Amazon reports strong Q2 gains, overtakes Wal-Mart in market value

Amazon.com Inc. has surpassed Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in market value. This comes after the online retailer reported revenues and profits exceeding Wall Street expectations for the second quarter ending June 30.

Amazon's revenue was at $23.19 billion, up 19.9% from a year ago. That's above analysts' forecast of about $22.4 billion.

While analysts had expected a loss of 14 cents, Amazon's quarterly profit was in positive territory at $92 million or 19 cents a share.

Following release of the figures, Amazon's share price rose 19% in after-hours trading Thursday, pushing its value as high as $267 billion. Wal-Mart's market capitalization on the same day was lower at $235 billion.

Amazon said its income was boosted by Amazon Web Services, which posted an 81% increase in sales. AWS provides businesses with cloud computing and storage services.

For the next quarter, the online retailer estimates a 13% to 24% rise in sales over last year. That's a net sale of between $23.3 billion and $25.5 billion, also above analysts' forecast.

Since January, Amazon's market value has been growing steadily. It has gone up 55% through Thursday's close, while Wal-Mart's has gone down 16%.

Sales in North America, its biggest market, has been particularly strong said the the e-commerce company. It rose 25.5% to $13.8 billion, on strong demand for electronics and general items. Operating profit in the market segment was up 114%.

Amazon Prime has also seen record growth. Last week, the company ran a one-day sale for Prime subscribers, and chief executive Jeff Bezos said more new members tried Prime worldwide "than any single day in Amazon history." For $99 a year, Prime members get exclusive access to certain movies, music, and books.

Though it declined to give membership figures, the online retailing giant said more people outside the United States had signed up. "Growth has been fuelled in large part by Prime growth and also (item) selection growth so it's been a huge driver both in North America and international segments," said Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky.

Inspite of Amazon's gains in market value, Wal-Mart remains the leader in sales. Wal-Mart's annual revenue is five times bigger than Amazon's. In a bid to catch up with the online retail pioneer, it is now developing its own online subscription service.

Meanwhile Amazon is creeping further into Wal-Mart territory. It has offered same-day delivery in 14 US metropolitan areas, according to Financial Times, undermining the advantage of brick and mortar retailers like Wal-Mart.

Amazon also has plans of deploying commercial drones to speed up delivery to customers.

Amazon, founded by Bezos in his Seattle garage, began as an online bookstore.