Few companies have had a greater impact on how we live our lives day to day than Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). The company completely upended the brick-and-mortar paradigm many of us grew up with. Sure, I still go to the grocery store and the like, but about half the time I need something, I grab my phone and open the Amazon app instead.

Look out your window. I'd be willing to bet there's someone delivering a package bearing that distinctive swooping arrow to one of your neighbors right now. The tech behemoth is everywhere.

And we are creatures of familiarity. Amazon's ubiquity -- and the fact that it almost always delivers exactly what you expect when you expect it -- makes people trust the brand. In fact, Amazon is the most trusted institution in the U.S., more than the military or the Supreme Court. I think it's hard to overstate just how valuable this enormous mind share is. It's one of those intangibles that doesn't show up on a balance sheet but can have a very real impact on the company's business success.

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Source Fool.com