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires estimates and assumptions that affect the 

reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosures of contingent liabilities in the 
consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Estimates are used for, but not limited to, income taxes, useful lives 
of equipment, commitments and contingencies, valuation of acquired intangibles and goodwill, stock-based compensation 
forfeiture rates, vendor funding, inventory valuation, collectability of receivables, impairment of property and equipment and 
operating leases, valuation and impairment of investments, self-insurance liabilities, and viewing patterns of capitalized video 
content. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates. We review the useful lives of equipment on an ongoing 
basis, and effective January 1, 2022 we changed our estimate of the useful lives for our servers from four years to five years and 
for our networking equipment from five years to six years. The longer useful lives are due to continuous improvements in our 
hardware, software, and data center designs. The effect of this change in estimate for the year ended December 31, 2022, based 
on servers and networking equipment that were included in “Property and equipment, net” as of December 31, 2021 and those 
acquired during the year ended December 31, 2022, was a reduction in depreciation and amortization expense of $3.6 billion 
and a benefit to net loss of $2.8 billion, or $0.28 per basic share and $0.28 per diluted share.

For the year ended December 31, 2022, we recorded approximately $1.1 billion, of which $720 million was recorded in 

the fourth quarter, of impairments of property and equipment and operating leases primarily related to physical stores. These 
charges were recorded in “Other operating expense (income), net” on our consolidated statements of operations and primarily 
impacted our North America segment. For the year ended December 31, 2022, we also recorded expenses of approximately 

41

$480 million primarily in “Fulfillment” on our consolidated statements of operations relating to terminating contracts for certain 
leases not yet commenced as well as other purchase commitments, which primarily impacted our North America segment.   

For the year ended December 31, 2022, we recorded approximately $720 million, of which $640 million was recorded in 

the fourth quarter, of estimated severance costs primarily related to planned role eliminations. These charges were recorded 
primarily in “Technology and content,” “Fulfillment,” and “General and administrative” on our consolidated statements of 
operations and primarily impacted our North America segment.

Supplemental Cash Flow Information

The following table shows supplemental cash flow information (in millions):

SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION:
Cash paid for interest on debt

Cash paid for operating leases

Cash paid for interest on finance leases

Cash paid for interest on financing obligations

Cash paid for income taxes, net of refunds

Assets acquired under operating leases

Property and equipment acquired under finance leases, net of remeasurements and 
modifications

Property and equipment recognized during the construction period of build-to-suit lease 
arrangements

Property and equipment derecognized after the construction period of build-to-suit lease 
arrangements, with the associated leases recognized as operating

Year Ended December 31,

2020

2021

2022

$ 
$ 
$ 
$ 
$ 
$ 

$ 

$ 

$ 

916  $ 
4,475  $ 
612  $ 
102  $ 
1,713  $ 
16,217  $ 

1,098  $ 
6,722  $ 
521  $ 
153  $ 
3,688  $ 
25,369  $ 

1,561 
8,633 
374 
207 
6,035 
18,800 

11,588  $ 

7,061  $ 

675 

2,267  $ 

5,846  $ 

3,187 

—  $ 

230  $ 

5,158 

Earnings Per Share

Basic earnings per share is calculated using our weighted-average outstanding common shares. Diluted earnings per share 

is calculated using our weighted-average outstanding common shares including the dilutive effect of stock awards as 
determined under the treasury stock method. In periods when we have a net loss, stock awards are excluded from our 
calculation of earnings per share as their inclusion would have an antidilutive effect.

The following table shows the calculation of diluted shares (in millions):

Shares used in computation of basic earnings per share

Total dilutive effect of outstanding stock awards

Shares used in computation of diluted earnings per share

Revenue

Year Ended December 31,

2020

2021

2022

10,005 
193 

10,198 

10,117 
179 

10,296 

10,189 
— 

10,189 

Revenue is measured based on the amount of consideration that we expect to receive, reduced by estimates for return 

allowances, promotional discounts, and rebates. Revenue also excludes any amounts collected on behalf of third parties, 
including sales and indirect taxes. In arrangements where we have multiple performance obligations, the transaction price is 
allocated to each performance obligation using the relative stand-alone selling price. We generally determine stand-alone 
selling prices based on the prices charged to customers or using expected cost plus a margin. 

A description of our principal revenue generating activities is as follows:

Retail sales - We offer consumer products through our online and physical stores. Revenue is recognized when control of 

the goods is transferred to the customer, which generally occurs upon our delivery to a third-party carrier or, in the case of an 
Amazon delivery, to the customer.

Third-party seller services - We offer programs that enable sellers to sell their products in our stores, and fulfill orders 

through us. We are not the seller of record in these transactions. The commissions and any related fulfillment and shipping fees 
we earn from these arrangements are recognized when the services are rendered, which generally occurs upon delivery of the 
related products to a third-party carrier or, in the case of an Amazon delivery, to the customer. 

42

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Subscription services - Our subscription sales include fees associated with Amazon Prime memberships and access to 

content including digital video, audiobooks, digital music, e-books, and other non-AWS subscription services. Prime 
memberships provide our customers with access to an evolving suite of benefits that represent a single stand-ready obligation. 
Subscriptions are paid for at the time of or in advance of delivering the services. Revenue from such arrangements is recognized 
over the subscription period.

Advertising services - We provide advertising services to sellers, vendors, publishers, authors, and others, through 
programs such as sponsored ads, display, and video advertising. Revenue is recognized as ads are delivered based on the 
number of clicks or impressions.

AWS - Our AWS arrangements include global sales of compute, storage, database, and other services. Revenue is 
allocated to services using stand-alone selling prices and is primarily recognized when the customer uses these services, based 
on the quantity of services rendered, such as compute or storage capacity delivered on-demand. Certain services, including 
compute and database, are also offered as a fixed quantity over a specified term, for which revenue is recognized ratably. Sales 
commissions we pay in connection with contracts that exceed one year are capitalized and amortized over the contract term.

Other - Other revenue includes sales related to various other offerings, such as certain licensing and distribution of video 

content and shipping services, and our co-branded credit card agreements. Revenue is recognized when content is licensed or 
distributed and as or when services are performed.

Return Allowances 

Return allowances, which reduce revenue and cost of sales, are estimated using historical experience. Liabilities for 
return allowances are included in “Accrued expenses and other” and were $859 million, $1.0 billion, and $1.3 billion as of 
December 31, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Additions to the allowance were $3.5 billion, $5.1 billion, and $5.5 billion and deductions 
from the allowance were $3.6 billion, $4.9 billion, and $5.2 billion in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Included in “Inventories” on our 
consolidated balance sheets are assets totaling $852 million, $882 million, and $948 million as of December 31, 2020, 2021, 
and 2022, for the rights to recover products from customers associated with our liabilities for return allowances. 

Cost of Sales

Cost of sales primarily consists of the purchase price of consumer products, inbound and outbound shipping costs, 
including costs related to sortation and delivery centers and where we are the transportation service provider, and digital media 
content costs where we record revenue gross, including video and music. Shipping costs to receive products from our suppliers 
are included in our inventory, and recognized as cost of sales upon sale of products to our customers. Payment processing and 
related transaction costs, including those associated with seller transactions, are classified in “Fulfillment” on our consolidated 
statements of operations.

Vendor Agreements

We have agreements with our vendors to receive consideration primarily for cooperative marketing efforts, promotions, 
incentives, and volume rebates. We generally consider these amounts received from vendors to be a reduction of the prices we 
pay for their goods, including property and equipment, or services, and are recorded as a reduction of the cost of inventory, cost 
of services, or cost of property and equipment. Volume rebates typically depend on reaching minimum purchase thresholds. We 
evaluate the likelihood of reaching purchase thresholds using past experience and current year forecasts. When volume rebates 
can be reasonably estimated, we record a portion of the rebate as we make progress towards the purchase threshold.

Fulfillment

Fulfillment costs primarily consist of those costs incurred in operating and staffing our North America and International 
segments’ fulfillment centers, physical stores, and customer service centers, including facilities and equipment expenses, such 
as depreciation and amortization, and rent; costs attributable to buying, receiving, inspecting, and warehousing inventories; 
picking, packaging, and preparing customer orders for shipment; payment processing and related transaction costs, including 
costs associated with our guarantee for certain seller transactions; responding to inquiries from customers; and supply chain 
management for our manufactured electronic devices. Fulfillment costs also include amounts paid to third parties that assist us 
in fulfillment and customer service operations.

43

Technology and Content

Technology and content costs include payroll and related expenses for employees involved in the research and 
development of new and existing products and services, development, design, and maintenance of our stores, curation and 
display of products and services made available in our online stores, and infrastructure costs. Infrastructure costs include 
servers, networking equipment, and data center related depreciation and amortization, rent, utilities, and other expenses 
necessary to support AWS and other Amazon businesses. Collectively, these costs reflect the investments we make in order to 
offer a wide variety of products and services to our customers, including expenditures related to initiatives to build and deploy 
innovative and efficient software and electronic devices and the development of a satellite network for global broadband service 
and autonomous vehicles for ride-hailing services. Technology and content costs are generally expensed as incurred.

Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing costs include advertising and payroll and related expenses for personnel engaged in marketing and 

selling activities, including sales commissions related to AWS. We pay commissions to third parties when their customer 
referrals result in sales. We also participate in cooperative advertising arrangements with certain of our vendors, and other third 
parties.

Advertising and other promotional costs to market our products and services are expensed as incurred and were $10.9 

billion, $16.9 billion, and $20.6 billion in 2020, 2021, and 2022. 

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses primarily consist of costs for corporate functions, including payroll and related 
expenses; facilities and equipment expenses, such as depreciation and amortization expense and rent; and professional fees.

Stock-Based Compensation

Compensation cost for all equity-classified stock awards expected to vest is measured at fair value on the date of grant 

and recognized over the service period. The fair value of restricted stock units is determined based on the number of shares 
granted and the quoted price of our common stock. Such value is recognized as expense over the service period, net of 
estimated forfeitures, using the accelerated method. The estimated number of stock awards that will ultimately vest requires 
judgment, and to the extent actual results or updated estimates differ from our current estimates, such amounts will be recorded 
as a cumulative adjustment in the period estimates are revised. We consider many factors when estimating expected forfeitures, 
including historical forfeiture experience by grant year and employee level. Additionally, stock-based compensation includes 
stock appreciation rights that are expected to settle in cash. These liability-classified awards are remeasured to fair value at the 
end of each reporting period until settlement or expiration. 

Other Operating Expense (Income), Net

Other operating expense (income), net, consists primarily of the amortization of intangible assets and, for 2020, a benefit 

from accelerated vesting of warrants to acquire equity of a vendor partially offset by a lease impairment and, for 2022, $1.1 
billion of impairments of property and equipment and operating leases. 

Other Income (Expense), Net

Other income (expense), net, is as follows (in millions):

Marketable equity securities valuation gains (losses)

Equity warrant valuation gains (losses)

Upward adjustments relating to equity investments in private companies

Foreign currency gains (losses)

Other, net

Total other income (expense), net

Year Ended December 31,

2020

2021

2022

$ 

525  $  11,526  $ (13,870) 

1,527 

342 

35 

(58)   

1,315 

1,866 

(55)   

(19)   

(2,132) 

76 

(340) 

(540) 

2,371 

  14,633 

  (16,806) 

44

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Included in other income (expense), net in 2021 and 2022 is a marketable equity securities valuation gain (loss) of $11.8 

billion and $(12.7) billion from our equity investment in Rivian Automotive, Inc. (“Rivian”). Our investment in Rivian’s 
preferred stock was accounted for at cost, with adjustments for observable changes in prices or impairments, prior to Rivian’s 
initial public offering in November 2021, which resulted in the conversion of our preferred stock to Class A common stock. As 
of December 31, 2022, we held 158 million shares of Rivian’s Class A common stock, representing an approximate 17% 
ownership interest, and an approximate 16% voting interest. We determined that we have the ability to exercise significant 
influence over Rivian through our equity investment, our commercial arrangement for the purchase of electric vehicles, and one 
of our employees serving on Rivian’s board of directors. We elected the fair value option to account for our equity investment 
in Rivian, which is included in “Marketable securities” on our consolidated balance sheets.

