Most Valuable Companies in the World - 2024
Today's article is about the top 10 of the most valuable companies in the world.
The rating is based on market capitalization. It is calculated by multiplying the number of shares issued by the company by the value of one such share.
The data in the article is relevant as of April 17, 2023.
By the way, if you look at the rating of the most expensive stock, it will differ significantly from this one.
TOP 10 Most Valuable Companies in the world
Apple Inc.
Industry: electronics, information technology.
Products: Personal computers and tablets, mobile phones, audio players…
In January 2022 Apple's market cap has crossed the $2.535 trillion threshold and today the company holds the #1 position as the most valuable company in the world.
At the same time, Apple continues to occupy the first position on the most expensive brands' list.
Today the company's logo is recognized by many people as Apple became truly the most successful brand. Its value is estimated at $482 billion by experts from rating agencies.
The company was established on 1 April 1976 by Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne, and Steve Jobs. The trio initially engaged in the assembly of home computers and producing proprietary models of PC. But their greatest success came just in recent years when Apple introduced the line of its mobile products to the world — the iPhone smartphones and the iPad tablets.
Nowadays, the range of its products is wide and includes smartwatches, computers and laptops, tablets and smartphones, and more. However, the hallmark of "apple" gadgets' popularity is high quality, stylish design, and a brilliant marketing program by Steve Jobs.
Today the company has thousands of offices, brand stores, and service centers worldwide with a staff of nearly 147,000 employees.
Apple is headquartered in Cupertino, California, USA.
Microsoft
Industry: software development.
Products: Microsoft Office, Microsoft Windows, Xbox.
The second most valuable company in the world is Microsoft.
The internationally famous corporation was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates, who is one of the richest men in the world by now.
At that time, Microsoft was the first software developer that suggested using packaged software for home computers that would thereby make PC experience user-friendly and intuitive.
This software – the Microsoft Windows operating system – was a real breakthrough since it allowed ordinary users to master PC skills easily. The system brought the company an incredible success and huge profits.
Today, Microsoft is one of the leading companies in the PC software market as well. It releases new-generation Windows operating systems, a set of applications to work with documents called Microsoft Office, and many other software programs. Besides, Microsoft produces its own mobile devices and accessories, video, audio, and office equipment.
The company is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA.
Saudi Aramco
Industry: Oil and gas production, refining.
Products: Oil, natural gas and other petrochemical products.
After the successful issue of shares on the stock exchange, Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabian Oil Company) became one of the most expensive companies in the world. It has officially published its financial statements first in 2019. Shortly after the release of the shares on the Tadawul stock exchange, the company's value almost reached 1.9 trillion dollars.
The oil giant has exceeded all expectations with the issued shares: its IPO is considered one of the most successful in history.
However, the global pandemic took a rather heavy toll on Saudi Aramco as the company announced a dip in their earnings in 2020 compared with the previous year.
Still, being considered one of the world's leaders in oil production and reserves, the company is surely on its way back to the very top of the most valuable companies.
They say that Saudi Aramco is going to use almost all the profits for various mergers, purchases, and expansion of its influence in the world.
In particular, the company intends to become a leader in the production of liquefied natural gas.
SA already has branches and subsidiaries in China, Japan, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, the USA, Great Britain, and other countries. The company also collaborates with Lukoil, Royal Dutch Shell, Total SA, Sinopec, and others.
Today, the company is owned by the Saudi Arabian government. The main office is located in Dhahran.
Alphabet Inc.
Industry: Internet.
Google, the internationally famous Internet company, recently changed its official name to Alphabet because the company was out of the scope of Google search engine long ago, and now it owns plenty of other companies as well.
Sergey Brin and Larry Page, who jointly created the mega-company in 1998, are the heads of the Internet holding.
More than thirty popular services and sub-companies are part of the holding: AdWords, Android, YouTube, to name a few.
Google is headquartered in California.
Amazon Inc.
Industry: Retail business.
On January 7, 2019, Amazon became the most expensive company in the world for the first time overtaking its competitor — Microsoft. Today, it closes the top 5 list of the most valuable companies.
Amazon is an American retail company that sells and delivers various goods over the Internet.
Internet users, suppliers, and producers can sell any goods on their own by using Amazon’s website as an online venue.
The company’s major business line is selling various. The popularity of service soared thanks to high-quality goods, low prices, prompt delivery, and a wide assortment.
The company was established in 1994 by Jeff Bezos. Amazon is headquartered in Seattle, WA, USA.
According to the overall estimates, the company employs over 1 million people and has more than $462 billion in assets at the given moment making it one of the biggest companies in the world. Its annual turnover amounts to approximately $514 billion.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Industry: insurance, finances, railway transport, utilities, food, and non-food products.
