Amazon Dethroned Walmart

& Microsoft's Quantum Leap

February 22, 2025

Amazon Outpaces Walmart with $187.8B Quarterly Revenue

In a historic shift, Amazon has finally surpassed Walmart in quarterly revenue, marking the end of Walmart's 13-year reign as the top revenue generator. Amazon's Q4 2024 sales soared to a staggering $187.8 billion, eclipsing Walmart's $180.5 billion. This milestone showcases the meteoric rise of e-commerce and Amazon's diversified business model, with 24.5% of its total sales coming from third-party seller services and 17% from Amazon Web Services. While Walmart still leads in annual sales with projected $708.7 billion for the upcoming fiscal year, Amazon is hot on its heels with an estimated $700.8 billion for 2025.

The battle for retail supremacy intensifies as Walmart adopts Amazon-like strategies to maintain its edge. Walmart has launched its own third-party marketplace, advertising division, and Walmart+ loyalty program to compete with Amazon Prime. However, Amazon's multifaceted approach, combining its core retail operations with cloud computing and advertising, has proven to be a game-changer. As both giants continue to evolve, this quarter's results signal a potential changing of the guard in the retail landscape, with e-commerce and tech-driven services reshaping the future of consumer spending.

Microsoft’s Quantum Computing Breakthrough

Microsoft researchers on Wednesday unveiled an approach to quantum computing that the company claimed involved the creation of a new state of matter. The announcement follows Google’s public release in December, adding momentum to a potentially transformative new industry. Why does it matter? In essence, a viable quantum computer at scale would be a general-purpose “innovation engine”. It could let us design things right the first time – whether drugs, materials, or complex engineering systems – by computing exact outcomes rather than relying on experiments and prototyping.

Think: complex simulations of the physical world that can lead to more efficient batteries, more efficient chemical production, new drugs, or even break the most traditional encryption frameworks of today.

The importance lies in error correction and scalability. Topological qubits, if they work as hoped, store information in a way that is naturally protected from noise. This could drastically reduce the error rates that plague other quantum computers and offers a clear path to scaling up to a million qubits on a chip that fits in your hand. The macroeconomic impact of this is hard to overstate: it could boost productivity in R&D-intensive industries, potentially ushering in a new wave of technological breakthroughs.

Tariff Gaps Between Asia & America

President Trump's latest trade salvo targets Asian economies, threatening to upend established trade dynamics with reciprocal tariffs. The move could significantly impact seven major Asian economies, excluding China and Japan, which currently impose higher tariffs on U.S. exports than vice versa. South Korea leads the pack with a stark 13.6% tariff on U.S. goods compared to the U.S.'s mere 1.9% on Korean exports. India follows with a 10.5% tariff versus the U.S.'s 2.7%, while Vietnam shows the smallest gap at 3.3% to 3.1%. This imbalance has fueled Trump's push for "reciprocal tariffs," aiming to level the playing field across all U.S. trading partners.

The potential fallout from these tariffs could ripple through various sectors, with experts warning of impacts on India's textiles, Thailand's plastics, and the Philippines' metals industries. Goldman Sachs estimates a modest 10 to 30 basis point hit to India's GDP, highlighting the relative resilience of larger, more closed economies. However, the broader implications for Asia are significant, potentially reshaping supply chains and fostering new regional partnerships that could diminish U.S. influence in Asian trade. As Trump's "black box" tariff formula introduces uncertainty, Asian nations must navigate a precarious balance between protecting domestic industries and maintaining crucial trade relationships with the world's largest economy.

Top Luxury Groups - Their Market Cap & Brand Value

LVMH dominates the luxury space with $371 billion in Market Cap and with brand value at with $130 billion; it is the single most valuable luxury brand. This group owns brands like Louis Vuitton, Dior, Givenchy, and many others. Hermès is a strong second at $310 billion. This reflects the brand's exclusivity and strong pricing power. L'Oréal (focusing on beauty) holds a solid third position at $192 billion. EssilorLuxottica (eyewear) and Richemont (Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels) follow with $140 billion and $118 billion, respectively. Kering, despite owning Gucci (which is falling out of favor), lags behind at $36 billion