Amazon has briefly become the second business in as many months to pass a US$1 trillion market value, though at the time of publication the company’s value has dropped to just under US$995 billion.

Just last month, Apple passed the US$1 trillion mark, becoming the first business to do so since PetroChina briefly reached the milestone in 2007. Unlike PetroChina, however, Apple has held onto the market position, and is currently valued at US$1.1 trillion.

“To reach a market capitalization of over $1 trillion is impressive,” GlobalData Retail managing director Neil Saunders said.

“To do it in a little over 24 years is extraordinary. That Amazon has achieved this demonstrates its dramatic advancement in both the retail and technology sectors, as well as the influence it now wields over large parts of the consumer landscape.”

Saunders notes that despite the company’s size and scale, there is still something young about Amazon, having yet to fully tap into many of its own categories, such as grocery and home furnishings, as well as many of the global marketplaces it now operates in – Australia being a prime example.

“Over time, we have no doubt that Amazon will potentialize all of these opportunities. We also believe it will move more heavily into new areas like pharmacy and healthcare,” Saunders said.

The online marketplace announced in June it would be expanding into the pharmaceutical space with the acquisition of prescription-based medication delivery service PillPack.

“It’s future success will be predicated on the same basis as its past victories: finding innovative ways of delivering on customer’s needs and identifying unique ways of solving their problems. In our view, Amazon is a very customer-centric retailer that has earned and deserved its success,” said Saunders.