The Internet retailing giant has zoomed through periods of lightning-fast growth, fueled by catchy slogans such as "get big fast" and "deliver at any cost." And it has hunkered down through somber stints of belt-tightening, layoffs and restructuring, its executives driving more mundane tasks such as leveraging fixed costs and improving productivity.

Meanwhile, it has gone from Wall Street darling to pariah and back again — with shares in the company swinging like a pendulum all the way.

And the ride isn't over yet. Shares in Amazon rose sharply in 2003 as Wall Street rewarded the company's internal cost-cutting and sales growth. But the stock has tumbled this year, driven in part by concerns that Amazon's aggressive discounting and free shipping offers will be too harmful to its financials in the short-term.

Bezos insists the company is committed to those plans, arguing that it is key to a strategy that has never changed — a focus on customer service. But he says it's way too early to say whether Amazon is getting close to a phase that could be called business as usual.

"That's a very good question, and I think one that can really only be answered in retrospect. So ask me again in 10 years," he said.

No one could have predicted how things would unfold when Bezos officially launched Amazon .com in 1995.

His "ambitious" five-year business plan called for making $100 million in sales in 2000.

By 2000, annual sales had hit $2.76 billion — but the company also lost $1.41 billion that year, prompting 1,300 layoffs.

During its short life, the company has enjoyed the benefits — and suffered the consequences — of being among the first major Internet retailers. That's led to major brand recognition and helped Amazon grow at an astronomical pace while enjoying relatively little serious competition.

"The e-commerce market is growing very rapidly, and Amazon has almost all of it for itself," said Safa Rashtchy, an analyst with Piper Jaffray.

But Amazon's leading role has also meant it has had to move constantly into uncharted territory. That has resulted in some major missteps, such as big investments in failed ventures living.com and pets.com. It also has meant constantly tweaking plans while trying to figure out how people want to shop online.

In early 2001, the company abruptly switched to a more austere model, announcing layoffs and closing some operations. It has stayed lean since, employing 7,800 people as of the end of last year. It even eked out a net profit in 2003 — although the company warned in its annual report that investors shouldn't take that as a sign it will happen again.

Amazon also has tweaked many of its retailing plans, such as having other companies sell their products through Amazon. Originally those offerings were to be separate; now customers see offerings from Amazon and other companies together.

Bezos conceded it can be tough to know when to forge ahead and when to pull the plug, but he points to the third-party sales strategy as an example of persistence paying off.

In the same way, Amazon is standing doggedly behind its plan to offer customers lower prices and free shipping on many orders — even if it proves costly in the short-term.

Rashtchy and other analysts agree the discounting will pay off.