Amazon became the first public company to lose US$1 trillion in market value during 2022.
Amazon reached the distinction in November 2022 after its share price fell sharply from the pandemic-era peak. The decline reflected slowing online retail growth, higher operating costs, rising interest rates, and investor concerns about the broader technology sector. The calculation compared the company’s peak market value with its value at the time; it did not mean Amazon paid out or lost US$1 trillion in cash.
Market capitalization losses are changes in the paper value of shareholders’ holdings. They can occur without a company selling assets or recording an equivalent accounting expense. Other major technology companies also suffered large declines in 2022, but Amazon was the first to pass the specific US$1 trillion peak-to-trough loss milestone.