Amazon reached 25 million customers and $2 billion in sales, which it had not expected.

Judge as of 2 April 2001 (the shareholder letter for fiscal 2000). Use Amazon's own published figures for the period the letter refers to. 'Didn't expect' is Bezos's own report of his state of mind and is not tested. Only the figures are tested. True: around the time of the statement, Amazon's reported cumulative customer accounts were about 25 million (roughly 23 to 27 million) and its annual net sales were about $2 billion (roughly $1.8 to $2.2 billion, or the letter clearly refers to a year whose sales were about $2 billion). Mostly true: both figures are approximately right, but one is off by a little more than that (for example, sales of about $2.5 billion described as '$2 billion'), or the letter's reference period differs slightly. Mixed: one figure matches and the other is clearly wrong. Mostly false: the figures are well off but are a distorted version of a real figure, such as a figure from a different year presented as current. False: Amazon's records show customer and sales figures far from 25 million and $2 billion for any period the statement could refer to.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Jeff Bezos' 2000 letter to shareholders Seattle Times (archive) · 14 April 2001

   “We served 20 million customers in 2000, up from 14 million in 1999.”

2. E2 Jeff Bezos' 2000 letter to shareholders Seattle Times (archive) · 14 April 2001

   “Sales grew to $2.76 billion in 2000 from $1.64 billion in 1999.”

3. E3 Amazon.com Third-quarter Sales Up 79% Year-Over-Year; Electronics Store Becomes Second-Largest Business At Amazon.com, Surpassing Music Amazon.com · 24 October 2000 Own record

   “Amazon.com worldwide cumulative customer accounts increased by over 2.8 million during the quarter to over 25 million as of September 30, 2000.”

The customer figure holds up: Amazon's Q3 2000 release reported more than 25 million cumulative customer accounts as of September 30, 2000 [E3]. The sales figure does not. The fiscal 2000 letter reports sales of $2.76 billion in 2000 and $1.64 billion in 1999 [E2]. Neither year falls in the $1.8–2.2 billion range, and $2.76 billion is further from $2 billion than the 'mostly true' example of $2.5 billion. One figure matches and the other is clearly off, so the claim resolves as mixed.