Amazon was the second U.S. company to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization, following Apple in 2018.
Amazon crossed the threshold during trading on September 4, 2018. Its valuation reflected rapid growth in online retail, Amazon Web Services, digital advertising, subscriptions, and logistics. The company had started as an online bookstore but expanded into a broad technology and commerce platform.
The $1 trillion figure describes the market value of Amazon’s outstanding shares, not the amount of money in its bank account. Amazon’s market capitalization later fluctuated substantially as interest rates, pandemic-era demand, operating costs, and technology-stock valuations changed.