Amazon Dethrones Walmart in Global Revenue
Amazon has officially surpassed Walmart to become the world's largest company by revenue, a historic shift in the retail landscape. Analysts attribute the milestone to Amazon's long-term strategy of aggressively reinvesting in logistics, cloud infrastructure, and AI, often at the expense of short-term profits.
For the first time, Amazon's $716.9 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2025 has eclipsed Walmart's $713.2 billion, ending a 13-year run for the retail giant at the top of the Fortune 500. The razor-thin 0.5% margin of victory highlights a major shift in the global economy, where cloud computing and diversified tech services are now rivaling traditional retail. The powerhouse behind Amazon's ascent is Amazon Web Services (AWS), its cloud computing division. In 2025, AWS alone generated $128.7 billion in revenue, a 20% increase from the previous year. This single division's revenue is a significant portion of Amazon's total and is larger than the entire revenue of many major corporations. While Amazon's North America retail segment saw a 10% increase in sales to $426.3 billion, it's the high-margin AWS that is the major contributor to Amazon's operating income. In fact, without the revenue from AWS, Amazon's total revenue would have been approximately $588 billion, placing it significantly behind Walmart. Walmart, in contrast, remains a dominant force in physical retail. Its U.S. division alone accounted for $462.4 billion in revenue in 2025, a 4.66% increase from 2024. The company's vast network of over 10,500 stores globally continues to be a cornerstone of its business. Amazon's advertising business is another rapidly growing, high-margin revenue stream, bringing in over $68 billion in 2025. This burgeoning segment, which is already the third-largest in digital advertising behind Google and Meta, further diversifies Amazon's business model away from pure retail. Looking at their workforce, Walmart is the world's largest private employer with approximately 2.1 million associates. Amazon's global workforce stands at over 1.5 million employees. Analysts note that this shift is less about one retailer "beating" another and more about a fundamental change in business models. Amazon's success lies in its hybrid approach, combining a massive e-commerce operation with highly profitable tech services, a model that traditional retailers are now racing to emulate. Looking ahead, Amazon has announced plans for significant capital expenditures in 2026, with a large portion dedicated to expanding AWS infrastructure to meet the growing demand for AI services. Meanwhile, Walmart is also investing heavily in technology, focusing on growing its e-commerce presence and its own advertising network, Walmart Connect.
