Amazon became the first online retailer to exceed a $1 trillion market capitalization in September 2018.
Amazon crossed the threshold on September 4, 2018, shortly after Apple became the first company overall to reach $1 trillion. Amazon’s rise reflected the rapid expansion of its online marketplace, subscription services, advertising business, and cloud-computing division, Amazon Web Services.
The company began in 1994 as an online bookstore founded by Jeff Bezos. It expanded into many categories and built a logistics network that helped make fast delivery a defining feature of modern e-commerce.
Amazon’s market capitalization is separate from its sales ranking. A company can generate enormous revenue without having the highest market value, because investors also consider profitability, growth expectations, risk, and future cash flow.