Required summarized financial information of Rivian as disclosed in its most recent SEC filings is as follows (in 

millions):

Revenues

Gross profit

Loss from operations

Net loss

Total current assets

Total assets

Total current liabilities

Total liabilities

Income Taxes

Year Ended 
December 31, 2020

Year Ended 
December 31, 2021

Nine Months Ended
September 30, 2022

$ 

—  $ 

— 

(1,021)   

(1,018)   

55  $ 

(465)   

(4,220)   

(4,688)   

995 

(2,123) 

(5,061) 

(5,029) 

December 31, 2021

September 30, 2022

$ 

18,559  $ 

22,294 

1,313 

2,780 

14,424 

19,023 

2,109 

3,686 

Income tax expense includes U.S. (federal and state) and foreign income taxes. Certain foreign subsidiary earnings and 
losses are subject to current U.S. taxation and the subsequent repatriation of those earnings is not subject to tax in the U.S. We 
intend to invest substantially all of our foreign subsidiary earnings, as well as our capital in our foreign subsidiaries, indefinitely 
outside of the U.S. in those jurisdictions in which we would incur significant, additional costs upon repatriation of such 
amounts.  

Deferred income tax balances reflect the effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and 

liabilities and their tax bases, as well as net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards, and are stated at enacted tax rates 
expected to be in effect when taxes are actually paid or recovered.

Deferred tax assets represent amounts available to reduce income taxes payable in future periods. Deferred tax assets are 

evaluated for future realization and reduced by a valuation allowance to the extent we believe they will not be realized. We 
consider many factors when assessing the likelihood of future realization of our deferred tax assets, including recent cumulative 
loss experience and expectations of future earnings, capital gains and investment in such jurisdiction, the carry-forward periods 
available to us for tax reporting purposes, and other relevant factors. 

We utilize a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain income tax positions (tax contingencies). The first 

step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates it is more likely 
than not the position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes. The second step 
is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount which is more than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate 
settlement. We consider many factors when evaluating our tax positions and estimating our tax benefits, which may require 
periodic adjustments and which may not accurately forecast actual outcomes. We include interest and penalties related to our 
tax contingencies in income tax expense.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly 

transaction between market participants at the measurement date. To increase the comparability of fair value measures, the 
following hierarchy prioritizes the inputs to valuation methodologies used to measure fair value:

Level 1 — Valuations based on quoted prices for identical assets and liabilities in active markets.

45

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Level 2 — Valuations based on observable inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1, such as quoted 
prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities 
in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data.

Level 3 — Valuations based on unobservable inputs reflecting our own assumptions, consistent with reasonably 
available assumptions made by other market participants. These valuations require significant judgment.

We measure the fair value of money market funds and certain marketable equity securities based on quoted prices in 

active markets for identical assets or liabilities. Other marketable securities were valued either based on recent trades of 
securities in inactive markets or based on quoted market prices of similar instruments and other significant inputs derived from 
or corroborated by observable market data. We did not hold significant amounts of marketable securities categorized as Level 3 
assets as of December 31, 2021 and 2022.

We hold equity warrants giving us the right to acquire stock of other companies. As of December 31, 2021 and 2022, 

these warrants had a fair value of $3.4 billion and $2.1 billion, and are recorded within “Other assets” on our consolidated 
balance sheets with gains and losses recognized in “Other income (expense), net” on our consolidated statements of operations. 
These warrants are primarily classified as Level 2 assets. 

Cash and Cash Equivalents

We classify all highly liquid instruments with an original maturity of three months or less as cash equivalents.

Inventories

Inventories, consisting of products available for sale, are primarily accounted for using the first-in, first-out method, and 

are valued at the lower of cost and net realizable value. This valuation requires us to make judgments, based on currently 
available information, about the likely method of disposition, such as through sales to individual customers, returns to product 
vendors, or liquidations, and expected recoverable values of each disposition category. The inventory valuation allowance, 
representing a write-down of inventory, was $2.6 billion and $2.8 billion as of December 31, 2021 and 2022.

We provide Fulfillment by Amazon services in connection with certain of our sellers’ programs. Third-party sellers 

maintain ownership of their inventory, regardless of whether fulfillment is provided by us or the third-party sellers, and 
therefore these products are not included in our inventories.

We also purchase electronic device components from a variety of suppliers and use several contract manufacturers to 

provide manufacturing services for our products. During the normal course of business, in order to manage manufacturing lead 
times and help ensure adequate supply, we enter into agreements with contract manufacturers and suppliers for certain 
electronic device components. We have certain non-cancellable purchase commitments arising from these agreements. These 
commitments are based on forecasted customer demand. If we reduce these commitments, we may incur additional costs. We 
also have firm, non-cancellable commitments for certain products offered in our Whole Foods Market stores. 

Accounts Receivable, Net and Other

Included in “Accounts receivable, net and other” on our consolidated balance sheets are amounts primarily related to 

customers, vendors, and sellers. As of December 31, 2021 and 2022, customer receivables, net, were $20.2 billion and $26.6 
billion, vendor receivables, net, were $5.3 billion and $6.9 billion, and seller receivables, net, were $1.0 billion and $1.3 billion. 
Seller receivables are amounts due from sellers related to our seller lending program, which provides funding to sellers 
primarily to procure inventory.

We estimate losses on receivables based on expected losses, including our historical experience of actual losses. 
Receivables are considered impaired and written-off when it is probable that all contractual payments due will not be collected 
in accordance with the terms of the agreement. The allowance for doubtful accounts was $1.1 billion, $1.1 billion, and $1.4 
billion as of December 31, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Additions to the allowance were $1.4 billion, $1.0 billion, and $1.6 billion, 
and deductions to the allowance were $1.0 billion, $1.1 billion, and $1.3 billion in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Software Development Costs

We incur software development costs related to products to be sold, leased, or marketed to external users, internal-use 

software, and our websites. Software development costs capitalized were not significant for the years presented. All other costs, 
including those related to design or maintenance, are expensed as incurred. 

46

Property and Equipment, Net

Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Incentives that we receive from 

property and equipment vendors are recorded as a reduction to our costs. Property includes buildings and land that we own, 
along with property we have acquired under build-to-suit lease arrangements when we have control over the building during the 
construction period and finance lease arrangements. Equipment includes assets such as servers and networking equipment, 
heavy equipment, and other fulfillment equipment. Depreciation and amortization is recorded on a straight-line basis over the 
estimated useful lives of the assets (generally the lesser of 40 years or the remaining life of the underlying building, four years 
prior to January 1, 2022 and five years subsequent to January 1, 2022 for our servers, five years prior to January 1, 2022 and six 
years subsequent to January 1, 2022 for our networking equipment, ten years for heavy equipment, and three to ten years for 
other fulfillment equipment). Depreciation and amortization expense is classified within the corresponding operating expense 
categories on our consolidated statements of operations. 

Leases

We categorize leases with contractual terms longer than twelve months as either operating or finance. Finance leases are 

generally those leases that allow us to substantially utilize or pay for the entire asset over its estimated life. Assets acquired 
under finance leases are recorded in “Property and equipment, net.” All other leases are categorized as operating leases. Our 
leases generally have terms that range from one to ten years for equipment and one to twenty years for property.

Certain lease contracts include obligations to pay for other services, such as operations and maintenance. For leases of 

property, we account for these other services as a component of the lease. For substantially all other leases, the services are 
accounted for separately and we allocate payments to the lease and other services components based on estimated stand-alone 
prices.

Lease liabilities are recognized at the present value of the fixed lease payments, reduced by landlord incentives using a 

discount rate based on similarly secured borrowings available to us. Lease assets are recognized based on the initial present 
value of the fixed lease payments, reduced by landlord incentives, plus any direct costs from executing the leases or lease 
prepayments reclassified from “Other assets” upon lease commencement. Leasehold improvements are capitalized at cost and 
amortized over the lesser of their expected useful life or the lease term.

When we have the option to extend the lease term, terminate the lease before the contractual expiration date, or purchase 

the leased asset, and it is reasonably certain that we will exercise the option, we consider the option in determining the 
classification and measurement of the lease. Our leases may include variable payments based on measures that include changes 
in price indices, market interest rates, or the level of sales at a physical store, which are expensed as incurred. 

Costs associated with operating lease assets are recognized on a straight-line basis within operating expenses over the 
term of the lease. Finance lease assets are amortized within operating expenses on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the 
estimated useful lives of the assets or, in the instance where title does not transfer at the end of the lease term, the lease term. 
The interest component of a finance lease is included in interest expense and recognized using the effective interest method 
over the lease term.

We establish assets and liabilities for the present value of estimated future costs to retire long-lived assets at the 
termination or expiration of a lease. Such assets are amortized over the lease period into operating expense, and the recorded 
liabilities are accreted to the future value of the estimated retirement costs.

Financing Obligations

We record assets and liabilities for estimated construction costs under build-to-suit lease arrangements when we have 
control over the building during the construction period. If we continue to control the building after the construction period, the 
arrangement is classified as a financing obligation instead of a lease. The building is depreciated over the shorter of its useful 
life or the term of the obligation. 

If we do not control the building after the construction period ends, the assets and liabilities for construction costs are 

derecognized, and we classify the lease as operating. 

Goodwill and Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets

We evaluate goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment annually or more frequently when an event 
occurs or circumstances change that indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. We may elect to utilize a qualitative 
assessment to evaluate whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit or indefinite-lived intangible asset 
is less than its carrying value and if so, we perform a quantitative test. We compare the carrying value of each reporting unit and 
indefinite-lived intangible asset to its estimated fair value and if the fair value is determined to be less than the carrying value, 
we recognize an impairment loss for the difference. We estimate the fair value of the reporting units using discounted cash 

47

flows. Forecasts of future cash flows are based on our best estimate of future net sales and operating expenses, based primarily 
on expected category expansion, pricing, market segment share, and general economic conditions.

We completed the required annual impairment test of goodwill for all reporting units and indefinite-lived intangible 

assets as of April 1, 2022, resulting in no impairments. The fair value of our reporting units substantially exceeded their 
carrying value. There were no events that caused us to update our annual impairment test. See “Note 5 — Acquisitions, 
Goodwill, and Acquired Intangible Assets.”

Other Assets

Included in “Other assets” on our consolidated balance sheets are amounts primarily related to video and music content, 

net of accumulated amortization; long-term deferred tax assets; acquired intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization; 
equity warrant assets and certain equity investments; and satellite network launch services deposits. We recognize certain 
transactions with governments when there is reasonable assurance that incentives included in the agreements, such as cash or 
certain tax credits, will be received and we are able to comply with any related conditions. These incentives are recorded as 
reductions to the cost of related assets or expenses.

Digital Video and Music Content

We obtain video content, inclusive of episodic television and movies, and music content for customers through licensing 

agreements that have a wide range of licensing provisions including both fixed and variable payment schedules. When the 
license fee for a specific video or music title is determinable or reasonably estimable and the content is available to us, we 
recognize an asset and a corresponding liability for the amounts owed. We reduce the liability as payments are made and we 
amortize the asset to “Cost of sales” on an accelerated basis, based on estimated usage or viewing patterns, or on a straight-line 
basis. If the licensing fee is not determinable or reasonably estimable, no asset or liability is recorded and licensing costs are 
expensed as incurred. We also develop original video content for which the production costs are capitalized and amortized to 
“Cost of sales” predominantly on an accelerated basis that follows the estimated viewing patterns associated with the content. 
The weighted average remaining life of our capitalized video content is 2.6 years. We review usage and viewing patterns 
impacting the amortization of capitalized video content on an ongoing basis and reflect any changes prospectively. Changes in 
historical and anticipated viewing patterns are lengthening the weighted average life of our capitalized video content. We 
anticipate the changes in viewing patterns will positively impact 2023 operating income by approximately $1.0 billion, 
generally ratably throughout the year.

Our produced and licensed video content is primarily monetized together as a unit, referred to as a film group, in each 
major geography where we offer Amazon Prime memberships. These film groups are evaluated for impairment whenever an 
event occurs or circumstances change indicating the fair value is less than the carrying value. The total capitalized costs of 
video, which is primarily released content, and music as of December 31, 2021 and 2022 were $10.7 billion and $16.7 billion. 
Total video and music expense was $13.0 billion and $16.6 billion for the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2022. Total video 
and music expense includes licensing and production costs associated with content offered within Amazon Prime memberships, 
and costs associated with digital subscriptions and sold or rented content.

