Amazon became the second U.S. company after Apple to surpass a $1 trillion market capitalization in September 2018.
Amazon crossed the milestone on September 4, 2018, when its share price reached the level required to value the company at more than $1 trillion. Apple had reached the same landmark about one month earlier. Amazon’s rise was driven by the growth of its online retail operation, Amazon Web Services, digital advertising, and subscription products such as Prime.
The company began in 1994 as an online bookseller founded by Jeff Bezos. Its expansion into cloud computing was especially important because AWS became a major source of revenue and operating profit.
Amazon’s market cap milestone did not mean its sales equaled $1 trillion. Market capitalization reflects investor expectations and the value of shares, whereas revenue measures money generated by business operations.