Amazon was the second U.S. company to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization, following Apple, in September 2018.
Amazon crossed the threshold during intraday trading, when its share price rose high enough for the value of all outstanding shares to exceed one trillion dollars. The company had grown far beyond its original identity as an online bookseller.
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994, and the website began operating as an online bookstore in 1995. Amazon later expanded into retail categories, logistics, digital media, devices, and cloud computing through Amazon Web Services.
Its market value reflected expectations about several businesses rather than only online shopping. AWS became especially significant because cloud infrastructure and related services generated substantial revenue and operating income.