Investments

We generally invest our excess cash in AAA-rated money market funds and investment grade short- to intermediate-term 

fixed income securities. Such investments are included in “Cash and cash equivalents” or “Marketable securities” on the 
accompanying consolidated balance sheets. 

Marketable fixed income securities are classified as available-for-sale and reported at fair value with unrealized gains and 

losses included in “Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).” Each reporting period, we evaluate whether declines in 
fair value below carrying value are due to expected credit losses, as well as our ability and intent to hold the investment until a 
forecasted recovery occurs. Expected credit losses are recorded as an allowance through “Other income (expense), net” on our 
consolidated statements of operations. 

Equity investments in private companies for which we do not have the ability to exercise significant influence are 
accounted for at cost, with adjustments for observable changes in prices or impairments, and are classified as “Other assets” on 
our consolidated balance sheets with adjustments recognized in “Other income (expense), net” on our consolidated statements 
of operations. Each reporting period, we perform a qualitative assessment to evaluate whether the investment is impaired. Our 
assessment includes a review of recent operating results and trends, recent sales/acquisitions of the investee securities, and other 
publicly available data. If the investment is impaired, we write it down to its estimated fair value. As of December 31, 2021 and 
2022, these investments had a carrying value of $603 million and $715 million.

Equity investments are accounted for using the equity method of accounting, or at fair value if we elect the fair value 

option, if the investment gives us the ability to exercise significant influence, but not control, over an investee. Equity-method 

48

investments are included within “Other assets” on our consolidated balance sheets. Our share of the earnings or losses as 
reported by equity-method investees, amortization of basis differences, related gains or losses, and impairments, if any, are 
recognized in “Equity-method investment activity, net of tax” on our consolidated statements of operations. Each reporting 
period, we evaluate whether declines in fair value below carrying value are other-than-temporary and if so, we write down the 
investment to its estimated fair value. 

Equity investments that have readily determinable fair values, including investments for which we have elected the fair 

value option, are included in “Marketable securities” on our consolidated balance sheets and measured at fair value with 
changes recognized in “Other income (expense), net” on our consolidated statements of operations. 

Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets, other than goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets, are reviewed for impairment whenever 

events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets might not be recoverable. Conditions that 
would necessitate an impairment assessment include a significant decline in the observable market value of an asset, a 
significant change in the extent or manner in which an asset is used, or any other significant adverse change that would indicate 
that the carrying amount of an asset or group of assets may not be recoverable.

For long-lived assets used in operations, including lease assets, impairment losses are only recorded if the asset’s carrying 

amount is not recoverable through its undiscounted, probability-weighted future cash flows. We measure the impairment loss 
based on the difference between the carrying amount and estimated fair value. Long-lived assets are considered held for sale 
when certain criteria are met, including when management has committed to a plan to sell the asset, the asset is available for 
sale in its immediate condition, and the sale is probable within one year of the reporting date. Assets held for sale are reported at 
the lower of cost or fair value less costs to sell. Assets held for sale were not significant as of December 31, 2021 and 2022.

Accrued Expenses and Other

Included in “Accrued expenses and other” on our consolidated balance sheets are liabilities primarily related to leases and 

asset retirement obligations, tax-related liabilities, current debt, payroll and related expenses, unredeemed gift cards, self-
insurance liabilities, customer liabilities, marketing liabilities, acquired digital media content, and other operating expenses.

As of December 31, 2021 and 2022, our liabilities for payroll related expenses were $7.4 billion and $7.7 billion and our 
liabilities for unredeemed gift cards were $5.2 billion and $5.4 billion. We reduce the liability for a gift card when redeemed by 
a customer. The portion of gift cards that we do not expect to be redeemed is recognized based on customer usage patterns.

Self-Insurance Liabilities

Although we maintain certain high-deductible, third-party insurance coverage for catastrophic losses, we effectively self-

insure for exposure primarily related to workers’ compensation, employee health care benefits, general and product liability, 
and automobile liability, including liability resulting from third-party transportation service providers. We estimate self-
insurance liabilities by considering historical claims experience, frequency and costs of claims, projected claims development, 
inflation, and other actuarial assumptions. Changes in the number or costs of claims, healthcare costs, judgment and settlement 
amounts, associated legal expenses, and other factors could cause actual results to differ materially from these estimates. As of 
December 31, 2021 and 2022, our total self-insurance liabilities were $2.2 billion and $4.0 billion and are included in “Accrued 
expenses and other” on our consolidated balance sheets. In the fourth quarter of 2022, we increased our reserves for general, 
product, and automobile liabilities by $1.3 billion primarily driven by changes in our estimates about the costs of asserted and 
unasserted claims, which was primarily recorded in “Cost of sales” on our consolidated statements of operations and impacted 
our North America segment. 

Unearned Revenue

Unearned revenue is recorded when payments are received or due in advance of performing our service obligations and is 

recognized over the service period. Unearned revenue primarily relates to prepayments of AWS services and Amazon Prime 
memberships. Our total unearned revenue as of December 31, 2021 was $14.0 billion, of which $11.3 billion was recognized as 
revenue during the year ended December 31, 2022 and our total unearned revenue as of December 31, 2022 was $16.1 billion. 
Included in “Other long-term liabilities” on our consolidated balance sheets was $2.2 billion and $2.9 billion of unearned 
revenue as of December 31, 2021 and 2022. 

Additionally, we have performance obligations, primarily related to AWS, associated with commitments in customer 
contracts for future services that have not yet been recognized in our financial statements. For contracts with original terms that 
exceed one year, those commitments not yet recognized were $110.4 billion as of December 31, 2022. The weighted average 
remaining life of our long-term contracts is 3.7 years. However, the amount and timing of revenue recognition is largely driven 
by customer usage, which can extend beyond the original contractual term.

49

Other Long-Term Liabilities

Included in “Other long-term liabilities” on our consolidated balance sheets are liabilities primarily related to financing 

obligations, asset retirement obligations, unearned revenue, tax contingencies, digital video and music content, and deferred tax 
liabilities.

Foreign Currency

We have internationally-focused stores for which the net sales generated, as well as most of the related expenses directly 
incurred from those operations, are denominated in local functional currencies. The functional currency of our subsidiaries that 
either operate or support these stores is generally the same as the local currency. Assets and liabilities of these subsidiaries are 
translated into U.S. Dollars at period-end foreign exchange rates, and revenues and expenses are translated at average rates 
prevailing throughout the period. Translation adjustments are included in “Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss),” a 
separate component of stockholders’ equity. Transaction gains and losses including intercompany transactions denominated in a 
currency other than the functional currency of the entity involved are included in “Other income (expense), net” on our 
consolidated statements of operations. In connection with the settlement and remeasurement of intercompany balances, we 
recorded gains (losses) of $(118) million, $19 million, and $386 million in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Note 2 — FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash, and Marketable Securities

As of December 31, 2021 and 2022, our cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and marketable securities primarily 
consisted of cash, AAA-rated money market funds, U.S. and foreign government and agency securities, other investment grade 
securities, and marketable equity securities. Cash equivalents and marketable securities are recorded at fair value. The following 
table summarizes, by major security type, our cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and marketable securities that are 
measured at fair value on a recurring basis and are categorized using the fair value hierarchy (in millions):

Cash

Level 1 securities:

Money market funds

Equity securities (1)

Level 2 securities:

Foreign government and agency securities

U.S. government and agency securities

Corporate debt securities

Asset-backed securities

Other fixed income securities

Equity securities (1)(3)

Less: Restricted cash, cash equivalents, and marketable 
securities (2)

Total cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities

December 31, 2021

Cost or
Amortized
Cost

Gross
Unrealized
Gains

Gross
Unrealized
Losses

Total
Estimated
Fair Value

$ 

10,942  $ 

—  $ 

—  $ 

10,942 

20,312 

181 

4,316 
35,810 

6,763 
688 

— 

— 

9 
75 

7 
2 

— 

— 

(25)   
(121)   

(32)   
(4)   

$ 

79,012  $ 

93  $ 

(182)  $ 

20,312 

1,646 

181 

4,300 
35,764 

6,738 
686 

15,740 

96,309 

(260) 

$ 

96,049 

50

  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cash

Level 1 securities:

Money market funds

Equity securities (1)(3)

Level 2 securities:

Foreign government and agency securities

U.S. government and agency securities

Corporate debt securities

Asset-backed securities

Other fixed income securities

Less: Restricted cash, cash equivalents, and marketable 
securities (2)

Total cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities

December 31, 2022

Cost or
Amortized
Cost

Gross
Unrealized
Gains

Gross
Unrealized
Losses

Total
Estimated
Fair Value

$ 

10,666  $ 

—  $ 

—  $ 

10,666 

27,899 

537 

2,301 

23,111 

2,721 

249 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

(2)   

(155)   

(484)   

(149)   

(12)   

27,899 

3,709 

535 

2,146 

22,627 

2,572 

237 

$ 

67,484  $ 

—  $ 

(802)  $ 

70,391 

(365) 

$ 

70,026 

___________________
(1) The related unrealized gain (loss) recorded in “Other income (expense), net” was $448 million, $11.6 billion, and $(13.6) 

billion for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2021, and 2022. 

(2) We are required to pledge or otherwise restrict a portion of our cash, cash equivalents, and marketable fixed income 

securities primarily as collateral for real estate, amounts due to third-party sellers in certain jurisdictions, debt, and standby 
and trade letters of credit. We classify cash, cash equivalents, and marketable fixed income securities with use restrictions 
of less than twelve months as “Accounts receivable, net and other” and of twelve months or longer as non-current “Other 
assets” on our consolidated balance sheets. See “Note 7 — Commitments and Contingencies.”

(3) Our equity investment in Rivian had a fair value of $15.6 billion and $2.9 billion as of December 31, 2021 and 

December 31, 2022, respectively. The investment was subject to regulatory sales restrictions resulting in a discount for lack 
of marketability of approximately $800 million as of December 31, 2021, which expired in Q1 2022.

The following table summarizes gross gains and gross losses realized on sales of marketable fixed income securities (in 

millions):

Realized gains

Realized losses

Year Ended December 31,

2020

2021

2022

$ 

92  $ 
56 

85  $ 
38 

43 
341 

The following table summarizes the remaining contractual maturities of our cash equivalents and marketable fixed 

income securities as of December 31, 2022 (in millions):

Due within one year

Due after one year through five years

Due after five years through ten years

Due after ten years

Total

Amortized
Cost

Estimated
Fair Value

$ 

46,854  $ 

46,782 

7,622 

602 

1,740 

7,047 

565 

1,622 

$ 

56,818  $ 

56,016 

Actual maturities may differ from the contractual maturities because borrowers may have certain prepayment conditions.

51

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Reconciliation

The following table provides a reconciliation of the amount of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash reported within 

the consolidated balance sheets to the total of the same such amounts shown in the consolidated statements of cash flows (in 
millions):

Cash and cash equivalents

Restricted cash included in accounts receivable, net and other

Restricted cash included in other assets

Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash shown in the consolidated statements of 
cash flows

$ 

Note 3 — PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

Property and equipment, at cost, consisted of the following (in millions): 

Gross property and equipment (1):

Land and buildings
Equipment
Other assets
Construction in progress

Gross property and equipment

Total accumulated depreciation and amortization (1)

Total property and equipment, net

December 31, 2021

December 31, 2022

$ 

36,220  $ 

53,888 

242 

15 

358 

7 

36,477  $ 

54,253 

December 31,

2021

2022

$ 

$ 

81,104  $ 
128,683 
4,118 
24,895 
238,800 
78,519 
160,281  $ 

91,650 
157,458 
4,602 
30,020 
283,730 
97,015 
186,715 

__________________
(1) Includes the original cost and accumulated depreciation of fully-depreciated assets.

Depreciation and amortization expense on property and equipment was $16.2 billion, $22.9 billion, and $24.9 billion 
which includes amortization of property and equipment acquired under finance leases of $8.5 billion, $9.9 billion, and $6.1 
billion for 2020, 2021, and 2022. 

52

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Note 4 — LEASES

We have entered into non-cancellable operating and finance leases for fulfillment, delivery, office, data center, physical 

store, and sortation facilities as well as server and networking equipment, vehicles, and aircraft. Gross assets acquired under 
finance leases, inclusive of those where title transfers at the end of the lease, are recorded in “Property and equipment, net” and 
were $72.2 billion and $68.0 billion as of December 31, 2021 and 2022. Accumulated amortization associated with finance 
leases was $43.4 billion and $45.2 billion as of December 31, 2021 and 2022. 

