Amazon owns $1 billion worth of stock in public and private companies, marking a milestone from the e-commerce giant's investment portfolio, according to CNBC.
Here are five things to know about the company's corporate investments:
1. Amazon's $1 billion worth of stock, disclosed in the company's second-quarter earnings results, marks a 60 percent year-over-year increase compared to the $623 million it reported during the second quarter of 2017. It's an almost fivefold increase compared to the company's investment portfolio in early 2015.
2. Just over half of Amazon's $1 billion investment — $593 million — is in public company equity and equity warrants, while the remaining $407 million worth of stock are from privately held companies.
3. Amazon didn't disclose investments or holdings in individual companies in its quarterly earnings report. However, CNBC notes the company has previously announced investments of about $400 million in two public companies: fuel cell maker Plug Power and air cargo provider Air Transport Services Group.
Amazon also recently participated in funding efforts for later-stage startups and may be taking company equity warrants — rather than cash or fees — from various business partners.
4. Amazon's move toward investing comes as it reports record profits and cash balance. Matt McIlwain, an investor at Madrona Venture Group, suggested the company may increase its investments to stay on the cutting edge of emerging technologies and business models, which tend to come out of younger startups.
"The best way to be in the loop is to be an investor and actively add value to companies," Mr. McIlwain told CNBC. "It's about all the learnings a big company can experience investing in young companies."
5. The company's investments are relatively small compared to its overall value of more than $900 billion, according to CNBC. Microsoft and Salesforce also reported investments in public and private companies worth about $1 billion in their most recent quarterly earnings reports. Google's parent company Alphabet reported $8.8 billion worth of stock from privately owned companies in 2017.