Amazon hits $1 trillion market value milestone

Amazon.com Inc on Tuesday became the second US company to reach $1 trillion in stock market value, just weeks after Apple Inc hit the same milestone on August 2.

Shares in the world’s largest online retailer last traded up 1.4% at $2,041.68. Its shares hit the $2050.2677 level to give its stock a value of $1 trillion.

Amazon crossed the $2,000 threshold for the first time on August 30 after doubling its price in just 10 months. Amazon shares first hit $1,000 on October 27, 2017. It first reached $100 on Oct. 23, 2009.

The Seattle-based company revolutionised how people shop online and became the world’s dominant Internet retailer. Started off as a profitless bookseller, the company expanded its business across the globe, disrupting retail operation, B2B operation, advertising and cloud computing business.

Amazon employs more than 550,000 people and generates $178 billion in annual revenue.

Amazon cemented its customer loyalty through smart devices like Alexa and the Prime membership programme that offers fast, free shipping as well as music and video streaming perks.

In India, Amazon is in intense competition with arch-rival Flipkart. The company launched its Hindi app and website to onboard next million users.

The growth of the company made its founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos No 1 on Forbes’ billionaires' list. reflecting the online retailer’s striking transformation from a profitless bookseller into a disruptive force of commerce.