'Most Successful Yet for Amazon': Walmart Has Topped the S&P 500 for 12 Years. This Month, Another E-Commerce Giant Is Expected to Take Its Crown. Amazon is closing in on Walmart.
By Sherin Shibu Edited by Melissa Malamut
Key Takeaways
- The clock is ticking on Walmart's 12-year reign as the biggest revenue-generating company on the S&P 500.
- Amazon reported revenue of $187.8 billion for the fourth quarter of 2024, more than Walmart's predicted $180 billion.
- The record revenue is due to Amazon's growing cloud division and online shopping business.
Walmart may have generated the most revenue of any other company in the S&P 500 for the past 12 consecutive years, but another e-commerce giant is coming for its crown.
Amazon reported revenue of $187.8 billion in its latest earnings release for the fourth quarter of 2024 after market close on Thursday, which is more than the $180 billion in revenue Walmart is projected to report for the same quarter on February 20, according to a Thursday report from CNBC.
If the Walmart projection comes to pass, it would mark the first time in over a decade that another company has usurped Walmart as the top revenue-generator on the S&P 500. In 2012, Walmart took the top spot from Exxon Mobil, per CNBC.
Related: Walmart Is Laying Off Hundreds, Relocating Others as the Company Closes a U.S. Office
"The holiday shopping season was the most successful yet for Amazon and we appreciate the support of our customers, selling partners, and employees who helped make it so," Amazon CEO Andy Jassy stated in the earnings release.
Amazon's online shopping business has skyrocketed since the pandemic. The company's annual sales in North America have grown by more than 100% since 2019, per CNBC.
Amazon's successful cloud business, Amazon Web Services (AWS), also contributed to its revenue growth. Revenue in the division has swelled in the past few years, growing from $45.37 billion in 2020 to nearly double that amount, or $90.76 billion, in 2023, according to Statista.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Photographer: David Ryder/Bloomberg via Getty Images
In the third quarter of 2024, AWS revenue increased 19% year-over-year and contributed to 17% of total sales.
Amazon also hit a milestone for its revenue for the full year of 2024. The company crossed the $600 billion mark for the first time in 2024 with a record revenue of $638 billion.
In this measure, Amazon isn't expected to surpass Walmart, which is predicted to report full-year revenue of $681 billion for 2024 and has already exceeded the $600 billion mark in 2023 with revenue of $611.3 billion.
Related: Top-Performing Walmart Managers Can Now Make $620,000 a Year
