Amazon recorded roughly $7 billion more in fourth-quarter sales than Walmart – the first time the e-commerce firm has surpassed its brick-and-mortar archrival in quarterly revenue. The results were largely as analysts forecast but underscore the broader battle for consumer spending between the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average component stocks.
Walmart said early Thursday that its revenue grew 4.1% to $180.6 billion for its January-ended fourth quarter. Amazon, meanwhile, reported sales of $187.8 billion for its December-ended fourth quarter earlier this month.
Walmart has topped lists of largest companies by revenue, such as the Fortune 500, every year since 2014. It will extend that crown for 2024, with Walmart's total sales of $680.99 billion staving off Amazon's $637.96 billion.
Still, this is the first time Amazon has beat Walmart's sales on a quarterly basis. Amazon's Q4 includes more of the early holiday shopping calendar, however, than Walmart's November through January period.
But the race is on for the rest of the year. Walmart's fast-growing e-commerce business is attempting to win share in a U.S. market still dominated by Amazon. Of course, the businesses have key differences. Amazon has a massive cloud computing arm while Walmart has the world's largest footprint of physical stores.
Analysts project Amazon will post full-year sales of $700.8 billion, according to FactSet. Walmart is projected for $708.7 billion in sales for its current January-ending fiscal year. Analyst estimates will likely be updated following Thursday's report.
Amazon Stock Slumps
Rather than celebrating, Amazon investors appear to be more concerned about Walmart's soft guidance and what it means for consumer spending. Amazon stock slipped more than 1.5% to close at 222.88 on the stock market today. Walmart stock lost more than 6.5%.
Amazon stock has slumped since its Q4 report, which also included a lighter-than-expected sales and profit outlook for the current quarter. Shares are down 7% from a high of 242.52 near the start of the month.
Amazon broke below its 50-day moving average on Tuesday and has fallen further past the key trendline in trading action since then.
