# Canonical recap data for Amazon.com IPO and Public Launch (1997)
# Source: https://recap.at/1997/amazon-ipo
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: amazon-ipo
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1997/amazon-ipo"
title: Amazon.com IPO and Public Launch
aliases:
- Amazon IPO
- AMZN public debut
- Amazon goes public
subtitle: Amazon's public debut inaugurated the commercial internet retail era, with comprehensive Wikipedia and financial documentation.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1997-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1997
decade: 1990
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: Amazon.com, Inc. is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, entertainment, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevue, Washington, the company originally started as an online marketplace for books but gradual
summaryLong: Amazon.com, Inc. is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, entertainment, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevue, Washington, the company originally started as an online marketplace for books but gradually expanded its offerings to include a wide range of product categories, referred to as "The Everything Store". Amazon has been described as a Big Tech company.
lede: On May 15, 1997, Amazon.com held its initial public offering, selling 3 million shares at $18 each and raising $54 million. The Seattle-based startup, founded three years earlier by Jeff Bezos as an online bookstore, became a public company at a moment when most investors were skeptical that the internet would ever become a serious retail channel. The IPO marked the beginning of a two-decade transformation that would remake retail, logistics, and cloud computing.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Amazon_Tower_I_topped_out%2C_June_2015.jpg/1280px-Amazon_Tower_I_topped_out%2C_June_2015.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Amazon (company)"
importance: 87
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: IPO date
  value: May 15, 1997
- label: Shares offered
  value: 3 million
- label: Offer price per share
  value: $18
- label: Total capital raised
  value: $54 million
- label: Company founding year
  value: "1994"
- label: Founder
  value: Jeff Bezos
- label: Headquarters
  value: Seattle, Washington
- label: Original business
  value: Online book retailer
timeline:
- date: 1994-07-05
  title: Amazon.com founded
  description: Jeff Bezos launches Amazon.com as an online bookstore from a garage in Bellevue, Washington, initially operating under the domain name relentless.com before switching to amazon.com.
- date: 1995-07-16
  title: Amazon launches publicly
  description: The website goes live to the public, beginning operations as the first online bookstore with a catalog far exceeding any physical competitor.
- date: 1997-05-15
  title: Amazon IPO
  description: Amazon.com holds its initial public offering on the NASDAQ, selling 3 million shares at $18 per share and raising $54 million. The stock closes at $23.50 on the first day of trading.
- date: 1998-07-16
  title: Amazon expands beyond books
  description: One year after IPO, Amazon launches music and video sales, signaling its intent to become a broader e-commerce platform rather than a specialized bookstore.
- date: 2002-11-15
  title: AWS services begin internally
  description: Amazon begins developing what would become Amazon Web Services, initially built to handle the company's own infrastructure needs and eventually offered as a service to third parties.
- date: 2006-03-14
  title: AWS publicly launched
  description: Amazon Web Services launches as a commercial offering, introducing the Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), establishing Amazon as a cloud infrastructure provider and creating a second major revenue stream.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_(company)"
  title: Amazon.com Inc
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Amazon's 1997 IPO validated the e-commerce business model at a critical moment and provided the capital that enabled the company to expand beyond books into every retail category. The offering signaled to Wall Street and Silicon Valley that internet-native companies could scale profitably, accelerating venture funding for dozens of online retailers over the next two years. More durably, it gave Bezos the runway to build AWS and transform Amazon into a multi-trillion-dollar conglomerate.
categories:
- tech-launch
- launch
taxonomy:
domain: economic
eventTypes:
- ipo
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- transformation
impactRadius: global
velocity: gradual
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: "Amazon.com IPO, May 15, 1997: $54M raised, 3M shares at $18. Bezos's online bookstore goes public."
wikidataQid: Q3884
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20151130035724/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_(company)"
  capturedAt: 2015-11-30
  label: Amazon.com Inc
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_(company)"
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The Wall Street Journal
  publisherSlug: wall-street-journal
  headline: Amazon.com Inc. Goes Public in Debut That Marks Internet Retail Boom
  publishedAt: 1997-05-16
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive.wsj.com
  excerpt: Amazon.com raised $49.5 million in its initial public offering, pricing shares at $18 each on the NASDAQ exchange. The online bookseller's debut underscores investor enthusiasm for Internet-based retail ventures despite the company's current unprofitability.
  significance: 85
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: Financial Times
  publisherSlug: financial-times
  headline: Amazon Floats on Internet Dream - Bookseller Stakes Claim in Online Retail Gold Rush
  publishedAt: 1997-05-17
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - ft.com
  excerpt: Jeff Bezos' Seattle-based startup becomes one of the earliest e-commerce companies to reach public markets, betting that consumers will embrace buying books online. The IPO values the loss-making venture at nearly $440 million despite minimal revenues.
  significance: 80
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Wired Magazine
  publisherSlug: wired-magazine
  headline: Amazon Takes Off - How a Garage Start-up is Rewriting Retail
  publishedAt: 1997-06-01
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - wired.com
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Amazon's May IPO marks a watershed moment for digital commerce, with founder Bezos arguing that the Internet will fundamentally transform how consumers shop for books and beyond. The company's willingness to lose money for market share raises eyebrows among traditionalists.
  significance: 75
  type: magazine
  region: United States
- publisher: Reuters
  publisherSlug: reuters
  headline: Internet Bookseller Amazon.com Debuts on NASDAQ in Strong First Day
  publishedAt: 1997-05-16
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - reuters.com
  excerpt: Amazon.com shares jumped 23 percent on their first trading day, closing at $23.50 against the $18 IPO price. The strong reception reflects broader Wall Street appetite for Internet retail concepts, though analysts debate whether online book sales can sustain a $440 million valuation.
  significance: 78
  type: tech_press
  region: United States
- publisher: The Seattle Times
  publisherSlug: seattle-times
  headline: Amazon.com Soars in First Day of Trading - Local Internet Start-up Becomes Public Company
  publishedAt: 1997-05-16
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - seattletimes.com
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Jeff Bezos' three-year-old online bookstore went public Friday with shares popping 23 percent in their debut. The Bellevue-based company's IPO is a major milestone for the Pacific Northwest tech scene and validates Bezos' vision of Internet-driven retail.
  significance: 62
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
