Podcast | Editor's pick of the day: Amazon hits $1 trillion market value milestone

Amazon.com Inc on September 4 joined Apple Inc in the $1 trillion club, becoming the second member of the group after its stock price doubled in 15 months. If the online retailer's share price continues at its recent pace, it will be a matter of when, not if, Amazon's market valuation eclipses that of iPhone maker Apple, which reached $1 trillion on August 2, according to Reuters.

Apple took almost 38 years as a public company to achieve the trillion dollar milestone, while Amazon got there in 21 years. While Apple's iPhone and other devices remain popular and its revenues are growing, it is not keeping up with Amazon's blistering sales growth.

Amazon has impressed investors by successfully diversifying its business into virtually every corner of the retail industry, altering how consumers buy products and putting major pressure on many brick-and-mortar stores. It also provides video and audio streaming services and bought upscale supermarket Whole Foods. Its cloud computing services for companies have become a major driver of earnings and revenue.