Amazon became the second U.S. company to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization.
Amazon crossed the $1 trillion mark on September 4, 2018, about a month after Apple reached the milestone. Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 as an online bookstore, Amazon expanded into a broad marketplace selling products across many categories. It also developed major businesses in cloud computing, advertising, digital media, devices, and logistics.
Amazon Web Services became especially important to the company’s financial profile. Its cloud infrastructure serves businesses, governments, and developers, and its growth helped investors view Amazon as more than a retailer. The company’s market capitalization reflects expectations about all of these businesses, not just online shopping.
The $1 trillion figure is calculated from Amazon’s share price and shares outstanding. It does not mean Amazon generated $1 trillion in sales. Amazon’s stock-market value has moved substantially over time because of changing interest rates, retail margins, cloud demand, and investor expectations.