Amazon has officially overtaken Walmart as the largest company in the United States and the world by annual revenue, posting roughly $717 billion in sales in 2025 compared to Walmart’s $713 billion in its most recent fiscal year, ending a 13-year run at the top for the traditional retailer; the shift reflects Amazon’s continued expansion into cloud computing, advertising, and subscription services alongside its core e-commerce business and highlights how digital platforms now rival and surpass brick-and-mortar dominance in sheer revenue size.
Sources
https://www.techradar.com/pro/amazon-officially-dethrones-walmart-as-americas-biggest-company-and-its-not-done-yet
https://www.wishtv.com/news/business/amazon-dethrones-walmart-as-biggest-global-company/
https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/amazon-finally-dethrones-walmart-as-worlds-largest-retailer/502849
Key Takeaways
• Amazon’s reported revenue of approximately $717 billion narrowly eclipsed Walmart’s roughly $713 billion in the latest reporting period, marking a major shift in corporate revenue rankings.
• Amazon’s diversified business model — including cloud computing (AWS), advertising, and membership services — played a significant role in propelling its overall revenue past Walmart’s predominantly retail-based sales.
• Despite the headline change in revenue rankings, Walmart remains a dominant physical retailer with strong ongoing growth and strategic investments, even as ecommerce and tech-driven services gain share.
In-Depth
For the first time in over a decade, Amazon has unseated Walmart as the top revenue-generating company in the United States and globally, underscoring a profound change in the landscape of American business. Amazon reported approximately $717 billion in total revenue for the 2025 fiscal year, just surpassing Walmart’s roughly $713 billion in sales for its most recent fiscal year that ended January 31. The narrow margin does not diminish the symbolic significance: the company that began life as an online bookseller in the mid-1990s has now outpaced the long-time reigning giant of brick-and-mortar retail.
That outcome reflects Amazon’s expanded role in high-growth, high-margin sectors — most notably cloud computing through Amazon Web Services (AWS), which now contributes a substantial share of the company’s overall revenue and earnings profile. AWS, along with advertising and subscription services like Prime, has helped Amazon diversify beyond pure retail, allowing it to tap into enterprise tech spending, digital media, and data services that traditional retailers like Walmart do not meaningfully participate in. These segments have helped cushion Amazon’s financial performance and support growth strategies that extend well beyond simply selling products online.
Walmart, meanwhile, is far from in retreat. The world’s largest physical retailer has continued to convert its massive store footprint and logistical scale into expanded ecommerce offerings, grocery delivery, and digital services, maintaining strong revenue growth year over year. Its recent achievements include surpassing $1 trillion in market capitalization — a first for traditional retail — signaling solid investor confidence in Walmart’s ongoing strategy. Walmart’s focus on leveraging its omni-channel presence illustrates that while Amazon may now claim the revenue crown, the competitive dynamic between the two companies remains intense and multifaceted.
From a strategic perspective, the shift also highlights broader secular trends reshaping the economy. Technology-led business models and digital services are increasingly central drivers of growth and profitability across sectors, and companies that can blend digital, physical, and cloud infrastructure are capturing outsized influence. Amazon’s ascent to the top spot by revenue is as much about the economic power of cloud computing and digital platforms as it is about retail. Yet this is not a story of retail decline so much as retail evolution. Walmart continues to invest in technology, supply chain efficiency, and digital experiences even as it reinforces its strengths in physical goods and value pricing.
In the context of the wider corporate ecosystem, Amazon’s achievement also reflects how revenue rankings can shift quickly as business models evolve. For years, Walmart held the title of the world’s highest-revenue company through dominance in everyday consumer goods across tens of thousands of locations. Now, Amazon’s success underscores the increasing importance of scalable digital infrastructure, recurring revenue models, and global technology services. While the crown has changed hands, the ongoing rivalry between these two American icons will continue to shape the future of retail, technology, and consumer behavior.