Amazon may soon overtake Apple as world's most valuable public company

Source: RT

September 3, 2018 at 17:21

The stock of the online retail giant Amazon is racing toward a $1 trillion market valuation, trading at $2,012 per share on Monday. The company is poised to become the next big tech titan after Apple to reach the milestone.

After a 72 percent stock price surge this year, Amazon’s market cap currently stands at $981.6 billion. The online retailer would become the second public company to reach the trillion-dollar market value if the stock rises to at least $2,050.27. Apple became the first-ever $1 trillion US company on August 2.

According to Dan Nathan, co-founder and editor of RiskReversal.com, options traders are betting the retailer could reach a trillion-dollar value this week. He told CNBC that market optimism will likely push Amazon to $1 trillion “sooner or later.”

Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak said the company’s shares could rise to $2,500 on the back of advertising, cloud computing, and subscription services. All three have significantly higher operating margins than Amazon’s core retail business, and they’re all growing quickly.

Last quarter, the company generated $2.2 billion in “other” revenue, which largely consists of advertising. Amazon’s rapid growth could make it the third-largest digital advertiser in the US by 2020, according to estimates from eMarketer.

Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos is now the world’s richest man, with a personal wealth estimated at $164 billion. Microsoft founder Bill Gates is second with a $98.4 billion net worth, while investor Warren Buffett is third on the list with a fortune of $87.1 billion.

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