The company is known for its permanent owner, an American investor and an entrepreneur: Warren Buffett.
The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
Its share price of $453,066 that makes it the world's most expensive stock.
Affiliated companies:
- GEICO (care insurance);
- General Re (reinsurance);
- Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group (insurance);
- Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group (insurance and reinsurance);
- BNSF — (railway transport);
- Berkshire Hathaway Energy (electricity and gas supply);
- McLane Company (wholesale commerce).
Over 40,000 shareholders took part in the 2015 annual meeting.
That’s why the meeting earned the facetious nickname "Woodstock for Capitalists".
Tesla, Inc.
Industry: Automotive and solar energy.
Tesla is the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer, which also produces solar panels and batteries. At the end of 2020, Tesla and 27 other US companies formed the Zero Emission Transport Association (ZETA), which will promote the transition of all US vehicles to electric traction. The company currently has several electric vehicle models, including a sedan, crossover, roadster, and even a large truck for cargo.
Tesla was founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Mark Tarpenning, and Elon Musk became the main investor of the company and the chairman of the board of directors only in 2004. Although Musk was not the founder of the startup, he was the one to help the company achieve such heights and worldwide fame.
Tesla is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA.
Meta Platforms Inc (Facebook)
Industry: Internet.
Facebook was developed by Mark Zuckerberg in February 2004. The Facebook social network is currently visited by more than 2 billion people every day. And the market value of $445 billion is simply an astronomical indicator of popularity for an Internet project.
Today, Facebook yields more than $29 billion net yearly profit due to online advertising. Moreover, the company is a leader in this TOP 10 list in terms of profitability, since its net profit increased by almost 56% within the past year alone.
Facebook is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, USA.
Visa Inc.
Industry: Financial Services.
Visa Inc. was founded in 1958. It is an international company that conducts payment transactions and bank transfers between financial institutions.
Visa is the second-largest payment system in the world based on issued cards and transaction data. You can pay with Visa cards in more than 200 countries.
Most of the company's transactions are processed using the VisaNet electronic payment network.
Remarkable is that the company has four centers for processing these transfers, which are located in Colorado, Virginia, London, and Singapore. They are well protected from possible criminal interference and natural disasters.
The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA.
Tencent
Industry: Internet.
Products: Social networking, instant messaging, mass media, web portals, etc.
Tencent is a venture company, a conglomerate, an investment holding, and one of the largest companies in the gaming industry.
This Chinese giant, founded in 1998, occupies the 9th position in the ranking of the most expensive companies worldwide.
Its services include social networks, mobile games, music, web portals, payment systems, e-commerce, Internet services, smartphones, and multiplayer online games, which are among the largest and most successful in the world in their respective categories.
The headquarter of Tencent Seafront Towers (also known as Tencent Binhai Mansion) is located in Nanshan District, Shenzhen.
Out Of Ten most valuable companies
Johnson & Johnson
Industry: pharmaceuticals.
Products: producing drugs and medical equipment.
Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational company producing medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer products. The company was founded by three brothers – Robert Wood Johnson, James Wood Johnson, and Edward Mead Johnson – in 1886. Originally, the brothers produced bandages and plasters. Later, in 1893, they produced baby powder as well.
About 250 affiliate companies located in 60 countries and selling to more than 175 countries are part of the corporation.
The company is headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
JPMorgan Chase
Industry: banking business.
JPMorgan Chase is the largest commercial bank in the USA and the 5th largest in terms of total assets in the world.
What once was the Chemical Bank forms the core of today's JPMorgan Chase. JPMorgan Chase retains Chemical Bank's pre-1996 stock price history, as well as its old headquarters.
The "J.P. Morgan" brand, historically known as "Morgan", offers investment and banking services, private banking services, manages assets, and private wealth.
JPMorgan Chase is headquartered in 270 Park Avenue, Manhattan, New York, USA.
Alibaba Group
Industry: Internet.
Products: E-commerce, online auction hosting, online money transfers, mobile commerce.
The Alibaba company is one of the biggest virtual trading platforms in China and the world, attracting the attention of buyers by both affordable prices and a wide range of goods presented.
Founded on April 4, 1999, the company provides consumer, business-consumer and business services through web portals, as well as electronic payment services, a search system for customers, and cloud computing.
The headquarter is located in Hangzhou, China.
Market capitalization as a method of valuing a company
Market capitalization, along with annual income and total assets, is one of the methods for evaluation of the investment attractiveness of a company.
Using market capitalization to show the size of a company is important because the size of a company is the main factor determining the various characteristics investors are interested in, including risks.
As market capitalization is the number of shares multiplied by their value, it is not the price at which the owner will necessarily sell their company.
Despite the companies might be over- or undervalued by the market, to get the real value of a company, we should consider its activity from a fundamental point of view.
