Amazon set to challenge Apple with $900-bn market cap
20 Jul 2018
Amazon.com's stock market value reached $900 billion on Wednesday for the first time in 21 years as a listed company, bringing it closer to Apple, Wall Street's most valuable jewel. The Seattle, Washington-based company’s stock briefly touched $1,858.88, giving Amazon a stock market value of $902 billion.
Amazon shares were boosted after the company announced on Wednesday that its sold more than $100 million worth products during its annual Prime Day sale. The stock later reversed gains, trading down 0.16 per cent during the close of the session.
Silicon valley-based Apple, which replaced Exxon Mobil as the US company with the largest stock market value in late 2011 (See: Apple's value beats sum of Google + Microsoft, overtakes ExxonMobil), saw its shares rise 12 per cent in 2018, bringing its stock market value to $935 billion.
Amazon's stock, on the other hand, surged more than 57 per cent in 2018, bringing its increase to over 123,000 per cent since it listed on the Nasdaq in 1997.
An investor who bought one share of Amazon for $18 in the IPO would now have an investment worth over $22,200, including three stock splits in the 1990s.
Amazon, founded by Jeff Bezos as an online book-selling company in his garage in 1994, survived the dot-com crisis and then expanded into retail, influencing consumer preferences, and challenging the hold of brick-and-mortar stores.
Amazon has been part of the technology heavyweights that fueled Wall Street's rally in recent years. The stock also remains a key part of portfolio managers' portfolios.
The calculations for Apple and Amazon's market capitalisations are based on the number of shares outstanding in their March-quarter reports. Amazon has been adding over 1 million shares per quarter in recent years, and if it continued that in the June quarter, its market cap might already have exceeded $900 billion.
Amazon reports its results on July 26 and Apple, which has been reducing its share count through buybacks, reports its June-quarter results on July 31.
Amazon already dislodged Microsoft Corp as the No 3 US company by market capitalisation in February. Since then, Microsoft has been overtaken by Google-owner Alphabet.