Lease cost recognized in our consolidated statements of operations is summarized as follows (in millions):

Operating lease cost

Finance lease cost:

Amortization of lease assets

Interest on lease liabilities

Finance lease cost

Variable lease cost

Year Ended December 31,

2020

2021

2022

$ 

5,019  $ 

7,199  $ 

8,847 

8,452 

617 

9,069 

1,238 

9,857 

473 

10,330 

1,556 

6,097 

361 

6,458 

1,852 

17,157 

Total lease cost

$ 

15,326  $ 

19,085  $ 

Other information about lease amounts recognized in our consolidated financial statements is as follows:

December 31, 2021

December 31, 2022

11.3 years

8.1 years

 2.2 %

 2.0 %

11.6 years

10.3 years

 2.8 %

 2.3 %

December 31, 2021

Operating 
Leases

Finance   
Leases

Total

$ 

66,269  $ 

25,866  $ 

92,135 

(7,939)   
58,330 

(6,349)   
51,981  $ 

(2,113)   
23,753 

(8,083)   
15,670  $ 

(10,052) 
82,083 

(14,432) 
67,651 

$ 

December 31, 2022

Operating 
Leases

Finance   
Leases

Total

$ 

81,273  $ 

18,019  $ 

99,292 

(12,233)   

(2,236)   

(14,469) 

69,040 

15,783 

84,823 

(7,458)   

(4,397)   

(11,855) 

$ 

61,582  $ 

11,386  $ 

72,968 

Weighted-average remaining lease term – operating leases

Weighted-average remaining lease term – finance leases

Weighted-average discount rate – operating leases

Weighted-average discount rate – finance leases

Our lease liabilities were as follows (in millions):

Gross lease liabilities

Less: imputed interest

Present value of lease liabilities

Less: current portion of lease liabilities

Total long-term lease liabilities

Gross lease liabilities

Less: imputed interest

Present value of lease liabilities

Less: current portion of lease liabilities

Total long-term lease liabilities

53

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Note 5 — ACQUISITIONS, GOODWILL, AND ACQUIRED INTANGIBLE ASSETS

2020 Acquisition Activity 

During 2020, we acquired certain companies for an aggregate purchase price of $1.2 billion, net of cash acquired, of 

which $1.1 billion was capitalized to in-process research and development intangible assets (“IPR&D”). 

2021 Acquisition Activity 

During 2021, we acquired certain companies for an aggregate purchase price of $496 million, net of cash acquired.

2022 Acquisition Activity 

On March 17, 2022, we acquired MGM Holdings Inc., for cash consideration of approximately $6.1 billion, net of cash 
acquired, to provide more digital media content options for customers. We also assumed $2.5 billion of debt, which we repaid 
immediately after closing. The acquired assets primarily consist of $3.4 billion of video content and $4.9 billion of goodwill. 

During 2022, we also acquired certain other companies for an aggregate purchase price of $141 million, net of cash 

acquired. 

Pro forma results of operations have not been presented because the effects of the 2022 acquisitions, individually and in 
the aggregate, were not material to our consolidated results of operations. Acquisition-related costs were expensed as incurred 
and were not significant.

Goodwill

The goodwill of the acquired companies is primarily related to expected improvements in technology performance and 

functionality, as well as sales growth from future product and service offerings and new customers, together with certain 
intangible assets that do not qualify for separate recognition. The goodwill of the acquired companies is generally not 
deductible for tax purposes. The following summarizes our goodwill activity in 2021 and 2022 by segment (in millions):

Goodwill - January 1, 2021
New acquisitions 
Other adjustments (1)
Goodwill - December 31, 2021
New acquisitions
Other adjustments (1)
Goodwill - December 31, 2022

North
America

International

AWS

Consolidated

$ 

$ 

12,527  $ 
230 
1 
12,758 
3,943 

(80)   
16,621  $ 

1,288  $ 
60 
(21)   

1,327 
1,054 
30 
2,411  $ 

1,202  $ 
76 
8 
1,286 
— 
(30)   
1,256  $ 

15,017 
366 
(12) 
15,371 
4,997 
(80) 
20,288 

 ___________________
(1) Primarily includes changes in foreign exchange rates.

54

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Intangible Assets

Acquired identifiable intangible assets are valued primarily by using discounted cash flows. These assets are included 

within “Other assets” on our consolidated balance sheets and consist of the following (in millions):

December 31,

2021

2022

Acquired
Intangibles,
Gross (1)

Accumulated
Amortization (1)

Acquired
Intangibles,
Net

Acquired
Intangibles,
Gross (1)

Accumulated
Amortization (1)

Acquired
Intangibles,
Net

Weighted
Average Life
Remaining

Finite-lived intangible 
assets (2): 

Marketing-related

Contract-based

Technology- and 
content-based
Customer-related

$ 

2,286  $ 

(548)  $ 

1,738  $  2,407  $ 

(601)  $  1,806 

2,327 

(565)   

1,762 

3,661 

(813)   

2,848 

976 

197 

(610)   

(103)   

366 

94 

883 

184 

(643)   

(128)   

240 

56 

Total finite-lived 
intangible assets

IPR&D and other (3)

Total acquired 
intangibles 

$ 
$ 

$ 

5,786  $ 
1,147 

(1,826)  $ 
  $ 

3,960  $  7,135  $ 
1,147  $  1,147 

(2,185)  $  4,950 
  $  1,147 

6,933  $ 

(1,826)  $ 

5,107  $  8,282  $ 

(2,185)  $  6,097 

18.6

12.8

3.2

2.2

14.4

 ___________________
(1) Excludes the original cost and accumulated amortization of fully-amortized intangibles.
(2) Finite-lived intangible assets, excluding acquired video content, have estimated useful lives of between one and twenty-five 

years, and are being amortized to operating expenses on a straight-line basis.

(3) Intangible assets acquired in a business combination that are in-process and used in research and development activities are 
considered indefinite-lived until the completion or abandonment of the research and development efforts. Once the research 
and development efforts are completed, we determine the useful life and begin amortizing the assets.

Amortization expense for acquired finite-lived intangibles was $509 million, $512 million, and $604 million in 2020, 

2021, and 2022. Expected future amortization expense of acquired finite-lived intangible assets as of December 31, 2022 is as 
follows (in millions):

Year Ended December 31,

2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
Thereafter

$ 

$ 

530 
456 
371 
324 
314 
2,955 
4,950 

55

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Note 6 — DEBT

As of December 31, 2022, we had $69.5 billion of unsecured senior notes outstanding (the “Notes”), including $12.8 

billion issued in April 2022 and $8.3 billion issued in December 2022 for general corporate purposes, and $1.0 billion of 
borrowings under our secured revolving credit facility. Our total long-term debt obligations are as follows (in millions):

Maturities (1)

Stated Interest 
Rates

Effective Interest 
Rates

December 31, 2021 December 31, 2022

2012 Notes issuance of $3.0 billion

2022

2.50%

2.66%

2014 Notes issuance of $6.0 billion

2024 - 2044

3.80% - 4.95% 3.90% - 5.12%  

2017 Notes issuance of $17.0 billion

2023 - 2057 2.40% - 5.20% 2.56% - 4.33%  

2020 Notes issuance of $10.0 billion

2023 - 2060 0.40% - 2.70% 0.56% - 2.77%  

2021 Notes issuance of $18.5 billion

2023 - 2061 0.25% - 3.25% 0.35% - 3.31%  

2024 - 2062

2.73% - 4.10% 2.83% - 4.15%  

2024 - 2032

4.55% - 4.70% 4.61% - 4.83%  

April 2022 Notes issuance of $12.8 
billion

December 2022 Notes issuance of $8.3 
billion

Credit Facility

Total face value of long-term debt

Unamortized discount and issuance 
costs, net
Less: current portion of long-term debt

Long-term debt

1,250 

4,000 

16,000 

10,000 

18,500 

— 

— 

803 

50,553 

(318)   

(1,491)   

— 

4,000 

16,000 

10,000 

18,500 

12,750 

8,250 

1,042 

70,542 

(393) 

(2,999) 

67,150 

$ 

48,744  $ 

___________________
(1) The weighted-average remaining lives of the 2014, 2017, 2020, 2021, April 2022, and December 2022 Notes were 12.6, 

14.2, 16.7, 13.3, 13.3, and 5.9 years as of December 31, 2022. The combined weighted-average remaining life of the Notes 
was 13.1 years as of December 31, 2022.

Interest on the Notes is payable semi-annually in arrears. We may redeem the Notes at any time in whole, or from time to 

time, in part at specified redemption prices. We are not subject to any financial covenants under the Notes. The estimated fair 
value of the Notes was approximately $53.3 billion and $61.4 billion as of December 31, 2021 and 2022, which is based on 
quoted prices for our debt as of those dates. 

We have a $1.5 billion secured revolving credit facility with a lender that is secured by certain seller receivables, which 

we increased from $1.0 billion to $1.5 billion in August 2022 and we may from time to time increase in the future subject to 
lender approval (the “Credit Facility”). The Credit Facility is available until August 2025, bears interest based on the daily 
Secured Overnight Financing Rate plus 1.25%, and has a commitment fee of up to 0.45% on the undrawn portion. There were 
$803 million and $1.0 billion of borrowings outstanding under the Credit Facility as of December 31, 2021 and 2022, which 
had an interest rate of 1.5% and 5.6%, respectively. As of December 31, 2021 and 2022, we have pledged $918 million and 
$1.2 billion of our cash and seller receivables as collateral for debt related to our Credit Facility. The estimated fair value of the 
Credit Facility, which is based on Level 2 inputs, approximated its carrying value as of December 31, 2021 and 2022.

As of December 31, 2022, future principal payments for our total long-term debt were as follows (in millions):

Year Ended December 31,

2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
Thereafter

$ 

$ 

3,000 
8,500 
5,249 
3,543 
8,750 
41,500 
70,542 

We have U.S. Dollar and Euro commercial paper programs (the “Commercial Paper Programs”) under which we may 
from time to time issue unsecured commercial paper up to a total of $20.0 billion (including up to €3.0 billion) at the date of 
issue, with individual maturities that may vary but will not exceed 397 days from the date of issue. In March 2022, we 
increased the size of the Commercial Paper Programs from $10.0 billion to $20.0 billion. There were $725 million and $6.8 
billion of borrowings outstanding under the Commercial Paper Programs as of December 31, 2021 and 2022, which were 

56

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
included in “Accrued expenses and other” on our consolidated balance sheets and had a weighted-average effective interest 
rate, including issuance costs, of 0.08% and 4.47%, respectively. We use the net proceeds from the issuance of commercial 
paper for general corporate purposes.

We have a $10.0 billion unsecured revolving credit facility with a syndicate of lenders (the “Credit Agreement”), which 

was amended and restated in March 2022 to increase the borrowing capacity from $7.0 billion to $10.0 billion and to extend the 
term to March 2025. It may be extended for up to three additional one-year terms if approved by the lenders. The interest rate 
applicable to outstanding balances under the Credit Agreement is the applicable benchmark rate specified in the Credit 
Agreement plus 0.45%, with a commitment fee of 0.03% on the undrawn portion of the credit facility. There were no 
borrowings outstanding under the Credit Agreement as of December 31, 2021 and 2022.

In November 2022, we entered into a $10.0 billion unsecured 364-day revolving credit facility with a syndicate of lenders 
(the “Short-Term Credit Agreement”), which matures in November 2023 and may be extended for one additional period of 364 
days if approved by the lenders. The interest rate applicable to outstanding balances under the Short-Term Credit Agreement is 
the Secured Overnight Financing Rate specified in the Short-Term Credit Agreement plus 0.45%, with a commitment fee of 
0.05% on the undrawn portion. There were no borrowings outstanding under the Short-Term Credit Agreement as of 
December 31, 2022.

We also utilize other short-term credit facilities for working capital purposes. There were $318 million and $1.2 billion of 

borrowings outstanding under these facilities as of December 31, 2021 and 2022, which were included in “Accrued expenses 
and other” on our consolidated balance sheets. In addition, we had $6.9 billion of unused letters of credit as of December 31, 
2022. 

