Which will hit the trillion dollar mark: Apple or Amazon?
Following the completion of Amazon's Prime Day sale, wherein the company announced that it had sold over 100 million products, the global e-commerce giant's stock market value climbed to breach the $900bn mark for the very first time. With Apple valued at around $935bn, Amazon seems to be closing the gap fast, thereby throwing the race to $1 trillion valuation wide open. Here's more.
Amazon's stock value following Prime Day sale
Following Amazon's 36-hour-long marathon sale, its stock touched $1,858.88 on NASDAQ on Thursday, before sliding 0.16% to end the day at $1840.55. At the peak of this rise, Amazon's valuation touched a record $902bn, just a few billion short of Apple's estimated $935bn valuation. Should Apple be worried about losing its place as Wall Street's most valued jewel? Trends seem to indicate so.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos keeps getting richer
After the completion of the Prime Day sale, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' valuation grew to a whopping $152bn on Thursday, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. For comparison, Alibaba founder Jack Ma is worth $44bn.
Since 1997, Amazon's stocks have surged by 123,000%
Since its NASDAQ listing in 1997 as an online bookseller, Amazon has become the go-to e-commerce platform for almost everything now. Notably, since 1997, the company's stocks have grown an astronomical 123,000% - in 2018 itself, Amazon stocks have grown 57%. Furthermore, going by current estimates, Amazon currently trades at 111 times its expected earnings.
Product diversification might lead to even more growth
Earlier this year, Amazon dislodged Microsoft from its rank of the third-most valued US company by market capitalization. Currently, Google's parent company Alphabet holds the third rank. With more businesses moving their IT departments to the cloud, and with Amazon's ongoing expansion into the grocery delivery business following its acquisition of Whole Foods Market last year, Amazon's growth shows no indication of slowing down.
Apple seems to be flatlining in comparison to Amazon
In comparison, Apple, which has held the crown of being the world's most valuable company since 2011, seems to be flatlining in terms of growth. While Apple remains more profitable, Apple's stock has grown by just 13% compared to Amazon's 58% so far this year. Additionally, Apple trades at 15 times its expected earnings, as opposed to Amazon's much higher number.
What Apple and Amazon need to win the race
Meanwhile, everything else remaining constant, here's what Amazon and Apple need to cross the $1 trillion mark. With Apple shares currently trading at around $192, its stock prices needs to grow by 6%, to around $203.45 to hit the $1 trillion mark. Amazon, meanwhile, needs to rally 13% and hit a stock price of $2,061 to hit the $1 trillion mark.
