Amazon Overtakes Walmart; eBay buys Depop in $1.2B Depop Deal; and Zuckerberg Faces Trial Pressure On the Hill

The corporate reshuffle is accelerating across retail, tech, and consulting. Amazon has officially dethroned Walmart as the world’s largest company by revenue, powered not just by ecommerce but by the profit engine of AWS and advertising. eBay is doubling down on ecommerce with a $1.2 billion acquisition of Depop, while Mark Zuckerberg is under scrutiny in a landmark trial over whether Instagram targeted young users despite public denials. And inside boardrooms, the AI push is getting real,  Accenture is now linking leadership promotions to how often executives actually use the firm’s AI tools. All this and more in today’s Read It and Eat!

Markets Around The World

Markets as of 19th February 2026. Cells in RED mean that the value is down, cells in Green mean the value is up.

MAJOR HEADLINES

• Amazon Dethrones Walmart as World’s Biggest Company by Revenue

Amazon has surpassed Walmart as the world’s largest company, measured by revenue, breaking Walmart’s 13-year streak at the top of the list. Amazon posted $717 billion in revenue in 2025. Walmart, the largest company in the world for more than a decade, recorded $713 billion in revenue in 2025, the retailer announced Thursday.

Although the two companies are significant competitors in consumer retail, Amazon’s revenue growth in cloud computing, advertising and other businesses helped it overtake Walmart. Jeff Bezos started Amazon in 1994 as an online bookstore, but the company brought in nearly $129 billion in revenue last year from its Amazon Web Services division. AWS provides a vast network of computing, storage and artificial intelligence options to companies and governments around the world. AWS is also a key profit driver for Amazon and helps the company offset losses from its retail business.

The majority ($464 billion) of Amazon’s revenue last year came from sales on its online and physical stores as well as from third-party sellers. Amazon also brought in more than $100 billion combined from advertising and Prime subscriptions. By contrast, more than 90% of Walmart’s sales come from its physical stores and websites.Despite Amazon’s rapid rise, Walmart has adapted and is in its strongest shape in years. Bloomberg

• EBay to Buy Depop From Etsy for $1.2 Billion

EBay is acquiring peer-to-peer secondhand fashion platform Depop from Etsy in an all-cash deal valued at $1.2 billion, the company announced. The move will create synergistic growth opportunities across EBay’s expanding fashion business, which delivered $10 billion in gross merchandise value and grew 10% last year.

“Depop will be even more well-positioned for long-term growth, benefiting from our scale, complementary offerings and operational capabilities,” EBay CEO Jamie Iannone said in a statement.  “This acquisition presents an opportunity to advance one of our newest and fastest-growing Focus Categories with a marketplace that complements our existing presence and enables us to reach a younger demographic across the expanding ecommerce landscape,” he continued.

Investors welcomed the news. EBay stock rose more than 8% in early premarket trading following the announcement, which coincided with the company’s fourth-quarter results showing adjusted earnings per share of $1.41 on $3 billion in revenue, well ahead of analyst estimates of $2.88 billion and $1.34 per share. Esty, which acquired Depop in 2021 for $1.6 billion, was also rewarded. Etsy shares were up more than 14% in extended trading as it can focus full attention on its core handmade, vintage and craft marketplace for independent artisans and small businesses. Wall Street Journal 

• Meta's Zuckerberg denies at LA trial that Instagram targets kids

Meta Platforms (META.O), CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday repeatedly said during a landmark trial over youth social media addiction that the Facebook and Instagram operator does not allow kids under 13 on its platforms, despite being confronted with evidence suggesting they were a key demographic.

Mark Lanier, a lawyer for the woman suing Instagram and Google's YouTube for harming her mental health when she was a child, pressed Zuckerberg over his statement to Congress in 2024 that users under 13 are not allowed on the platform. Lanier confronted Zuckerberg with internal Meta documents. The case involves a California woman who started using Instagram and YouTube as a child. She alleges the companies sought to profit by hooking kids on their services despite knowing social media could harm their mental health. She alleges the apps fueled her depression and suicidal thoughts and is seeking to hold the companies liable.

