Amazon has surpassed Walmart as the world’s largest company by sales, breaking Walmart’s 13-year streak at the top of the list.
Amazon recorded US$717 billion in sales in 2025. Walmart, the largest company in the world for more than a decade, recorded US$713 billion in sales in the same year, the retailer announced this Thursday (19).
Although the two companies are significant competitors in retail, Amazon’s revenue growth in cloud computing, advertising and other businesses has helped it surpass .
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 as an online bookstore, but the company made nearly $129 billion last year from its Amazon Web Services (AWS) division. AWS provides a vast network of computing, storage, and artificial intelligence options for businesses and governments around the world. AWS is also a major profit driver for Amazon and helps the company offset losses from its retail business.
The majority (about $464 billion) of Amazon’s revenue last year came from sales in physical and online stores, as well as from third-party sellers. Amazon has also made more than $100 billion from advertising and Prime subscriptions.
In contrast, more than 90% of Walmart’s sales come from physical stores and websites.
Walmart shares recently surpassed the $1 trillion mark in market value, making it the first traditional retailer to reach that level. Walmart also moved its stock listing to the Nasdaq, signaling to investors that it wants to be seen as a technology company.
Walmart’s business in the United States is booming, driven by middle- and upper-class families who turn to the retailer in search of savings. The company continues to gain market share against competitors like Target.
Walmart, under the leadership of new CEO John Furner, announced this Thursday (19) that sales in the US grew 4.6% in the last quarter.
“The pace of change in retail is accelerating,” Furner said in a statement. “Our financial results show that we are not only following this change, but also leading it”, he highlighted.