In January 2023, we entered into an $8.0 billion unsecured 364-day term loan with a syndicate of lenders (the “Term 
Loan”), which matures in January 2024 and bears interest at the Secured Overnight Financing Rate specified in the Term Loan 
plus 0.75%. If we exercise our option to extend the Term Loan’s maturity to January 2025, the interest rate spread will increase 
from 0.75% to 1.05%. As of the date of this filing, the entire Term Loan is outstanding.

57

Note 7 — COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Commitments

The following summarizes our principal contractual commitments, excluding open orders for purchases that support 

normal operations and are generally cancellable, as of December 31, 2022 (in millions):

Year Ended December 31,

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

Thereafter

Total

Long-term debt principal and interest

$  5,165  $ 10,618  $  7,146  $  5,253  $ 10,399  $  63,815  $ 102,396 

Operating lease liabilities

  9,574 

  8,658 

  8,024 

  7,393 

  6,675 

  40,949 

  81,273 

Finance lease liabilities, including interest

  4,575 

  2,248 

  1,422 

  1,279 

  1,088 

7,407 

  18,019 

Financing obligations, including interest (1)

465 

464 

456 

464 

471 

6,712 

9,032 

Leases not yet commenced

  1,252 

  2,043 

  2,185 

  2,160 

  2,152 

  17,237 

  27,029 

Unconditional purchase obligations (2)

  8,156 

  7,217 

  5,366 

  4,525 

  3,419 

6,093 

  34,776 

Other commitments (3)(4)

Total commitments

  3,173 

  1,608 

  1,027 

982 

622 

8,652 

  16,064 

$ 32,360  $ 32,856  $ 25,626  $ 22,056  $ 24,826  $ 150,865  $ 288,589 

___________________
(1) Includes non-cancellable financing obligations for fulfillment, sortation, and data center facilities. Excluding interest, 

current financing obligations of $196 million and $266 million are recorded within “Accrued expenses and other” and $6.2 
billion and $6.7 billion are recorded within “Other long-term liabilities” as of December 31, 2021 and 2022. The weighted-
average remaining term of the financing obligations was 18.8 years and 17.9 years and the weighted-average imputed 
interest rate was 3.2% and 3.1% as of December 31, 2021 and 2022.

(2) Includes unconditional purchase obligations related to long-term agreements to acquire and license digital media content 
that are not reflected on the consolidated balance sheets and certain products offered in our Whole Foods Market stores. 
For those digital media content agreements with variable terms, we do not estimate the total obligation beyond any 
minimum quantities and/or pricing as of the reporting date. Purchase obligations associated with renewal provisions solely 
at the option of the content provider are included to the extent such commitments are fixed or a minimum amount is 
specified.

(3) Includes asset retirement obligations, liabilities associated with digital media content agreements with initial terms greater 
than one year, and the estimated timing and amounts of payments for rent and tenant improvements associated with build-
to-suit lease arrangements that are under construction.

(4) Excludes approximately $4.0 billion of accrued tax contingencies for which we cannot make a reasonably reliable estimate 

of the amount and period of payment, if any.

In July 2022, we entered into an agreement to acquire 1Life Healthcare, Inc. (One Medical) for approximately $3.9 

billion, including its debt, subject to customary closing conditions. In August 2022, we entered into an agreement to acquire 
iRobot Corporation for approximately $1.7 billion, including its debt, subject to customary closing conditions. We expect to 
fund these acquisitions with cash on hand.

Suppliers

During 2022, no vendor accounted for 10% or more of our purchases. We generally do not have long-term contracts or 

arrangements with our vendors to guarantee the availability of merchandise, particular payment terms, or the extension of credit 
limits.

Other Contingencies

We are disputing claims and denials of refunds or credits related to various non-income taxes (such as sales, value added, 

consumption, service, and similar taxes), including in jurisdictions in which we already collect and remit these taxes. These 
non-income tax controversies typically relate to (i) the taxability of products and services, including cross-border intercompany 
transactions, (ii) collection and withholding on transactions with third parties, and (iii) the adequacy of compliance with 
reporting obligations, including evolving documentation requirements. Due to the inherent complexity and uncertainty of these 
matters and the judicial and regulatory processes in certain jurisdictions, the final outcome of any such controversies may be 
materially different from our expectations.

58

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Legal Proceedings

The Company is involved from time to time in claims, proceedings, and litigation, including the following:

In November 2015, Eolas Technologies, Inc. filed a complaint against Amazon.com, Inc. in the United States District 
Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The complaint alleges, among other things, that the use of “interactive features” on 
www.amazon.com, including “search suggestions and search results,” infringes U.S. Patent No. 9,195,507, entitled “Distributed 
Hypermedia Method and System for Automatically Invoking External Application Providing Interaction and Display of 
Embedded Objects Within a Hypermedia Document.” The complaint sought a judgment of infringement together with costs and 
attorneys’ fees. In February 2016, Eolas filed an amended complaint seeking, among other things, an unspecified amount of 
damages. In February 2017, Eolas alleged in its damages report that in the event of a finding of liability Amazon could be 
subject to $130 to $250 million in damages. In April 2017, the case was transferred to the United States District Court for the 
Northern District of California. In May 2022, the district court granted summary judgment holding that the patent is invalid. In 
June 2022, Eolas filed a notice of appeal. We dispute the allegations of wrongdoing and intend to defend ourselves vigorously 
in this matter.

In May 2018, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and CF Dynamic Advances LLC filed a complaint against Amazon.com, 
Inc. in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. The complaint alleges, among other things, that 
“Alexa Voice Software and Alexa enabled devices” infringe U.S. Patent No. 7,177,798, entitled “Natural Language Interface 
Using Constrained Intermediate Dictionary of Results.” The complaint seeks an injunction, an unspecified amount of damages, 
enhanced damages, an ongoing royalty, interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs. We dispute the allegations of wrongdoing and intend 
to defend ourselves vigorously in this matter.

In December 2018, Kove IO, Inc. filed a complaint against Amazon Web Services, Inc. in the United States District 
Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The complaint alleges, among other things, that Amazon S3 and DynamoDB infringe 
U.S. Patent Nos. 7,814,170 and 7,103,640, both entitled “Network Distributed Tracking Wire Transfer Protocol”; and 
7,233,978, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Managing Location Information in a Network Separate from the Data to Which 
the Location Information Pertains.” The complaint seeks an unspecified amount of damages, enhanced damages, attorneys’ 
fees, costs, interest, and injunctive relief. In March 2022, the case was stayed pending resolution of review petitions we filed 
with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In November 2022, the stay was lifted. We dispute the allegations of 
wrongdoing and intend to defend ourselves vigorously in this matter.

Beginning in March 2020, with Frame-Wilson v. Amazon.com, Inc. filed in the United States District Court for the 

Western District of Washington, private litigants have filed a number of cases in the U.S. and Canada alleging, among other 
things, price fixing arrangements between Amazon.com, Inc. and vendors and third-party sellers in Amazon’s stores, 
monopolization and attempted monopolization, and consumer protection and unjust enrichment claims. Attorneys General for 
the District of Columbia and California brought similar suits in May 2021 and September 2022 in the Superior Court of the 
District of Columbia and the California Superior Court for the County of San Francisco, respectively. Some of the private cases 
include allegations of several distinct purported classes, including consumers who purchased a product through Amazon’s 
stores and consumers who purchased a product offered by Amazon through another e-commerce retailer. The complaints seek 
billions of dollars of alleged actual damages, treble damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, civil penalties, attorneys’ fees, 
and costs. In March 2022 and January 2023, Amazon’s motions to dismiss were granted in part and denied in part in Frame-
Wilson and De Coster v. Amazon.com, Inc. (WD Wash), respectively; both courts dismissed claims alleging that Amazon’s 
pricing policies are inherently illegal and denied dismissal of claims alleging that Amazon’s pricing policies are an unlawful 
restraint of trade. In March 2022, the DC Superior Court dismissed the DC Attorney General’s lawsuit in its entirety; the 
dismissal is under appeal as of January 2023. We dispute the allegations of wrongdoing and intend to defend ourselves 
vigorously in these matters.

In October 2020, BroadbandiTV, Inc. filed a complaint against Amazon.com, Inc., Amazon.com Services LLC, and 
Amazon Web Services, Inc. in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. The complaint alleges, among 
other things, that certain Amazon Prime Video features and services infringe U.S. Patent Nos. 9,648,388, 10,546,750, and 
10,536,751, each entitled “Video-On-Demand Content Delivery System for Providing Video-On-Demand Services to TV 
Services Subscribers”; 10,028,026, entitled “System for Addressing On-Demand TV Program Content on TV Services Platform 
of a Digital TV Services Provider”; and 9,973,825, entitled “Dynamic Adjustment of Electronic Program Guide Displays Based 
on Viewer Preferences for Minimizing Navigation in VOD Program Selection.” The complaint seeks an unspecified amount of 
damages. In April 2022, BroadbandiTV alleged in its damages report that, in the event of a finding of liability, Amazon could 
be subject to $166 to $986 million in damages. In September 2022, the court granted summary judgment, holding that the 
patents are invalid. In October 2022, BroadbandiTV filed a notice of appeal. We dispute the allegations of wrongdoing and will 
continue to defend ourselves vigorously in this matter.

59

In November 2020, the European Commission issued a Statement of Objections alleging that Amazon uses data relating 

to our marketplace sellers in a manner that infringes EU competition rules. The Statement of Objections sought to impose 
unspecified fines and remedial actions. In December 2022, the European Commission adopted formal commitments without 
fines, fully resolving the investigation.

In July 2021, the Luxembourg National Commission for Data Protection (the “CNPD”) issued a decision against Amazon 

Europe Core S.à r.l. claiming that Amazon’s processing of personal data did not comply with the EU General Data Protection 
Regulation. The decision imposes a fine of €746 million and corresponding practice revisions. We believe the CNPD’s decision 
to be without merit and intend to defend ourselves vigorously in this matter.

In November 2021, Jawbone Innovations, LLC filed a complaint against Amazon.com, Inc. and Amazon.com Services, 

Inc. in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The complaint alleges, among other things, that 
Amazon Echo smart speakers and displays, Fire TV Cube, and Echo Buds infringe U.S. Patent Nos. 7,246,058, entitled 
“Detecting Voiced and Unvoiced Speech Using Both Acoustic and Nonacoustic Sensors”; 8,019,091, entitled “Voice Activity 
Detector (VAD)-Based Multiple-Microphone Acoustic Noise Suppression”; 8,280,072, entitled “Microphone Array with Rear 
Venting”; 8,321,213 and 8,326,611, both entitled “Acoustic Voice Activity Detection (AVAD) for Electronic Systems”; 
8,467,543, entitled “Microphone and Voice Activity Detection (VAD) Configurations for Use with Communications Systems”; 
8,503,691, entitled “Virtual Microphone Arrays Using Dual Omnidirectional Microphone Array (DOMA)”; 10,779,080, 
entitled “Dual Omnidirectional Microphone Array (DOMA)”; and 11,122,357, entitled “Forming Virtual Microphone Arrays 
Using Dual Omnidirectional Microphone Array (DOMA).” The complaint seeks an unspecified amount of damages, enhanced 
damages, attorneys’ fees, costs, interest, and injunctive relief. In November 2022, the case was transferred to the United States 
District Court for the Northern District of California. We dispute the allegations of wrongdoing and intend to defend ourselves 
vigorously in this matter.

In December 2021, the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”) issued a decision against Amazon Services Europe S.à 
r.l., Amazon Europe Core S.à r.l., Amazon EU S.à r.l., Amazon Italia Services S.r.l., and Amazon Italia Logistica S.r.l. claiming 
that certain of our marketplace and logistics practices in Italy infringe EU competition rules. The decision imposes remedial 
actions and a fine of €1.13 billion, which we are paying and will seek to recover pending conclusion of all appeals. We believe 
the ICA’s decision to be without merit and intend to defend ourselves vigorously in this matter. 

In July 2022, Acceleration Bay, LLC filed a complaint against Amazon Web Services, Inc. in the United States District 
Court for the District of Delaware. The complaint alleges, among other things, that Amazon EC2, Amazon CloudFront, AWS 
Lambda, Amazon Lumberyard, Luna, Amazon Prime Video, Twitch, Amazon GameLift, GridMate, Amazon EKS, AWS App 
Mesh, and Amazon VPC infringe U.S. Patent Nos. 6,701,344, entitled “Distributed Game Environment”; 6,714,966, entitled 
“Information Delivery Service”; 6,732,147, entitled “Leaving a Broadcast Channel”; 6,829,634, entitled “Broadcasting 
Network”; and 6,910,069, entitled “Joining a Broadcast Channel.” The complaint seeks injunctive relief, an unspecified amount 
of damages, enhanced damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs. We dispute the allegations of wrongdoing and intend to 
defend ourselves vigorously in this matter.

