Amazon Overtakes Walmart as Fortune 500's Top Company

The reshuffle reflects starkly different growth trajectories. Amazon's revenue grew roughly 12% year over year, more than double Walmart's 5% gain, as its sprawling business lines — e-commerce, cloud computing, advertising and third-party seller services — pushed it past the brick-and-mortar incumbent. Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company's cloud-computing arm, generated nearly $129 billion in 2025 and produced more than half of Amazon's operating profit. Its advertising business added over $68 billion. By contrast, Walmart, founded in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas, remains heavily anchored in U.S. retail stores. Yet under former chief executive officer (CEO) Doug McMillon, Walmart engineered a notable e-commerce turnaround, lifting digital sales to roughly $120 billion a year and growing online revenue 27% in its most recent quarter — making it the second-largest U.S. online retailer.

For Amazon's CEO Andy Jassy, the milestone comes amid an aggressive pivot. The company plans to spend up to $200 billion in 2026 on artificial intelligence (AI), chips, robotics and low-Earth-orbit satellites, and Jassy has cut about 30,000 jobs to trim what he sees as creeping bureaucracy. Walmart, now led by new CEO John Furner, is unlikely to reclaim the top spot soon, given Amazon's exposure to faster-growing sectors. Still, Walmart's shareholders have a consolation: the company's share price has risen about 167% over the past five years — almost seven times Amazon's gain — pushing its market value past $1 trillion. The rivalry now extends well beyond retail, into AI, streaming and media services.