Amazon Tops Walmart Revenue via AWS
🐯#retail-subsidy#regionalization#prime-logisticsFreshcollected in 21m

Amazon Tops Walmart Revenue via AWS

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💡AWS model shows how tech profits crush retail giants—key for AI infra strategies

⚡ 30-Second TL;DR

What changed

Amazon revenue $716.9B surpasses Walmart by $37B

Why it matters

Highlights how cloud infra like AWS enables non-symmetric competition, subsidizing low-margin retail; relevant for AI firms building hybrid models. Chinese platforms like Alibaba must pivot to tech services.

What to do next

Benchmark your AI workloads on AWS cost vs retail subsidies for hybrid revenue models.

Who should care:Founders & Product Leaders

🧠 Deep Insight

Web-grounded analysis with 1 cited sources.

🔑 Key Takeaways

  • Amazon's 2025 revenue of $717 billion officially surpassed Walmart's $713.2 billion, marking the first time Amazon became the largest company by revenue globally[1]
  • AWS generated approximately 18% of Amazon's revenue but contributed a disproportionate share of profitability, with AWS operating margins significantly higher than retail operations[1]
  • Amazon's retail revenue alone ($588 billion without AWS) would still trail Walmart, demonstrating that AWS is the primary driver of Amazon's revenue leadership[1]
📊 Competitor Analysis▸ Show
MetricAmazonWalmartNvidia
2025 Revenue$717B$713.2BNot disclosed in results
Primary Revenue SourceE-commerce + AWSPhysical retail (10,000+ stores)AI/GPU chips
Cloud/Infrastructure BusinessAWS (18% revenue, 60%+ operating profit)NoneCore business
Market Cap Ranking#2 (as of article)#3 (as of article)#1 (as of article)
Retail DominanceOnline leaderPhysical retail leaderN/A

🛠️ Technical Deep Dive

  • AWS serves as the infrastructure backbone for AI data centers, providing computational resources critical to enterprise AI deployment
  • Amazon's cloud infrastructure supports both first-party retail operations and third-party seller services
  • AWS operating margins substantially exceed retail margins due to high-margin SaaS and infrastructure-as-a-service models
  • The revenue composition shows AWS's outsized profitability contribution despite representing only 18% of total revenue

🔮 Future ImplicationsAI analysis grounded in cited sources

Amazon's revenue leadership through AWS diversification establishes a new competitive paradigm where technology infrastructure profitability subsidizes retail operations. This model demonstrates that retail companies without cloud/AI infrastructure capabilities face structural disadvantages in total revenue and profitability. The shift signals that future retail competitiveness increasingly depends on owning technology infrastructure rather than optimizing gross merchandise value alone. Walmart's physical retail dominance no longer guarantees overall financial leadership in an AI-driven economy where data center capacity and cloud services command premium valuations.

⏳ Timeline

2006-03
AWS launched as Amazon Web Services, initially offering S3 and EC2 services
2015-06
AWS revenue exceeded $1 billion annually, establishing cloud as major business unit
2020-12
AWS became Amazon's most profitable segment with operating margins exceeding 30%
2024-12
AWS revenue growth accelerated to 24% YoY, driven by AI infrastructure demand
2025-12
Amazon's total 2025 revenue reached $717 billion, surpassing Walmart's $713.2 billion

📎 Sources (1)

Factual claims are grounded in the sources below. Forward-looking analysis is AI-generated interpretation.

  1. tipranks.com

Amazon's 2025 revenue hit $716.9B, edging Walmart's $713.2B, driven by AWS high-margin profits subsidizing retail. This signals shift from GMV obsession to tech infrastructure in retail. Chinese retailers urged to build AWS-like tech moats amid AI era vulnerabilities.

Key Points

  • 1.Amazon revenue $716.9B surpasses Walmart by $37B
  • 2.AWS: 18% revenue but 60% operating profit, up 24%
  • 3.Prime deliveries: 80B same/next-day items, +40% YoY
  • 4.Third-party services: 24% of revenue, $1.18T RMB

Impact Analysis

Highlights how cloud infra like AWS enables non-symmetric competition, subsidizing low-margin retail; relevant for AI firms building hybrid models. Chinese platforms like Alibaba must pivot to tech services.

📰

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