Amazon was the second company to surpass a $1 trillion market capitalization, following Apple in September 2018.
Amazon reached the milestone on September 4, 2018, when its shares traded above roughly $2,050. Because Amazon had many fewer shares outstanding than Apple, its stock price was much higher even though both companies were being compared by total market value. The valuation reflected the combined market value of all Amazon shares.
Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 as an online bookstore, Amazon expanded into general e-commerce, logistics, cloud computing, digital entertainment, advertising, and consumer devices. Amazon Web Services became especially important because cloud infrastructure generated substantial revenue and operating profit.
The company’s milestone is often confused with its stock price. A share price alone does not determine whether a business is larger than another; market capitalization also depends on the number of shares outstanding. Microsoft and Alphabet later joined the trillion-dollar group.