Key Highlights
- Amazon’s 2025 annual revenue reached $716.9B, surpassing Walmart’s $713.2B to claim the title of America’s highest-revenue company.
- The e-commerce giant achieved 12.4% revenue growth in 2025 compared to Walmart’s 4.7%, driven by AWS expanding 20% annually.
- Seth Klarman, founder of Baupost Group, allocated nearly $500M to Amazon shares during Q4 2025, elevating it to his portfolio’s second-largest holding.
- The billionaire investor reduced his Alphabet stake by 41% following a ~65% price surge in 2025 due to valuation considerations.
- The company projects 11–15% quarterly revenue expansion and has earmarked $200B for capital investments throughout 2026.
Amazon (AMZN) has officially dethroned Walmart from its revenue leadership position after nearly a quarter-century — and a legendary value investor is making a substantial wager on the company’s future trajectory.
The Seattle-based tech giant posted $716.9 billion in total revenue for 2025, narrowly surpassing Walmart’s $713.2 billion. While the difference appears modest, the trend has been building for years. Walmart initially secured the top ranking in 2001 after overtaking Exxon Mobil, maintaining its dominance continuously — until this watershed moment.
The growth trajectory tells a compelling story. Amazon achieved 12.4% revenue expansion last year, while Walmart managed 4.7%. If these growth rates persist, the distance between the two companies will likely expand significantly.
The contrast stems largely from their business composition. Approximately 90% of Walmart’s revenue originates from physical retail locations and its e-commerce platform. Amazon operates a significantly more diversified revenue engine — collecting fees from third-party marketplace sellers, providing logistics services, selling digital advertising, and powering cloud infrastructure.
AWS experienced 20% year-over-year expansion and currently represents approximately 18% of Amazon’s consolidated revenue. This high-margin, rapidly expanding division provides Amazon with a competitive advantage for sustaining aggressive top-line growth.
The company is also accelerating its physical logistics footprint. Amazon is committing $4 billion toward constructing same-day delivery centers throughout rural regions of America. In 2025, the company extended same-day grocery delivery access to over 2,300 communities, with 100 million customers receiving same-day shipments during the year.
Amazon has captured roughly 9% of the U.S. retail market, up from approximately 6% prior to the pandemic. Walmart holds about 7.6% market share, remaining essentially unchanged during this timeframe.
Klarman’s Strategic Amazon Investment
Beyond the revenue achievement making news, it’s noteworthy that one of investing’s most respected minds was steadily accumulating AMZN stock during this period.
Seth Klarman, managing Baupost Group’s private investment partnership, deployed nearly $500 million into Amazon shares throughout Q4 2025. This purchase elevated Amazon to Baupost’s second-largest holding, representing 9.3% of total portfolio assets.
Klarman financed this acquisition partially by reducing his Alphabet position by 41%. Alphabet shares had rallied approximately 65% during 2025, driving its forward price-to-earnings ratio from roughly 20 in August to about 30 by year-end. For an investor focused on value, such appreciation typically diminishes future return potential.
Conversely, Amazon stock advanced only 5% during the identical timeframe. This relative underperformance against broader market indices appears to have created the opportunity that attracted Klarman’s interest.
What’s Ahead for Amazon
AWS revenue expanded 24% year over year during Q4. Market analysts anticipate earnings per share will accelerate substantially in 2027 as the cloud division continues scaling. Amazon has provided guidance calling for 11–15% quarterly revenue growth, substantially exceeding Walmart’s 3.5–4.5% projection.
The company has announced plans to invest $200 billion in capital expenditures during 2026 to address escalating demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure. Management has indicated that AWS customer demand currently exceeds available capacity.
Amazon shares are currently trading below the price point where Klarman initiated his position in Q4. Wall Street analysts have valued the stock at approximately 22 times projected 2027 earnings, with consensus forecasting roughly 20% annual earnings growth.
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