In November 2022, LightGuide, Inc. filed a complaint against Amazon.com, Inc. and Amazon.com Services LLC in the 
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The complaint alleges, among other things, that Amazon’s Nike 
Intent Detection System used in certain fulfillment centers infringes U.S. Patent Nos. 7,515,981, entitled “Light Guided 
Assembly System”; and 9,658,614 and 10,528,036, each entitled “Light Guided Assembly System and Method.” The complaint 
seeks an unspecified amount of damages, enhanced damages, attorneys’ fees, costs, interest, and injunctive relief. We dispute 
the allegations of wrongdoing and intend to defend ourselves vigorously in this matter.

In addition, we are regularly subject to claims, litigation, and other proceedings, including potential regulatory 

proceedings, involving patent and other intellectual property matters, taxes, labor and employment, competition and antitrust, 
privacy and data protection, consumer protection, commercial disputes, goods and services offered by us and by third parties, 
and other matters.

The outcomes of our legal proceedings and other contingencies are inherently unpredictable, subject to significant 
uncertainties, and could be material to our operating results and cash flows for a particular period. We evaluate, on a regular 
basis, developments in our legal proceedings and other contingencies that could affect the amount of liability, including 
amounts in excess of any previous accruals and reasonably possible losses disclosed, and make adjustments and changes to our 
accruals and disclosures as appropriate. For the matters we disclose that do not include an estimate of the amount of loss or 
range of losses, such an estimate is not possible or is immaterial, and we may be unable to estimate the possible loss or range of 
losses that could potentially result from the application of non-monetary remedies. Until the final resolution of such matters, if 
any of our estimates and assumptions change or prove to have been incorrect, we may experience losses in excess of the 
amounts recorded, which could have a material effect on our business, consolidated financial position, results of operations, or 
cash flows.

See also “Note 9 — Income Taxes.”

60

Note 8 — STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Preferred Stock

We have authorized 500 million shares of $0.01 par value preferred stock. No preferred stock was outstanding for any 

year presented.

Common Stock

Common shares outstanding plus shares underlying outstanding stock awards totaled 10.4 billion, 10.5 billion, and 10.6 

billion, as of December 31, 2020, 2021, and 2022. These totals include all vested and unvested stock awards outstanding, 
including those awards we estimate will be forfeited.

Stock Repurchase Activity

In March 2022, the Board of Directors authorized a program to repurchase up to $10.0 billion of our common stock, with 

no fixed expiration, which replaced the previous $5.0 billion stock repurchase authorization, approved by the Board of 
Directors in February 2016. We repurchased 46.2 million shares of our common stock for $6.0 billion in 2022 under these 
programs. There were no repurchases of common stock in 2020 or 2021. As of December 31, 2022, we have $6.1 billion 
remaining under the repurchase program.

Stock Award Plans

Employees vest in restricted stock unit awards over the corresponding service term, generally between two and five years.

Stock Award Activity

Stock-based compensation expense is as follows (in millions):

Year Ended December 31,

2020

2021

2022

Cost of sales

Fulfillment

Technology and content

Sales and marketing

General and administrative

$ 

283  $ 

540  $ 

1,357 

5,061 

1,710 

797 

1,946 

6,645 

2,530 

1,096 

Total stock-based compensation expense (1)

$ 

9,208  $ 

12,757  $ 

___________________

(1) The related tax benefits were $1.9 billion, $2.7 billion, and $4.3 billion for 2020, 2021, and 2022. 

The following table summarizes our restricted stock unit activity (in millions):

757 

2,745 

10,621 

3,875 

1,623 

19,621 

Outstanding as of January 1, 2020

Units granted
Units vested
Units forfeited

Outstanding as of December 31, 2020

Units granted
Units vested
Units forfeited

Outstanding as of December 31, 2021

Units granted
Units vested
Units forfeited

Outstanding as of December 31, 2022

61

Number of Units

Weighted Average
Grant-Date
Fair Value

286.7  $ 
158.6 
(115.5)   
(26.5)   
303.3 
127.3 
(108.4)   
(42.3)   
279.9 
262.8 
(113.3)   
(45.0)   
384.4 

73 
119 
62 
82 
100 
167 
85 
116 
134 
142 
114 
143 
144 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Scheduled vesting for outstanding restricted stock units as of December 31, 2022, is as follows (in millions):

Year Ended  

Scheduled vesting — restricted stock units

140.8 

  136.6 

67.3 

35.8 

1.7 

2.2 

384.4 

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

Thereafter

Total

As of December 31, 2022, there was $23.8 billion of net unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested stock-based 
compensation arrangements. This compensation is recognized on an accelerated basis with more than half of the compensation 
expected to be expensed in the next twelve months, and has a remaining weighted-average recognition period of 1.1 years. The 
estimated forfeiture rate as of December 31, 2020, 2021, and 2022 was 26.7%, 26.5%, and 26.5%. Changes in our estimates and 
assumptions relating to forfeitures may cause us to realize material changes in stock-based compensation expense in the future. 

During 2020, 2021, and 2022, the fair value of restricted stock units that vested was $15.5 billion, $18.2 billion, and 

$12.8 billion.

Common Stock Available for Future Issuance

As of December 31, 2022, common stock available for future issuance to employees is 1.7 billion shares.

Note 9 — INCOME TAXES

In 2020, 2021, and 2022, we recorded net tax provision (benefit) of $2.9 billion, $4.8 billion, and $(3.2) billion. Our U.S. 

taxable income is reduced by accelerated depreciation deductions and increased by the impact of capitalized research and 
development expenses. Cash taxes paid, net of refunds, were $1.7 billion, $3.7 billion, and $6.0 billion for 2020, 2021, and 
2022.

Certain foreign subsidiary earnings and losses are subject to current U.S. taxation and the subsequent repatriation of those 

earnings is not subject to tax in the U.S. The U.S. tax rules also provide for enhanced accelerated depreciation deductions by 
allowing the election of full expensing of qualified property, primarily equipment, through 2022. Our federal tax provision 
included a partial election for 2020 and 2021, and a full election for 2022. Effective January 1, 2022, research and development 
expenses are required to be capitalized and amortized for U.S. tax purposes.

The components of the provision (benefit) for income taxes, net are as follows (in millions):

Year Ended December 31,

2020

2021

2022

U.S. Federal:
Current
Deferred
Total

U.S. State:

Current
Deferred
Total
International:

Current
Deferred
Total

$ 

1,835  $ 
(151)   
1,684 

2,129  $ 
155 
2,284 

626 
(190)   
436 

956 
(213)   
743 
2,863  $ 

763 
(178)   
585 

2,209 
(287)   
1,922 
4,791  $ 

Provision (benefit) for income taxes, net

$ 

2,175 
(6,686) 
(4,511) 

1,074 
(1,302) 
(228) 

1,682 
(160) 
1,522 
(3,217) 

U.S. and international components of income (loss) before income taxes are as follows (in millions):

U.S.
International

Income (loss) before income taxes

Year Ended December 31,

2020

2021

2022

$ 

$ 

20,219  $ 
3,959 
24,178  $ 

35,879  $ 
2,272 
38,151  $ 

(8,225) 
2,289 
(5,936) 

62

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The items accounting for differences between income taxes computed at the federal statutory rate and the provision 

recorded for income taxes are as follows (in millions):

Income taxes computed at the federal statutory rate

$ 

5,078  $ 

8,012  $ 

(1,246) 

Year Ended December 31,

2020

2021

2022

Effect of:

Tax impact of foreign earnings and losses
State taxes, net of federal benefits
Tax credits
Stock-based compensation (1)

Foreign income deduction (2)
Other, net

Total

(538)   
343 
(639)   

(1,107)   
(372)   
98 
2,863  $ 

(1,349)   
465 
(1,136)   

(1,094)   
(301)   
194 
4,791  $ 

(370) 
(173) 
(1,006) 

612 
(1,258) 
224 
(3,217) 

$ 

___________________
(1) Includes non-deductible stock-based compensation and excess tax benefits or shortfalls from stock-based compensation. 

Our tax provision includes $1.8 billion and $1.9 billion of excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation for 2020 and 
2021, and a $33 million tax shortfall from stock-based compensation for 2022.

(2) U.S. companies are eligible for a deduction that lowers the effective tax rate on certain foreign income. This regime is 

referred to as the Foreign-Derived Intangible Income deduction.

Our provision for income taxes in 2021 was higher than in 2020 primarily due to an increase in pretax income. This was 

partially offset by an increase in U.S. federal research and development credits and the impact of the distribution of certain 
intangible assets from Luxembourg to the U.S. in Q4 2021, resulting in the utilization of $2.6 billion of Luxembourg deferred 
tax assets previously subject to a valuation allowance.

We generated an income tax benefit in 2022 as compared to a provision for income taxes in 2021 primarily due to a 

decrease in pretax income and an increase in the foreign income deduction. This was partially offset by a reduction in excess 
tax benefits from stock-based compensation and a decrease in the tax impact of foreign earnings and losses driven by a decline 
in the favorable effects of corporate restructuring transactions. The foreign income deduction benefit recognized in 2022 
reflects a change in our application of tax regulations related to the computation of qualifying foreign income and includes an 
income tax benefit of approximately $655 million related to years prior to 2022.

We intend to invest substantially all of our foreign subsidiary earnings, as well as our capital in our foreign subsidiaries, 
indefinitely outside of the U.S. in those jurisdictions in which we would incur significant, additional costs upon repatriation of 
such amounts.

63

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are as follows (in millions):

Deferred tax assets (1):

Loss carryforwards U.S. - Federal/States
Loss carryforwards - Foreign
Accrued liabilities, reserves, and other expenses
Stock-based compensation
Depreciation and amortization
Operating lease liabilities
Capitalized research and development
Other items
Tax credits

Total gross deferred tax assets
Less valuation allowances (2)

Deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowances

Deferred tax liabilities:

Depreciation and amortization
Operating lease assets
Assets held for investment
Other items

Net deferred tax assets (liabilities), net of valuation allowances

$ 

December 31,

2021

2022

228 
2,417 
2,821 
2,738 
941 
15,399 
— 
603 
626 
25,773 
(3,596)   
22,177 

(3,562)   
(14,422)   
(4,019)   
(668)   
(494)  $ 

386 
2,831 
3,280 
4,295 
1,009 
18,285 
6,824 
1,023 
950 
38,883 
(4,374) 
34,509 

(9,039) 
(17,140) 
— 
(817) 
7,513 

 ___________________
(1) Deferred tax assets are presented after tax effects and net of tax contingencies.
(2) Relates primarily to deferred tax assets that would only be realizable upon the generation of net income in certain foreign 

taxing jurisdictions or future capital gains, as well as tax credits.

Our valuation allowances primarily relate to foreign deferred tax assets, including substantially all of our foreign net 
operating loss carryforwards as of December 31, 2022. Our foreign net operating loss carryforwards for income tax purposes as 
of December 31, 2022 were approximately $10.4 billion before tax effects and certain of these amounts are subject to annual 
limitations under applicable tax law. If not utilized, a portion of these losses will begin to expire in 2023. 

Tax Contingencies

We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. (federal and state) and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is 
required in evaluating our tax positions and determining our provision for income taxes. During the ordinary course of business, 
there are many transactions and calculations for which the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. We establish reserves for tax-
related uncertainties based on estimates of whether, and the extent to which, additional taxes will be due. These reserves are 
established when we believe that certain positions might be challenged despite our belief that our tax return positions are fully 
supportable. We adjust these reserves in light of changing facts and circumstances, such as the outcome of tax audits. The 
provision for income taxes includes the impact of reserve provisions and changes to reserves that are considered appropriate.

