Key Points
Amazon has become the largest company in the world by sales and holds more than 40% of the U.S. e-commerce market.
Walmart has recently increased its e-commerce market share, and its e-commerce sales are growing faster than Amazon's.
Walmart has an advantage over Amazon in that it can use its stores as distribution hubs.
Walmart (NASDAQ: WMT) is no longer the largest company in the world by sales; that title has been transferred to Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), which recently outpaced it.
However, Walmart is outpacing it in another area that might surprise you. Here's one stat that's hard to ignore right now.
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Amazon is bigger, but Walmart is faster
Amazon is the largest e-commerce retailer in the world, but its highest growth is coming from the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud segment. Amazon's online sales increased only 2% year over year in the third quarter, while third-party sales grew 9%.
Image source: Walmart.
In Walmart's most recent update, for the fiscal 2027 second quarter (ended July 31), e-commerce sales increased 23% year over year.
It's unlikely that Walmart will overtake Amazon's e-commerce business in the near future. According to Statista, Amazon accounts for more than 40% of U.S. e-commerce. However, Walmart moved up from 6.7% to 9.2% in the most recent study, suggesting it is taking market share from smaller companies.
Walmart has an advantage over Amazon with its easy pickup and fast delivery from Walmart stores. Its 5,700 U.S. stores act as a distribution hub and give consumers more options.
Walmart will report third-quarter earnings in November, and investors should watch for e-commerce growth, especially as the holiday season approaches.
Jennifer Saibil has positions in Walmart. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.