SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus, including documents incorporated herein by reference, contains 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 or incorporated by reference into this prospectus 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 could differ materially for a variety of reasons, including, among others, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, changes in global economic conditions and customer spending, world events, the rate of growth of the Internet, online commerce, and cloud services, the amount that we invest 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, seasonality, 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, additional or unforeseen effects from theCOVID-19 pandemic and the global economic climate 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 to differ significantly from management’s expectations, are described in greater detail in our Quarterly Report on Form10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2020, under “Item 1A. Risk Factors.” Although we believe we have been prudent in our plans and assumptions, no assurance can be given that any goal or plan set forth in forward-looking statements can or will be achieved, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements which speak only as of the date they are made. Although we undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law, you are advised to consult any additional disclosures we make in our Annual Reports on Form10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form10-Q, and Current Reports on Form8-K filed with the SEC. See “Where You Can Find More Information.”
ABOUT THE REGISTRANT
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, and content creators. In addition, we provide services, such as advertising to sellers, vendors, publishers, and authors, through programs such as sponsored ads, display, and video advertising.
Amazon.com, Inc. was incorporated in 1994 in the state of Washington and reincorporated in 1996 in the state of Delaware. Our principal corporate offices are located in Seattle, Washington. We completed our initial public offering in May 1997 and our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “AMZN.”
RISK FACTORS
Investing in our securities involves risk. Before you decide whether to purchase any of our securities, in addition to the other information, documents, or reports included in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement or other offering materials, you should carefully consider the risk factors in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in any prospectus supplement as well as our most recent Annual Report on Form10-K and our most recent Quarterly Report on Form10-Q, which are incorporated
3