Amazon's cloud growth and e-commerce surge push its revenue past Walmart’s, reshaping US retail dominance
Amazon is set to surpass Walmart in quarterly revenue, marking a significant shift in the US retail landscape, according to CNBC.
For the past 12 years, Walmart maintained its position as the top revenue generator each quarter, a title it claimed in 2012 when it overtook Exxon Mobil, according to LSEG senior research analyst Tajinder Dhillon.
Walmart remained in the lead even after oil prices fell from their previous highs of over US$100 per barrel.
Amazon is projected to report revenue of US$187bn in its earnings release after the close of trading on Thursday, according to analysts surveyed by LSEG.
Walmart, which will announce its earnings on February 20, is expected to report sales of US$180bn.
While Walmart continues to lead in annual sales, exceeding US$600bn in each of the past two years, estimates for its latest fiscal year suggest nearly US$681bn in revenue.
Meanwhile, Amazon’s full-year revenue for 2024 is expected to reach approximately US$638bn, surpassing the US$600bn mark for the first time.
A major factor driving Amazon’s revenue growth is its cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS revenue has more than doubled since 2020 and now contributes about 17 percent of the company's total sales.
Additionally, the Covid pandemic significantly shifted consumer behaviour toward online shopping, helping Amazon's North America sales more than double since 2019.
Very few companies have reached US$100bn in quarterly revenue.
Besides Walmart and Amazon, Apple has achieved this milestone, but only during its holiday quarter, which is its peak iPhone sales period.
Last week, Apple reported US$124bn in revenue for the latest quarter.
UnitedHealth recently joined this exclusive club, surpassing US$100bn in revenue in the first, third, and fourth quarters of last year.
CVS Health and McKesson are the closest to joining, with CVS generating over US$95bn and McKesson reaching US$94bn in the September quarter.
Amazon’s ascent in revenue signals a shift in the competitive landscape of US retail, as it challenges Walmart’s long-standing dominance.
