Amazon Overtakes Walmart as World's Top Revenue Generator for First Time

Amazon has surpassed Walmart to become the world's largest company by revenue for the first time, posting $716.9 billion compared to Walmart's $713.2 billion in the last fiscal year. This milestone highlights Amazon's diverse business model, with significant revenue streams from its third-party services making up 24% of total revenue and Amazon Web Services (AWS) contributing 18%. These diversified sources have made Amazon more resilient and profitable than the traditional retail model.

Walmart, with over 4,600 U.S. stores, has doubled its revenue over the last 20 years and is aggressively expanding its digital operations. Its U.S. online sales surged 27% in the latest quarter, marking its 15th consecutive quarter of double-digit digital growth. In a strategic shift, Walmart recently moved its stock listing to Nasdaq and surpassed a $1 trillion market capitalization.

Both companies are heavily investing in artificial intelligence to enhance efficiency and customer experience. Walmart has partnered with technology giants OpenAI and Google, while Amazon is developing proprietary AI tools like the shopping assistant "Rufus," which has already generated nearly $12 billion in additional annualized sales. This competition in AI underlines the firms' drive to innovate in e-commerce and technology.

These developments reflect a major shift in the global retail landscape, with Amazon's technology-driven approach overtaking Walmart’s longstanding dominance in sales revenue.