Amazon became only the second company in history to achieve a $1 trillion (€860 billion) market capitalisation earlier this week, and a leading retail analyst has suggested that this may only be the start of an increasingly fruitful journey for Jeff Bezos' firm.
"To reach a market capitalisation of over $1 trillion is impressive," commented Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail. "To do it in a little over 24 years is extraordinary.
"That Amazon has achieved this demonstrates its dramatic advancement in both the retail and technology sectors, as well as the influence it now wields over large parts of the consumer landscape."
Forward Potential
Saunders added that the valuation reflects the 'forward potential' of Amazon, and that despite its size and scale, there is still something 'young' about the company.
"It might be mature in a sector like books and media, but in categories like grocery and home furnishings, Amazon is really only just getting started," he said. "The same applies to geographic expansion - there are many global pockets of demand that Amazon has yet to fully tap into.
"Over time, we have no doubt that Amazon will potentialize all of these opportunities. We also believe it will move more heavily into new areas like pharmacy and healthcare. Its future success will be predicated on the same basis as its past victories: finding innovative ways of delivering on customer's needs and identifying unique ways of solving their problems."
Amazon achieved its feat on Tuesday, just weeks after Apple Inc hit the same milestone on 2 August 2018.
Shares in the world's largest online retailer last traded up 1.4% at $2,041.7 (€1,765.2). Its shares hit the $2,050.3 (€1,772.6) level to give its stock a value of $1 trillion.
Setting New Records
Amazon crossed the $2,000 threshold for the first time on 30 August 2018 after doubling its price in just ten months. Amazon shares first hit $1,000 on 27 October 2017. It first reached $100 on 23 October 2009.
In July of this year, Amazon.com Inc forecast strong autumn sales and posted a profit that was double Wall Street targets.
In the same month, a study also found that the online retail giant's grocery marketplace has captured 18% of total online grocery sales in the US in Q2.
News by Reuters, additional reporting by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
