Amazon became the second publicly traded company to surpass a $1 trillion market capitalization in 2018.
Amazon crossed the threshold on September 4, 2018, about one month after Apple achieved the milestone. Its share price had risen sharply as investors valued the company’s expanding online retail operation, cloud-computing division, advertising business, and subscription services.
Amazon was founded as an online bookseller, but it grew into a broad technology and commerce company. Amazon Web Services became especially important because cloud computing generated substantial revenue and operating profit while supporting businesses around the world.
The $1 trillion figure described market capitalization, not sales. Amazon’s annual revenue and market value are different measures, and its stock price can change the valuation every trading day. The company’s share price also underwent a 20-for-one split in 2022, which reduced the per-share price without changing the company’s total market capitalization at the time.