In the past 12 years, Walmart has consistently been the top revenue generator in the S&P 500. However, Amazon is now poised to take over that title with its latest earnings report. Amazon reported revenue of $187.8 billion for the fourth quarter of 2024, surpassing the projected $180 billion revenue that Walmart is expected to report for the same quarter.
If Walmart’s projection holds true, it would be the first time in over a decade that another company has surpassed Walmart in revenue on the S&P 500. This shift in leadership last occurred in 2012 when Walmart overtook Exxon Mobil.
Amazon’s success in the holiday shopping season was highlighted by CEO Andy Jassy, who credited customers, selling partners, and employees for their support. The company’s online shopping business has seen significant growth since the pandemic, with annual sales in North America more than doubling since 2019.
Additionally, Amazon’s cloud business, Amazon Web Services (AWS), has been a key contributor to its revenue growth. AWS revenue increased by 19% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2024, accounting for 17% of total sales.
For the full year of 2024, Amazon crossed the $600 billion revenue mark for the first time, reaching a record revenue of $638 billion. While Amazon is not expected to surpass Walmart’s projected full-year revenue of $681 billion for 2024, it did exceed the $600 billion mark in 2023 with a revenue of $611.3 billion.
Source link