64

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The reconciliation of our tax contingencies is as follows (in millions):

Gross tax contingencies – January 1
Gross increases to tax positions in prior periods
Gross decreases to tax positions in prior periods
Gross increases to current period tax positions
Settlements with tax authorities
Lapse of statute of limitations
Gross tax contingencies – December 31 (1)

December 31,

2020

2021

2022

$ 

$ 

3,923  $ 
88 
(465)   
507 
(1,207)   
(26)   
2,820  $ 

2,820  $ 
403 
(354)   
507 
(60)   
(74)   
3,242  $ 

3,242 
274 
(172) 
706 
(20) 
(28) 
4,002 

 ___________________
(1) As of December 31, 2022, we had approximately $4.0 billion of accrued tax contingencies of which $2.2 billion, if fully 

recognized, would decrease our effective tax rate. 

As of December 31, 2021 and 2022, we had accrued interest and penalties, net of federal income tax benefit, related to 

tax contingencies of $110 million and $103 million. Interest and penalties, net of federal income tax benefit, recognized for the 
years ended December 31, 2020, 2021, and 2022 were $(48) million, $28 million, and $(7) million.

We are under examination, or may be subject to examination, by the Internal Revenue Service for the calendar year 2016 

and thereafter. These examinations may lead to ordinary course adjustments or proposed adjustments to our taxes or our net 
operating losses with respect to years under examination as well as subsequent periods. 

We are also subject to taxation in various states and other foreign jurisdictions including China, France, Germany, India, 

Japan, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom. We are under, or may be subject to, audit or examination and additional 
assessments by the relevant authorities in respect of these particular jurisdictions primarily for 2011 and thereafter. We are 
currently disputing tax assessments in multiple jurisdictions, including with respect to the allocation and characterization of 
income. 

In September 2022, the Luxembourg Tax Authority (“LTA”) denied the tax basis of certain intangible assets that we 

distributed from Luxembourg to the U.S. in 2021. We believe the LTA’s position is without merit and intend to defend 
ourselves vigorously in this matter. 

In February 2023, we received a decision by the Indian Tax Authority (“ITA”) that tax applies to cloud services fees paid 

to the U.S. We will need to remit taxes on the services in question, including for a portion of prior years, until this matter is 
resolved, which payments could be significant in the aggregate. We believe the ITA’s decision is without merit, we intend to 
defend our position vigorously, and we expect to recoup taxes paid. If this matter is adversely resolved, we would reflect 
significant additional tax expense, including for taxes previously paid.

In October 2014, the European Commission opened a formal investigation to examine whether decisions by the tax 

authorities in Luxembourg with regard to the corporate income tax paid by certain of our subsidiaries comply with European 
Union rules on state aid. On October 4, 2017, the European Commission announced its decision that determinations by the tax 
authorities in Luxembourg did not comply with European Union rules on state aid. Based on that decision the European 
Commission announced an estimated recovery amount of approximately €250 million, plus interest, for the period May 2006 
through June 2014, and ordered Luxembourg tax authorities to calculate the actual amount of additional taxes subject to 
recovery. Luxembourg computed an initial recovery amount, consistent with the European Commission’s decision, which we 
deposited into escrow in March 2018, subject to adjustment pending conclusion of all appeals. In December 2017, Luxembourg 
appealed the European Commission’s decision. In May 2018, we appealed. On May 12, 2021, the European Union General 
Court annulled the European Commission’s state aid decision. In July 2021, the European Commission appealed the decision to 
the European Court of Justice. We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously in this matter. 

Changes in tax laws, regulations, administrative practices, principles, and interpretations may impact our tax 

contingencies. Due to various factors, including the inherent complexities and uncertainties of the judicial, administrative, and 
regulatory processes in certain jurisdictions, the timing of the resolution of income tax controversies is highly uncertain, and the 
amounts ultimately paid, if any, upon resolution of the issues raised by the taxing authorities may differ from the amounts 
accrued. It is reasonably possible that within the next twelve months we will receive additional assessments by various tax 
authorities or possibly reach resolution of income tax controversies in one or more jurisdictions. These assessments or 
settlements could result in changes to our contingencies related to positions on prior years’ tax filings. The actual amount of any 
change could vary significantly depending on the ultimate timing and nature of any settlements. We cannot currently provide an 
estimate of the range of possible outcomes.

65

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Note 10 — SEGMENT INFORMATION

We have organized our operations into three segments: North America, International, and AWS. We allocate to segment 

results the operating expenses “Fulfillment,” “Technology and content,” “Sales and marketing,” and “General and 
administrative” based on usage, which is generally reflected in the segment in which the costs are incurred. The majority of 
technology infrastructure costs are allocated to the AWS segment based on usage. The majority of the remaining non-
infrastructure technology costs are incurred in the U.S. and are allocated to our North America segment. There are no internal 
revenue transactions between our reportable segments. These segments reflect the way our chief operating decision maker 
evaluates the Company’s business performance and manages its operations.

North America

The North America segment primarily consists of amounts earned from retail sales of consumer products (including from 

sellers) and subscriptions through North America-focused online and physical stores. This segment includes export sales from 
these online stores.

International

The International segment primarily consists of amounts earned from retail sales of consumer products (including from 

sellers) and subscriptions through internationally-focused online stores. This segment includes export sales from these 
internationally-focused online stores (including export sales from these online stores to customers in the U.S., Mexico, and 
Canada), but excludes export sales from our North America-focused online stores.

AWS

The AWS segment consists of amounts earned from global sales of compute, storage, database, and other services for 

start-ups, enterprises, government agencies, and academic institutions.

Information on reportable segments and reconciliation to consolidated net income (loss) is as follows (in millions):

North America
Net sales
Operating expenses
Operating income (loss)

International
Net sales
Operating expenses
Operating income (loss)

AWS

Net sales
Operating expenses
Operating income

Consolidated
Net sales
Operating expenses
Operating income
Total non-operating income (expense)
Benefit (provision) for income taxes
Equity-method investment activity, net of tax
Net income (loss)

Year Ended December 31,

2020

2021

2022

236,282  $ 
227,631 

279,833  $ 
272,562 

8,651  $ 

7,271  $ 

104,412  $ 
103,695 

127,787  $ 
128,711 

717  $ 

(924)  $ 

315,880 
318,727 
(2,847) 

118,007 
125,753 
(7,746) 

45,370  $ 
31,839 
13,531  $ 

62,202  $ 
43,670 
18,532  $ 

80,096 
57,255 
22,841 

386,064  $ 
363,165 
22,899 
1,279 
(2,863)   
16 
21,331  $ 

469,822  $ 
444,943 
24,879 
13,272 
(4,791)   

4 
33,364  $ 

513,983 
501,735 
12,248 
(18,184) 
3,217 
(3) 
(2,722) 

$ 

$ 

$ 

$ 

$ 

$ 

$ 

$ 

66

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net sales by groups of similar products and services, which also have similar economic characteristics, is as follows (in 

millions):

Net Sales:

Online stores (1)

Physical stores (2)

Third-party seller services (3)

Subscription services (4)

Advertising services (5)

AWS

Other (6)

Consolidated

Year Ended December 31,

2020

2021

2022

$ 

197,346  $ 

222,075  $ 

220,004 

16,227 

80,461 

25,207 

19,773 

45,370 

1,680 

17,075 

103,366 

31,768 

31,160 

62,202 

2,176 

18,963 

117,716 

35,218 

37,739 

80,096 

4,247 

$ 

386,064  $ 

469,822  $ 

513,983 

___________________
(1) Includes product sales and digital media content where we record revenue gross. We leverage our retail infrastructure to 
offer a wide selection of consumable and durable goods that includes media products available in both a physical and 
digital format, such as books, videos, games, music, and software. These product sales include digital products sold on a 
transactional basis. Digital product subscriptions that provide unlimited viewing or usage rights are included in 
“Subscription services.” 

(2) Includes product sales where our customers physically select items in a store. Sales to customers who order goods online 

for delivery or pickup at our physical stores are included in “Online stores.” 

(3) Includes commissions and any related fulfillment and shipping fees, and other third-party seller services. 
(4) Includes annual and monthly fees associated with Amazon Prime memberships, as well as digital video, audiobook, digital 

music, e-book, and other non-AWS subscription services.

(5) Includes sales of advertising services to sellers, vendors, publishers, authors, and others, through programs such as 

sponsored ads, display, and video advertising.

(6) Includes sales related to various other offerings, such as certain licensing and distribution of video content and shipping 

services, and our co-branded credit card agreements. 

Net sales are attributed to countries primarily based on country-focused online and physical stores or, for AWS purposes, 
the selling entity. Net sales attributed to countries that represent a significant portion of consolidated net sales are as follows (in 
millions):

United States
Germany
United Kingdom
Japan
Rest of world

Consolidated

Year Ended December 31,

2020
263,520  $ 
29,565 
26,483 
20,461 
46,035 
386,064  $ 

2021
314,006  $ 
37,326 
31,914 
23,071 
63,505 
469,822  $ 

2022
356,113 
33,598 
30,074 
24,396 
69,802 
513,983 

$ 

$ 

67

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Total segment assets exclude corporate assets, such as cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities, other long-term 
investments, corporate facilities, goodwill and other acquired intangible assets, and tax assets. Technology infrastructure assets 
are allocated among the segments based on usage, with the majority allocated to the AWS segment. Total segment assets 
reconciled to consolidated amounts are as follows (in millions):

North America (1)
International (1)
AWS (2)
Corporate

Consolidated

December 31,

2020
108,405  $ 
42,212 
47,574 
123,004 
321,195  $ 

2021
161,255  $ 
57,983 
63,835 
137,476 
420,549  $ 

2022
185,268 
64,666 
88,491 
124,250 
462,675 

$ 

$ 

___________________
(1) North America and International segment assets primarily consist of property and equipment, operating leases, inventory, 

and accounts receivable.

(2) AWS segment assets primarily consist of property and equipment and accounts receivable.

Property and equipment, net by segment is as follows (in millions):

North America
International
AWS
Corporate

Consolidated

2020

December 31,
2021

$ 

$ 

54,912  $ 
15,375 
32,151 
10,676 
113,114  $ 

83,640  $ 
21,718 
43,245 
11,678 
160,281  $ 

2022

90,076 
23,347 
60,324 
12,968 
186,715 

Total net additions to property and equipment by segment are as follows (in millions):

North America (1)
International (1)
AWS (2)
Corporate

Consolidated

Year Ended December 31,

2020

2021

2022

$ 

$ 

29,889  $ 
8,072 
16,530 
3,485 
57,976  $ 

37,397  $ 
10,259 
22,047 
2,622 
72,325  $ 

23,682 
6,711 
27,755 
2,688 
60,836 

___________________
(1) Includes property and equipment added under finance leases of $5.6 billion, $3.6 billion, and $422 million in 2020, 2021, 
and 2022, and under build-to-suit lease arrangements of $2.7 billion, $5.6 billion, and $3.2 billion in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
(2) Includes property and equipment added under finance leases of $7.7 billion, $3.5 billion, and $253 million in 2020, 2021, 
and 2022, and under build-to-suit lease arrangements of $130 million, $51 million, and $20 million in 2020, 2021, and 
2022.

U.S. property and equipment, net and operating leases were $109.5 billion, $155.0 billion, and $180.0 billion, as of 
December 31, 2020, 2021, and 2022, and non-U.S. property and equipment, net and operating leases were $41.2 billion, $61.3 
billion, and $72.9 billion as of December 31, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Except for the U.S., property and equipment, net and 
operating leases in any single country were less than 10% of consolidated property and equipment, net and operating leases.

Depreciation and amortization expense on property and equipment, including corporate property and equipment, are 

allocated to all segments based on usage. Total depreciation and amortization expense, by segment, is as follows (in millions):

North America
International
AWS

Consolidated

Year Ended December 31,

2020

2021

2022

$ 

$ 

6,421  $ 
2,215 
7,603 
16,239  $ 

9,234  $ 
3,022 
10,653 
22,909  $ 

11,565 
3,483 
9,876 
24,924 

68

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Item 9.

Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants On Accounting and Financial Disclosure

None.

Item 9A.

Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures 

We carried out an evaluation required by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “1934 Act”), under the supervision 

and with the participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, of the effectiveness of the design and 
operation of our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the 1934 Act, as of December 31, 2022. 
Based on this evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that, as of December 31, 
2022, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be 
disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the 1934 Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within 
the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and to provide reasonable assurance that such information is 
accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as 
appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting 

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as defined 
in Rule 13a-15(f) of the 1934 Act. Management has assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as 
of December 31, 2022 based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the 
Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. As a result of this assessment, management concluded 
that, as of December 31, 2022, our internal control over financial reporting was effective in providing reasonable assurance 
regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance 
with generally accepted accounting principles. Ernst & Young has independently assessed the effectiveness of our internal 
control over financial reporting and its report is included below. 

