Amazon dethrones Walmart as the world’s biggest company by sales : NPR
An Amazon Prime delivery van is parked near a Walmart store in California.
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In a slow-motion race between two giants, Amazon has officially supplanted Walmart as the world’s largest company by sales.
For the first time, Walmart reported lower annual sales than Amazon on Thursday: Walmart’s revenue was $713.2 billion for the year ending in January, while Amazon, boosted by its lucrative cloud computing business, had revenue of $716.9 billion for the year ending in December.
For the past ten years, Walmart has reigned supreme thanks to its status as the world’s leading retailer with nearly 11,000 stores employing more than 2 million people. Amazon has struggled to develop a physical store presence despite buying Whole Foods in 2017. But it is the largest online retailer, employing 1.6 million people.
Yet the factor that propelled Amazon ahead of Walmart is its fast-growing tech side. Amazon Web Services is the leading cloud computing provider. Earlier this month, it recorded its fastest growth in years, as companies turn to Amazon Web Services and its massive network of data centers in their rush to artificial intelligence.
Walmart has entered the AI race with its own sales assistant and investments in retail technology. But it doesn’t compete in cloud services. On the retail side, the two are increasingly competing for the same dollars — the U.S. market being the largest for both — as Amazon strives to offer the lowest prices and Walmart cites high-income shoppers as its fastest-growing segment in recent years.
On Thursday, Walmart reported 24% growth in its online sales and a notable expansion of its fastest deliveries, including those made within hours.
Earlier this month, Walmart’s stock value surpassed $1 trillion in market value. Amazon to exceed $2 trillion in 2024.
Editor’s note: Amazon is among NPR’s recent financial supporters and pays to distribute some NPR content.
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