Amazon surpasses Walmart in annual revenue for first time, as both chase AI-fueled growth
Amazon overtook Walmart in annual revenue for the first time, driven by its cloud and advertising businesses, as both giants heavily invest in AI.Summary
For the first time, Amazon has reported higher annual revenue ($716.9 billion) than Walmart ($713.2 billion), marking a symbolic shift in retail dominance. Amazon's lead is attributed not just to its core retail but significantly to its cloud computing (AWS), advertising, and third-party seller services.
Both retailers are now intensely focused on integrating Artificial Intelligence. Walmart is leveraging partnerships with OpenAI and Google, alongside its own assistant Sparky, which reportedly increases average order value by 35%. Walmart emphasizes using external tech expertise for AI development.
Conversely, Amazon is heavily investing in its own AI infrastructure, planning up to $200 billion in spending this year for data centers and chips. Amazon is pushing its own shopping chatbot, Rufus, which has driven significant incremental sales, while CEO Andy Jassy sees AI agents as crucial for product discovery, similar to in-store employees.
(Source：CNBC)