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting 

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2022 that 

materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. 

Limitations on Controls 

Our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting are designed to provide reasonable 

assurance of achieving their objectives as specified above. Management does not expect, however, that our disclosure controls 
and procedures or our internal control over financial reporting will prevent or detect all error and fraud. Any control system, no 
matter how well designed and operated, is based upon certain assumptions and can provide only reasonable, not absolute, 
assurance that its objectives will be met. Further, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements 
due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the Company have been 
detected. 

69

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Directors and Shareholders 
Amazon.com, Inc. 

Opinion on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

We have audited Amazon.com, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022, based on criteria 
established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway 
Commission (2013 framework) (the COSO criteria). In our opinion, Amazon.com, Inc. (the Company) maintained, in all 
material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022, based on the COSO criteria. 

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United 

States) (PCAOB), the consolidated balance sheets of the Company as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, and the related 
consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the three 
years in the period ended December 31, 2022 and the related notes and our report dated February 2, 2023 expressed an 
unqualified opinion thereon. 

Basis for Opinion

The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its 
assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s Report 
on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control 
over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be 
independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and 
regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB. 

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and 

perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was 
maintained in all material respects. 

Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a 
material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed 
risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides 
a reasonable basis for our opinion. 

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the 

reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally 
accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures 
that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and 
dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit 
preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and 
expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the 
company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or 
disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements. 

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. 

Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become 
inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. 

Seattle, Washington 
February 2, 2023

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

70

Item 9B.

Other Information

Not applicable.

Item 9C.

Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections

Not applicable.

PART III

Item 10.

Directors, Executive Officers, and Corporate Governance

Information regarding our Executive Officers required by Item 10 of Part III is set forth in Item 1 of Part I “Business — 

Information About Our Executive Officers.” Information required by Item 10 of Part III regarding our Directors and any 
material changes to the process by which security holders may recommend nominees to the Board of Directors is included in 
our Proxy Statement relating to our 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, and is incorporated herein by reference. Information 
relating to our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and, to the extent applicable, compliance with Section 16(a) of the 1934 
Act is set forth in our Proxy Statement relating to our 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders and is incorporated herein by 
reference. To the extent permissible under Nasdaq rules, we intend to disclose amendments to our Code of Business Conduct 
and Ethics, as well as waivers of the provisions thereof, on our investor relations website under the heading “Corporate 
Governance” at amazon.com/ir. 

Item 11.

Executive Compensation

Information required by Item 11 of Part III is included in our Proxy Statement relating to our 2023 Annual Meeting of 

Shareholders and is incorporated herein by reference. 

Item 12.

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters

Information required by Item 12 of Part III is included in our Proxy Statement relating to our 2023 Annual Meeting of 

Shareholders and is incorporated herein by reference. 

Item 13.

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

Information required by Item 13 of Part III is included in our Proxy Statement relating to our 2023 Annual Meeting of 

Shareholders and is incorporated herein by reference. 

Item 14.

Principal Accountant Fees and Services

Information required by Item 14 of Part III is included in our Proxy Statement relating to our 2023 Annual Meeting of 

Shareholders and is incorporated herein by reference. 

71

PART IV 

Item 15.

Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

(a) List of Documents Filed as a Part of This Report: 

(1) Index to Consolidated Financial Statements: 

Report of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for each of the three years ended December 31, 2022 

Consolidated Statements of Operations for each of the three years ended December 31, 2022 

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) for each of the three years ended December 31, 

2022 

Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2021 and 2022 

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for each of the three years ended December 31, 2022 

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 

Report of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 

(2) Index to Financial Statement Schedules: 

All schedules have been omitted because the required information is included in the consolidated financial 

statements or the notes thereto, or because it is not required. 

(3) Index to Exhibits 

See exhibits listed under Part (b) below. 

(b) Exhibits:

Exhibit 
Number

Description 

3.1

3.2

4.1

4.2

4.3

4.4

4.5

Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Amazon.com, Inc. (incorporated by reference to the 
Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed May 27, 2022).

Amended and Restated Bylaws of Amazon.com, Inc. (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report 
on Form 8-K, filed January 6, 2023).

Indenture, dated as of November 29, 2012, between Amazon.com, Inc. and Wells Fargo Bank, National 
Association, as trustee (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed November 
29, 2012).

Supplemental Indenture, dated as of April 13, 2022, among Amazon.com, Inc., Wells Fargo Bank, National 
Association, as prior trustee, and Computershare Trust Company, National Association, as successor trustee, 
containing Form of 2.730% Note due 2024, Form of 3.000% Note due 2025, Form of 3.300% Note due 2027, 
Form of 3.450% Note due 2029, Form of 3.600% Note due 2032, Form of 3.950% Note due 2052, and Form of 
4.100% Note due 2062 (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed April 13, 
2022).

Officers’ Certificate of Amazon.com, Inc., dated as of December 5, 2014, containing Form of 2.600% Note due 
2019, Form of 3.300% Note due 2021, Form of 3.800% Note due 2024, Form of 4.800% Note due 2034, and Form 
of 4.950% Note due 2044 (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed 
December 5, 2014).

Officers’ Certificate of Amazon.com, Inc., dated as of August 22, 2017, containing Form of 1.900% Note due 
2020, Form of 2.400% Note due 2023, Form of 2.800% Note due 2024, Form of 3.150% Note due 2027, Form of 
3.875% Note due 2037, Form of 4.050% Note due 2047, and Form of 4.250% Note due 2057 (incorporated by 
reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed August 22, 2017).

Officers’ Certificate of Amazon.com, Inc., dated as of December 20, 2017, containing Form of 5.200% Note due 
2025 (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed December 20, 2017).

72

4.6

4.7

4.8

4.9

10.1†

10.2†

10.3†

10.4†

10.5†

10.6†

10.7†

10.8

10.9

10.10

21.1

23.1

31.1

31.2

Officers’ Certificate of Amazon.com, Inc., dated as of June 3, 2020, containing Form of 0.400% Note due 2023, 
Form of 0.800% Note due 2025, Form of 1.200% Note due 2027, Form of 1.500% Note due 2030, Form of 2.500% 
Note due 2050, and Form of 2.700% Note due 2060 (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report 
on Form 8-K, filed June 3, 2020).

Officers’ Certificate of Amazon.com, Inc., dated as of May 12, 2021, containing Form of 0.250% Note due 2023, 
Form of 0.450% Note due 2024, Form of 1.000% Note due 2026, Form of 1.650% Note due 2028, Form of 2.100% 
Note due 2031, Form of 2.875% Note due 2041, Form of 3.100% Note due 2051, and Form of 3.250% Note due 
2061 (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed May 12, 2021).

Officers’ Certificate of Amazon.com, Inc., dated as of December 1, 2022, containing Form of 4.700% Note due 
2024, Form of 4.600% Note due 2025, Form of 4.550% Note due 2027, Form of 4.650% Note due 2029, and Form 
of 4.700% Note due 2032 (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed 
December 1, 2022).

Description of Securities (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Year 
ended December 31, 2019).

1997 Stock Incentive Plan (amended and restated) (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Quarterly Report 
on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended June 30, 2022).

1999 Nonofficer Employee Stock Option Plan (amended and restated) (incorporated by reference to the 
Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended June 30, 2022).

Form of Indemnification Agreement between Amazon.com, Inc. and each of its Directors (incorporated by 
reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-23795) filed 
March 24, 1997, as amended on April 21, 1997).

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement for Officers and Employees (incorporated by reference to the 
Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Year ended December 31, 2002).

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement for Directors (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Annual 
Report on Form 10-K for the Year ended December 31, 2002).

Form of Restricted Stock Agreement (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K 
for the Year ended December 31, 2001).

Form of Global Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement for Executive Officers (incorporated by reference to the 
Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Year ended December 31, 2021).

Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of March 29, 2022, among Amazon.com, Inc., JPMorgan 
Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, and the other lenders party thereto (incorporated by reference to the 
Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended March 31, 2022).

364-Day Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of November 18, 2022, among Amazon.com, Inc., JPMorgan 
Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, and the other lenders party thereto (incorporated by reference to the 
Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed November 18, 2022).

Term Loan Agreement, dated as of January 3, 2023, among Amazon.com, Inc., Toronto Dominion (Texas) LLC, as 
administrative agent, and the other lenders party thereto (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current 
Report on Form 8-K, filed January 3, 2023).

List of Significant Subsidiaries.

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

Certification of Andrew R. Jassy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Amazon.com, Inc., pursuant to Rule 
13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Certification of Brian T. Olsavsky, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Amazon.com, Inc., 
pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

73

32.1

32.2

101

Certification of Andrew R. Jassy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Amazon.com, Inc., pursuant to 18 
U.S.C. Section 1350.

Certification of Brian T. Olsavsky, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Amazon.com, Inc., 
pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350.

The following financial statements from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended 
December 31, 2022, formatted in Inline XBRL: (i) Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, (ii) Consolidated 
Statements of Operations, (iii) Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss), (iv) Consolidated 
Balance Sheets, (v) Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity, and (vi) Notes to Consolidated Financial 
Statements, tagged as blocks of text and including detailed tags.

As permitted by Item 601(b)(4)(iii)(A) of Regulation S-K, the Company has not filed with this Annual Report on 
Form 10-K certain instruments defining the rights of holders of long-term debt of the Company and its subsidiaries 
because the total amount of securities authorized thereunder does not exceed 10 percent of the total assets of the 
Company and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis. The Company agrees to furnish a copy of such agreements to 
the Commission upon request.

104

The cover page from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, 
formatted in Inline XBRL (included as Exhibit 101).

__________________
†  Executive Compensation Plan or Agreement.

Item 16.

Form 10-K Summary

None.

74

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused 

this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, as of February 2, 2023. 

SIGNATURES

AMAZON.COM, INC.

By:

/s/ Andrew R. Jassy
Andrew R. Jassy
President and Chief Executive Officer

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Report has been signed below by the following 

persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities indicated as of February 2, 2023.  

Signature

/s/ Andrew R. Jassy
Andrew R. Jassy

/s/ Brian T. Olsavsky
Brian T. Olsavsky

/s/ Shelley L. Reynolds
Shelley L. Reynolds

/s/ Jeffrey P. Bezos
Jeffrey P. Bezos

/s/ Keith B. Alexander
Keith B. Alexander

/s/ Edith W. Cooper
Edith W. Cooper

/s/ Jamie S. Gorelick
Jamie S. Gorelick

/s/ Daniel P. Huttenlocher
Daniel P. Huttenlocher

/s/ Judith A. McGrath
Judith A. McGrath

/s/ Indra K. Nooyi
Indra K. Nooyi

/s/ Jonathan J. Rubinstein
Jonathan J. Rubinstein

/s/ Patricia Q. Stonesifer
Patricia Q. Stonesifer

/s/ Wendell P. Weeks
Wendell P. Weeks

Title

President and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) 
and Director

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (Principal 
Financial Officer)

Vice President, Worldwide Controller (Principal Accounting 
Officer)

Executive Chair 

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

75

 
Stock Price Performance Graph

The graph set forth below compares cumulative total return on the common stock with the cumulative
total return of the NYSE Technology Index, the S&P 500 Index, and the S&P 500 Retailing Index, resulting
from an initial investment of $100 in each and, except in the case of the NYSE Technology Index, assuming the
reinvestment of any dividends, based on closing prices. Measurement points are the last trading day of each
of Amazon’s fiscal years ended December 31, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

s
r
a
l
l

o
D

$300

$250

$200

$150

$100

$50

$0

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Legend

Amazon.com, Inc.

NYSE Technology Index

S&P 500 Index

S&P 500 Retailing Index

Year Ended December 31

2017

$100

100

100

100

2018

$128

92

96

113

Cumulative Total Return
Year Ended December 31,

2019

$158

127

126

144

2020

$278

220

149

210

2021

$285

257

192

251

2022

$144

150

157

165

Note: Stock price performance shown in the Stock Price Performance Graph for the common stock is

historical and not necessarily indicative of future price performance.