Amazon.com Inc. surpassed Wal-Mart Stores Inc. as the world’s biggest retailer by market value after a surprise second-quarter profit sent the e-commerce company’s stock into record territory.
Amazon shares rose as much as 20 percent to $580.57 on Friday, giving the Seattle-based company a value of about $272 billion. That compares with Wal-Mart’s $233.2 billion market capitalization.
Wal-Mart still dwarfs Amazon in terms of sales, with about five times its annual revenue. But Amazon has solidified its dominance in e-commerce, forcing its big-box rival to play catch-up. Wal-Mart is investing heavily in its Web operations and developing its own online subscription service to compete with Amazon Prime.
Amazon’s market value has been steadily gaining on Wal- Mart’s this year. Amazon was already up 55 percent in 2015 through Thursday’s close, while Wal-Mart has slid 16 percent.
Amazon posted revenue of $23.2 billion last quarter, a 20 percent gain. That topped analysts’ average projection of $22.4 billion. Net income was $92 million, or 19 cents a share, the company said. Analysts had estimated a loss of 14 cents.
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