Amazon Overtakes Walmart as America's Largest Company by Revenue After 13-Year Reign
Amazon has dethroned Walmart as the largest U.S. company by revenue, claiming the top spot on the Fortune 500 for the first time and ending Walmart's 13-year consecutive run at No. 1. Based on fourth-quarter earnings released today, Amazon recorded $716.9 billion in revenue for 2025, narrowly surpassing Walmart's $713.2 billion—a margin of just $3.7 billion that marks a historic shift in corporate America's hierarchy.
The changing of the guard represents more than a symbolic milestone for CFOs tracking competitive dynamics in retail and technology. Amazon will become only the fourth company ever to lead the Fortune 500 when the official list publishes in June, joining an exclusive club that includes Exxon, General Motors, and Walmart itself. Walmart had held the top position for 21 of the past 24 years, making this transition particularly significant for finance leaders assessing long-term industry trends.
But the story behind the numbers defies the conventional narrative of an aging incumbent being outmaneuvered by a nimbler rival. Walmart's displacement doesn't signal decline—rather, it reflects how Amazon's emergence as an existential threat forced Walmart into a transformation that has actually strengthened its competitive position. Under former CEO Doug McMillon and current CEO John Furner, Walmart began a comprehensive reinvention in 2014 that overhauled not just its business model but its corporate culture, creating an environment where calculated failure became acceptable if it drove the innovation necessary to compete with Amazon's relentless expansion.
The financial results demonstrate Walmart's successful adaptation. The company's online business grew 27% in the most recent quarter, and it maintains a decisive advantage over Amazon in grocery delivery—a crucial battleground for both retailers. This stands in stark contrast to the fate of Sears, Kmart, and J.C. Penney, retailers that Walmart left behind a generation ago and that failed to evolve when competitive pressures mounted.
Walmart initially underestimated how profoundly e-commerce would reshape consumer expectations around price and convenience—the very factors that had enabled its own rise to dominance. The company's belated recognition of this threat in the mid-2010s sparked a strategic pivot that has kept it relevant even as Amazon's revenue trajectory steepened.
The competitive landscape now extends far beyond traditional retail. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and Walmart CEO Furner are positioning their companies to clash across multiple fronts, including artificial intelligence, streaming services, and media offerings. For finance leaders, this diversification complicates straightforward revenue comparisons and raises questions about profitability, capital allocation, and which business model will prove more sustainable as both companies push into adjacent markets.
The narrow revenue gap—less than 1%—suggests the competition will remain intense. CFOs at both companies face distinct challenges: Amazon must demonstrate it can maintain growth rates while improving margins across its sprawling operations, while Walmart must prove its digital transformation can continue closing the gap even as it defends its physical retail advantages.
What remains clear is that this rivalry has been mutually beneficial in ways that weren't obvious when Amazon first emerged as a threat to traditional retail. The pressure forced Walmart to modernize, while Walmart's competitive response has pushed Amazon to strengthen its logistics and expand into groceries more aggressively. The result is two formidable competitors with different strengths, both commanding revenue bases exceeding $700 billion annually—a dynamic that will shape corporate strategy discussions in boardrooms across multiple industries.
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