Meta and Google have denied the allegations, and pointed to their work to add features that keep users safe. "If we want to win big with teens, we must bring them in as tweens," read one internal Instagram presentation from 2018. "And yet you say that we would never do that," said Lanier. Zuckerberg replied that Lanier was "mischaracterising what I am saying." The CEO said Meta has "had different conversations over time to try to build different versions of services that kids can safely use." For example, he said Meta discussed creating a version of Instagram for children under 13, but ultimately never did. Reuters

• Accenture Ties Promotion to AI Usage

Accenture has reportedly started tracking staff use of its AI tools and will take this into consideration when deciding on top promotions, as the consulting company tries to increase uptake of the technology by its workforce.

The company told senior managers and associate directors that being promoted to leadership roles would require “regular adoption” of artificial intelligence, according to an internal email seen by the Financial Times. The consultancy has also begun collecting data on weekly log-ins to its AI tools by some senior staff members, the FT reports. Accenture has previously said it has trained 550,000 of its 780,000-strong workforce in generative AI, up from only 30 people in 2022, and has announced it is rolling out training to all of its employees as part of its annual $1bn (£740m) annual spend on learning.

Among the tools whose use will reportedly be monitored is Accenture’s AI Refinery. The chief executive, Julie Sweet, has previously said this will “create opportunities for companies to reimagine their processes and operations, discover new ways of working, and scale AI solutions across the enterprise to help drive continuous change and create value”. The company’s aggressive push into AI highlights a wider industry trend of businesses using machine learning tools to help them with speeding up certain tasks so they can focus other resources elsewhere. Financial Times

Minor Headlines

• The U.S. trade deficit surged to $70.3 billion in December, up from $53 billion in November Wall Street Journal

• University of Greenwich and University of Kent merger confirmed StudyTravel

• Oil prices rose on fears of military strikes on Iran CNN

• U.S. Gathers the Most Air Power in the Mideast Since the 2003 Iraq Invasion Wall Street Journal

• South Korean court hands life in prison to ex‑President Yoon for insurrection Reuters

• Bill Gates cancels appearance at India AI summit amid Epstein scrutiny Reuters

• UK reports record-breaking budget surplus of £30.4bn TheGuardian

• SAM Altman and Dario Amodei refuse to hold hands in India Bloomberg

Earnings Headlines

Healthcare

• Moderna beat Q4 earnings and revenue estimates despite a continued decline in Covid-19 vaccine demand and forecast international growth despite a major regulatory setback for their seasonal flu vaccine (RT) 

• Wendy's beat Q4 earnings and revenue estimates despite a 10% decline in US comps and issued a weak outlook as US challenges persist (WSJ)

Technology

• Palo Alto Networks beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates as AI trends boost cybersecurity demand but disappointed on guidance (CNBC) 

• Figma beat Q4 earnings and revenue estimates and gave a solid forecast as AI monetization helps accelerate growth (CNBC) 

Financial Services/Fintech

• eToro beat Q4 earnings and revenue estimates as a 43% rise in stocks, commodities, and FX trading offset a 72% drop in crypto revenue (RT) 

• Klarna beat Q4 revenue estimates but net losses widened on a 59% increase in loan loss provisions (BBG) 

Consumer Discretionary (Homebuilding)

• Toll Brothers beat Q4 earnings and revenue estimates but fell short on order estimates as buyers hold back over prices and economic uncertainty (BBG)

Ecommerce/Retail

• Carvana beat Q4 revenue estimates as rapid expansion helped fuel record car sales but missed on earnings due to higher-than-expected costs (BBG) 

• Walmart beat Q4 earnings and revenue estimates as higher-income shoppers boosted gains in e-commerce, online pickup, and delivery; the firm highlighted a normalized price environment after absorbing tariff impacts (CNBC) 

• Wayfair beat Q4 earnings and revenue estimates with its first annual sales growth since Covid amid a third-straight quarter of new customer growth and healthy growth in repeat orders (CNBC)

Consumer Discretionary (Food Delivery)

• DoorDash missed Q4 earnings and revenue estimates and issued weak guidance due to expenses tied to acquisitions of Deliveroo and Wolt, though growth remains strong (CNBC)

Industrial / Construction & Equipment

• Comfort Systems beat Q4 earnings and revenue estimates with net income surging 130% on unprecedented demand in technology and industrial sectors, including hyperscale data centers (BRN) 

• John Deere issued a Q4 beat-and-raise on surging demand for small farm tractors and construction and forestry equipment despite tariffs (WSJ) 

Real Estate

• Opendoor missed Q4 earnings estimates but boasted accelerating acquisition volumes as it attempts to pivot towards higher velocity and lower capital intensity amid a volatile housing market (SI)