Amazon AMZN took a hit in midday trading on Feb. 19, slipping nearly 2% after Walmart WMT warned of slower sales and profit growth in 2025.
The broader market didn’t react well—Walmart’s report triggered a selloff that weighed on major retail stocks, including Amazon. As a result, Jeff Bezos saw his net worth shrink by about $3.9 billion, adding to the $18 billion he’s lost since Amazon hit its all-time high of $242.52 per share earlier this month.
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Walmart’s Cautious Forecast and Its Impact on Amazon
Walmart’s fourth-quarter earnings were solid, with revenue climbing 4.1% year-over-year to $180.6 billion. But the company’s outlook for 2025 was less upbeat—Walmart expects sales growth of just 3% to 4% and profit gains between 3.5% and 5.5%, both falling short of analyst expectations.
Rising inflation, shifting consumer spending habits, and trade tensions were all cited as concerns. Investors didn’t like what they heard—Walmart shares tumbled 6.5%, pulling down other retail giants, including Amazon.
While both companies compete in the retail space, their business models are quite different. Walmart, with its massive network of over 10,600 stores, relies heavily on in-person shopping. Amazon, on the other hand, makes a significant chunk of its revenue from e-commerce, cloud computing, and digital advertising.
According to Business Insider, Walmart’s warning about weaker consumer spending raised concerns that the likes of Amazon’s retail sales could also take a hit, even though the two companies operate in different ways.
The stock decline had an immediate impact on Bezos, Amazon’s former CEO and current executive chairman.
With roughly 909.7 million shares in Amazon, a $4.40 per share drop meant his net worth took a $3.9 billion hit in a single day. Since Amazon peaked earlier this month, he has lost a total of $18 billion.
But it wasn’t just Amazon feeling the pressure—Walmart’s forecast rattled the broader market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 450 points, its worst single-day loss since January.
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The S&P 500 also slipped 0.4% after hitting record highs earlier in the week. The big question now: Is this just a short-term dip, or are consumer spending habits shifting in a way that could drag the retail sector down further?
Market analysts are divided on how this development affects Amazon. Some argue that Walmart’s forecast signals a larger economic slowdown that could also impact Amazon’s retail business.
Others believe that Amazon’s diversified revenue streams, particularly its dominance in cloud computing through Amazon Web Services and its growing digital advertising business, provide a buffer against retail-specific challenges.
Amazon’s Q4 ad revenue surged 18% year-over-year to $17.29 billion, outperforming other major tech companies in the advertising space.
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