Amazon has one of the most peculiar business models out there. For much of its history, it has barely turned a profit, even as revenues have skyrocketed (along with its share price). The underlying story is fairly simple, though – Amazon’s value comes from the company’s innovation and ability to capture ever larger market shares of most segments of its business.

Early in Amazon’s history, investors would have been justified in balking at the concept of a “profitless” company; since then, however, the company has beat Standard & Poor’s return by at least an order of magnitude, proving that there’s more to Amazon than just profits.