Amazon posts strong Q4 results, seller share hits $575B, Walmart opens WFS exports, and Brand Registry tightens rules for licensed co-branding
News #1. Amazon Q4 2025 Earnings — Revenue Up 14%, Rufus Already “Generated” $12B in Sales
Amazon reported $213.4 billion in net revenue for Q4 2025, up 14% year over year. Revenue in North America — driven primarily by the U.S. marketplace — rose 10% to $127.1 billion, while the International segment delivered $50.7 billion, a 17% increase compared to Q4 2024.
What happened
Beyond the headline numbers, Amazon is accelerating purchases through two core levers: faster delivery and in-app decision support.
Same-Day Delivery: In the U.S., Amazon delivered nearly 70% more same-day orders than a year earlier. Almost 100 million customers used the service.
Rufus (AI shopping assistant): In 2025, 300+ million shoppers interacted with Rufus. Amazon estimates the assistant contributed $12 billion in incremental sales.
Amazon Lens (visual search): Usage grew 45% year over year, signaling that more shoppers are searching by image rather than keywords.
Why it matters
Customer behavior is shifting. Previously, sales were driven primarily by search and search ads. Now, many shoppers arrive at decisions through questions like “Will this work for me?”, “What’s the difference?”, or “What’s a good alternative?” — with Rufus actively guiding them to an answer.
This is no longer just a convenience feature. Amazon is explicitly tying billions in revenue to this AI-assisted discovery flow.
What it means for Amazon sellers
Your listing must be understandable to Rufus, not just humans. Clear attributes, compatibility details, variation logic, and answers to common buyer questions increase the chances of being surfaced in AI recommendations instead of getting buried in search results.
Delivery speed is once again a competitive weapon. As same-day delivery becomes more common, listings that are fully “sale-ready” — stable stock, clean variations, compliant packaging, and predictable delivery times — gain an edge.
Amazon Lens is a separate signal. If shoppers search by photo, your main image and gallery must instantly communicate what the product is and how it’s different — at a glance.
Takeaway
Amazon’s growth is increasingly driven by AI-guided discovery and logistics speed, not just keyword search. Sellers who adapt listings for Rufus, optimize for visual clarity, and maintain fast fulfillment will be best positioned as these behaviors continue to scale in 2026.
News #2. Amazon Surpasses $800B in Gross Merchandise Volume in 2025
Amazon generated an estimated $830 billion in GMV in 2025, according to analysts. Of that total, $255 billion came from Amazon’s own retail operations (first-party sales), while $575 billion was driven by third-party sellers on the Marketplace.
What happened
Third-party sellers account for 69% of GMV by value, yet their share of units sold has remained steady at 61–62% for five consecutive quarters. In other words, sellers are growing primarily by selling higher-priced products, while Amazon continues to dominate low-priced, high-velocity categories such as consumables and everyday essentials.
Notably, daily-use items made up roughly one-third of all units sold in the U.S. Amazon store and grew nearly twice as fast as other categories in 2025.
Why it matters
Amazon is widening its advantage on three fronts simultaneously: price, delivery speed, and product visibility.
In 2025, Amazon invested about $200 billion in infrastructure, including data centers and AI capacity.
The AI shopping assistant Rufus is estimated to have generated ~$12 billion in incremental sales.
Amazon Haul expanded to 1+ million products priced under $10.
Amazon delivered 8+ billion items in the U.S. via same-day or next-day shipping, and Prime item deliveries grew 30% year over year.
As noted in earlier updates, Amazon was named the lowest-priced online retailer for the ninth consecutive year.
What it means for Amazon sellers
In low and mid-price categories, Amazon is becoming increasingly aggressive on price and speed. For many sellers, this makes margin preservation difficult once discounts, ads, and fees are factored in.
As a result, sellers are better positioned in segments where brand, differentiation, and higher average order value matter. Competing head-to-head with Amazon on commodity pricing often leads to margin erosion.
Amazon’s U.S. sales are estimated at ~$440 billion — about 53% of its global GMV and roughly 36% of total U.S. e-commerce. At this scale, Amazon is not just the largest marketplace; it is larger than several of its closest competitors combined.
TakeawayAmazon’s dominance and the slowdown from double-digit to single-digit growth reflect a mature marketplace. Beating Amazon from the outside is becoming harder. For sellers, the winning strategy increasingly lies in competing intelligently within the platform — through branding, differentiation, and operational excellence — rather than trying to ignore its gravitational pull.
News #3. Walmart Opens Exports for WFS — Another Reason Not to Rely Only on Amazon
Walmart is launching Walmart Exports. Starting in early 2026, sellers using Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) will be able to sell to customers in Canada and Mexico directly from their existing U.S. inventory. Enrollment will be automatic (opt-out).
What happened
In a notice to sellers, Walmart confirmed that WFS items will be listed on Walmart.com with delivery to Canada and Mexico. Picking, packing, and cross-border shipping are handled entirely by Walmart. Sellers do not need separate warehouses or country-specific inventory.
Why it matters
This is a direct move toward an FBA-like expansion model: sellers can access new markets without changing operations. The economics are also notable—there’s no additional program fee. Sellers pay standard WFS and referral fees, while shipping costs, duties, and taxes are charged to the buyer at checkout.
What it means for Amazon sellers
For sellers considering international expansion beyond Amazon, Walmart Exports offers a low-friction second channel. A few steps are still required:
Register on Walmart and send inventory to WFS;
Review eligible SKUs;
Opt out specific countries or products if needed in Seller Center (Shipping Profile → Walmart Exports).
News #4. Brand Registry Tightens License Controls: Co-Branding Now Requires Verification
Amazon has added a new feature to Brand Registry called Manage co-brand relationships. It’s a dedicated portal where brand owners must formally confirm relationships between two brands appearing on the same product—such as collaborations, licenses, or co-branded merchandise. The goal is to protect legitimate licenses and eliminate unauthorized brand usage.
What ahppened
A new Co-brand relationships section is now live in Brand Registry. One brand sends a request to confirm a relationship; the second brand must approve or reject it. The relationship is not active until approved by the second brand’s administrator. If there is no response, the request automatically expires after 30 days.
Why it matters
Amazon states three main objectives:
Prevent legitimate co-branded products from being wrongly blocked and ensure correct catalog display;
Verify the authenticity of licenses and clarify who has the legal right to sell such products;
Use verified partnership data to improve search and recommendation accuracy.
In practice, this adds another barrier against gray-market listings. Selling licensed or collaborative products without transparent rights just became significantly harder.
What it means for Amazon sellers
If you sell licensed or co-branded products, keep documentation clean and plan time for Brand Registry confirmation (you’ll need a contact email from the second brand).
If the second brand is not registered in Brand Registry, the relationship cannot be created—they must register first.
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