Amazon’s ascension as a corporate and retail titan has entire industries trembling at mere rumors that the company is moving into new markets. Bloomberg technology columnist Shira Ovide studies how that came to pass, by the numbers, in a new piece titled, “How Amazon Became Corporate America’s Nightmare.”
“The company has grown so large and difficult to comprehend that it’s worth taking stock of why and how it’s left corporate America so thoroughly freaked out,” Ovide writes. Here are five key takeaways from the report.
- Amazon’s market value has quintupled since the end of 2014.
- Amazon comes up on investor calls more than President Donald Trump and almost as often as taxes.
- Walmart’s $500 billion in annual sales still eclipses Amazon’s $180 billion. But Amazon is growing far faster than its chief retail competitor. Walmart’s sales grew 3 percent in 2018, while Amazon’s rose at least 25 percent (not including Whole Foods sales).
- Fees Amazon charges third-party sellers in its marketplace amounted to $32 billion in revenue in 2017.
- Amazon accounts for about 44 cents of every dollar Americans spend online.
Check out the full Bloomberg story here.
