Amazon became the second U.S. company to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization, following Apple, in September 2018.
Amazon crossed the threshold on September 4, 2018, when its share price reached about $2,050.50. The company’s market value reflected the rapid expansion of online retail, the growth of Amazon Web Services, and investor expectations that Amazon could continue reinvesting heavily while building dominant positions in several industries.
Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 as an online bookstore, Amazon expanded into general merchandise, logistics, digital media, devices, advertising, and cloud computing. Amazon Web Services became especially important because cloud services generated substantial operating income and served customers far beyond retail.
Amazon’s achievement is sometimes described as the first trillion-dollar retail company, but its business was already much broader than traditional retail. It also did not become the first company overall to reach $1 trillion; Apple had done so a month earlier. As with every market-cap record, the figure was based on the stock price and shares outstanding at that time.