Amazon Becomes 2nd U.S. Company to Hit $1 Trillion Cap After Apple

Amazon on Tuesday became the second publicly traded U.S. company after Apple to hit a $1 trillion market valuation.

Shares of the technology and online retail giant rose about 2 percent to a high of $2,050.50 in morning trading on Tuesday. Based on an outstanding share count of 487,741,189 shares, that brings Amazon’s market capitalization to a little over the $1 trillion milestone.

Why?

Market watchers and analysts cite Amazon’s growing portfolio of services and platforms as a key driver behind the stock price increase, CNBC reported.

The company recently launched into the grocery industry with its acquisition of Whole Foods. It’s currently rounding out its shipment logistics sector and has seen growth in the area of online advertising and Prime membership subscription fees.

There are even rumors that the e-commerce is looking to disrupt other industries, including healthcare. Earlier this year, Amazon acquired a prescription service that organizes and delivers prescriptions to members’ doorsteps.

But one of Amazon’s most impressively growing sectors is Amazon Web Services, a massive cloud computing business that has grown nearly 50 percent in this year’s second quarter, according to CNBC.

All in all, Amazon’s shares have more than tripled over the last three years. The retail juggernaut has even won over skeptics who thought that the company’s stock was “overhyped,” CNN Money reported.

Amazon’s ascent into the $1 trillion club closely follows Apple, which hit its own $1 trillion milestone in early August when its stock price crossed $207.05. That’s despite the fact that some analysts expected Amazon to beat Apple to the punch.

Amazon and Apple compete on a number of fronts, including the music streaming and digital home assistant spheres. Apple is also rumored to be working on a streaming platform with original content, which could compete with Amazon Prime Video.

The next two companies that are closest in line for a $1 trillion milestone are other U.S. technology giants: Microsoft with a market cap of $850 billion and Google with $840 billion.