Why it's admired:
The e-commerce behemoth may be gobbling up brick and mortar businesses left and right, but Amazon.com's customer-centric culture and super-convenience has won the company millions of shoppers worldwide. And Amazon's ambitions show no signs of abating: it recently jumped into the art market, and has started producing video, music, and literary content. Revenues are impressive, but the Street is growing impatient for Amazon to post big profits. --E.F.