Amazon Overtakes Walmart as World’s Largest Company by Sales

Amazon officially surpassed Walmart to become the world’s largest company by revenue, underscoring the dramatic transformation of global retail and the rising dominance of cloud computing.

For the 12 months ending December 2025, Amazon reported $717 billion in revenue, outpacing Walmart’s $713.2 billion in sales for its fiscal year ended January 31.

Walmart had held the title of the world’s top revenue generator for more than a decade.

Founded in 1994 as an online bookstore operating out of Jeff Bezos’ garage in Seattle, Amazon has expanded into a sprawling technology conglomerate spanning e-commerce, logistics, entertainment, and cloud infrastructure.

Over the past decade, Amazon’s revenue growth has accelerated at nearly 10 times the pace of Walmart’s, driven by the structural shift in consumer spending from brick-and-mortar stores to digital platforms.

Amazon’s websites and mobile applications now attract roughly 2.7 billion monthly visits, cementing its position as the world’s largest online retailer.

A key driver behind Amazon’s ascent is Amazon Web Services (AWS), its cloud computing arm, which has become a foundational pillar of the modern digital economy.

Without AWS, Amazon’s 2025 revenue would have totaled approximately $588 billion, well below Walmart’s sales. The company’s leadership in data centers and artificial intelligence infrastructure has therefore been central to its climb to the top.

“It's a hollow victory,” said Kirthi Kalyanam, executive director of the Retail Management Institute at Santa Clara University. “Amazon didn’t beat Walmart in retail, it surpassed it by creating a new business that Walmart doesn’t operate in.”

Despite losing the overall revenue crown, Walmart remains the world’s largest traditional retailer, operating more than 10,000 stores and club locations globally. Both companies still generate the bulk of their revenue within the United States.

Walmart has made notable strides in e-commerce, while Amazon has faced challenges expanding its physical retail footprint despite acquiring Whole Foods in 2017.

Leading in revenue reflects operational scale and consumer reach, but it does not necessarily determine market valuation.

Currently, Nvidia ranks as the world’s most valuable company, with a market capitalization of roughly $4.5 trillion, more than double Amazon’s and over four times Walmart’s valuation.

Bezos, who overtook Bill Gates as the world’s richest person in 2017, is now ranked fourth globally with an estimated net worth of $228 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, largely tied to his Amazon holdings.