🚀📦Amazon has become the world's top revenue earner. When $Amazon(AMZN.US)'s annual revenue surpassed $Walmart(WMT.US) for the first time, what I saw was the battle for the retail throne officially entering the decisive AI phase.

Many people see this revenue overtake as symbolic.

$Amazon(AMZN.US) $716.9 billion.

$Walmart(WMT.US) $713.2 billion.

The numbers are very close.

But what I see is not "who sells a little more."

It's—who is using AI to rewrite the rules of retail.

I've been observing the divergence in the paths of these two companies.

$Walmart(WMT.US)'s growth remains strong.

Its store network is vast, and its digital business has seen double-digit growth for multiple consecutive quarters.

Advertising, third-party marketplace, and membership systems are all expanding.

But its essence is still—retail efficiency optimization.

Its AI strategy is also clear:

Partnering with OpenAI

Partnering with $Alphabet - C(GOOG.US)

Launching the Sparky assistant

Emphasizing "turning technology into a better retail experience"

This is a typical "technology empowering retail."

Steady, rational, and risk-controllable.

But $Amazon(AMZN.US) is taking a different path.

It's not just applying AI; it's building AI infrastructure and platform control.

Rufus deeply embedded in the shopping flow

Investing in Anthropic

Massive investment in data centers and chips

$200 billion level capital expenditure

This is not an optimization tool.

This is a bet on the form of the traffic gateway for the next decade.

I ponder one question:

If the future shopping gateway becomes "AI agent decision-making,"

then whoever controls the models and computing power controls the user's path.

If a user asks an AI: "Help me choose the washing machine that's best for me."

Will the AI direct them to the $Amazon(AMZN.US) ecosystem,

or to a brand's official website?

This is a redistribution of platform power.

Of course, the market is not without concerns.

$200 billion in capital expenditure is no small amount.

The stock price came under pressure after the earnings report, with huge market cap fluctuations.

This shows the market is hesitating:

Is this over-expansion, or securing a position in advance?

And $Walmart(WMT.US)'s path is steadier:

It treats AI as a tool,

doesn't bear model risk,

and focuses on retail execution.

These two approaches will lead to completely different valuation models in the future.

I won't simply say who's right or wrong.

I'm more concerned about:

When AI becomes the decision-making hub,

will platform control reshape the retail profit structure?

If the answer is yes, then this revenue overtake is just the beginning.