Amazon’s stock-market value surpassed $1 trillion in September 2018, shortly after Apple.
Amazon crossed the threshold on September 4, 2018, about one month after Apple became the first U.S. company to reach $1 trillion. The milestone reflected investor confidence in Amazon’s rapidly expanding retail, cloud-computing, advertising, and subscription businesses.
Amazon began as an online bookseller founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994. Amazon Web Services, launched in the mid-2000s, became especially important because cloud computing created a large, high-growth business alongside e-commerce.
The company’s market capitalization is calculated from its share price and shares outstanding. It is different from annual sales, which can be much lower or higher depending on the comparison and time period. Amazon’s valuation has also moved sharply as investors reassessed growth, profits, interest rates, and competition.