SEATTLE (dpa-AFX) - Amazon [AMZN] has overtaken retail rival Walmart [WMT] to become the world's largest company by sales, ending Walmart's 13-year reign at the top.
The e-commerce titan reported $717 billion in revenue for 2025, narrowly surpassing Walmart's $713 billion in annual sales.
This milestone underscores Amazon's evolution far beyond online retail. While the two companies compete heavily in consumer goods, Amazon's rapid expansion in cloud computing, advertising, and subscription services powered its ascent.
Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 as an online bookstore, Amazon has transformed into a technology powerhouse. Its cloud arm, Amazon Web Services, generated nearly $129 billion in sales last year, providing computing, storage, and artificial intelligence services globally and serving as a key profit engine.
Retail remains central to Amazon's business, contributing $464 billion from online and physical stores and third-party sellers, while advertising and Prime subscriptions delivered more than $100 billion combined.
Walmart, however, remains formidable, with more than 90 percent of its revenue coming from stores and e-commerce. The company recently became the first traditional retailer to surpass a $1 trillion market valuation, and under CEO John Furner, Walmart's U.S. sales rose 4.6 percent last quarter, reflecting continued momentum despite intensifying competition.
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