Amazon becomes second US firm to hit trillion-dollar market value

Amazon has become the second publicly traded company to be worth a trillion dollars (£780 billion), hot on the heels of Apple.

Amazon has revolutionised how people shop online and is the world's dominant internet retailer.

In two decades the company expanded far beyond its bookseller beginnings, combining its world-spanning retail operation with less flashy but profitable advertising and cloud computing businesses.

The company's success put its founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos top of the Forbes billionaires list this year.

The Seattle-based company has cemented customer loyalty through smart devices like Alexa and the Prime membership programme that offers fast, free shipping as well as music and video streaming perks.

Amazon's stock rose 1.7% on Tuesday, putting its market value at just over a trillion dollars. Apple topped that mark in early August.