With a market capitalization of 3.12 trillion U.S. dollars as of May 2024, Microsoft was the world’s largest company that year. Rounding out the top five were some of the world’s most recognizable brands: Apple, NVIDIA, Google’s parent company Alphabet, and Amazon. Saudi Aramco led the ranking of the world's most profitable companies in 2023, with a pre-tax income of nearly 250 billion U.S. dollars. How are market value and market capitalization determined? Market value and market capitalization are two terms frequently used – and confused - when discussing the profitability and viability of companies. Strictly speaking, market capitalization (or market cap) is the worth of a company based on the total value of all their shares; an important metric when determining the comparative value of companies for trading opportunities. Accordingly, many stock exchanges such as the New York or London Stock Exchange release market capitalization data on their listed companies. On the other hand, market value technically refers to what a company is worth in a much broader context. It is determined by multiple factors, including profitability, corporate debt, and the market environment as a whole. In this sense it aims to estimate the overall value of a company, with share price only being one element. Market value is therefore useful for determining whether a company’s shares are over- or undervalued, and in arriving at a price if the company is to be sold. Such valuations are generally made on a case-by-case basis though, and not regularly reported. For this reason, market capitalization is often reported as market value. What are the top companies in the world? The answer to this question depends on the metric used. Although the largest company by market capitalization, Microsoft's global revenue did not manage to crack the top 20 companies. Rather, American multinational retailer Walmart was ranked as the largest company in the world by revenue. Walmart also had the highest number of employees in the world.

In 1989, the Industrial Bank of Japan had a market capitalization of approximately 104.29 billion U.S dollars, making it the largest company in the world at the time. Six of the ten largest companies worldwide in 1989 were based in Japan while the remaining four were American, highlighting the economic dominance of these two countries in the late 1980s.

In 2009, Ecxxon Mobil Corp had a market capitalization of approximately 327.71 billion U.S dollars, making it the largest company in the world at the time. Five of the ten largest companies worldwide in 2009 were based in the United States, with three from Europe and two from China.

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As of March 3, 2025, Apple was the leading tech company by market capitalization globally at 3.62 trillion U.S. dollars. Nvidia ranked second at just over three trillion U.S. dollars, a figure that tumbled in January 2025 following the dramatic release and success of DeepSeek's AI model. The Chinese-made AI model jumped to the top of the Apple Store in late January, stunning investors, and sinking multiple tech stocks. Apple leads the pack Since its foundation in a Californian garage in 1976, Apple has expanded massively, becoming one of the most valuable companies in the world. The company started its origins in the PC industry with the Macintosh, but soon entered other segments of the consumer electronics market. Today, the iPhone is the most popular Apple product, although Mac, iPad, wearables, and services also contribute to its high revenues. Aiming at innovation, Apple invests every year in research and development, spanning a wide array of technologies from AI through to extended reality. Nvidia's immense growth With a focus that began with origins in gaming, Nvidia's business strategy has been transformed by demand from data centers that sit at the heart of the AI boom. The company's chips have been favored to support in the training and running of a range of large language models, most notably in the development of OpenAI's ChatGPT.

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The NYSE U.S. 100 Index tracks the largest U.S. companies traded on the New York Stock Exchange. This statistic shows the leading 20 companies on the NYSE U.S. 100 Index by market capitalization. As of January 28, 2024 the multinational conglomerate company Berkshire Hathaway ranked as the first, with a market capitalization of over 900 billion euros. This was followed by Eli Lilly and JP Morgan Chase, with market capitalizations amounting to 695 billion and 678 billion euros respectively. NYSE U.S. 100 Index vs. Nasdaq 100 Index The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq are the largest two stock exchanges in the world, but they differ in the kinds of companies they list. The NYSE is known to list stable and long-lasting firms, commonly referred to as “blue-chip” companies. In contrast, the Nasdaq is renowned for listing the world’s biggest companies, mainly from the tech industry. Similar to the NYSE U.S. 100 Index, the Nasdaq 100 Index tracks the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange, including both U.S. and non-U.S. companies. The leader of the NYSE U.S. 100 index: Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway, the leader of the NYSE U.S. 100 Index, was also among the world's largest companies by revenue in 2023. The company is a multinational conglomerate and holding company with insurance as its core business and interests in other sectors such as railroad, utilities and energy, finance. In fact, Berkshire was the world's biggest insurance company by revenue in 2023. As a holding company, it has significant stakes in some of the world’s largest companies, including Apple, Bank of America and Coca-Cola. With its diverse background in various businesses and industries, Berkshire Hathaway had a total revenue of 365 billion U.S. dollars in 2023.

Toyota Motor was the leading domestic company in Japan based on market capitalization, which amounted to close to 42.5 trillion Japanese yen in February 2025. Sony Group ranked second with a market capitalization of around 23 trillion yen. With an aggregate market capitalization of over 996 trillion yen in 2024, the Tokyo Stock Exchange is one of the largest stock exchanges in the world.

With a market cap of over two trillion U.S. dollars, Amazon ranks first among the leading large cap e-commerce companies worldwide. According to December 2024 data, the e-commerce giant ranks ahead of Alibaba and Pinduoduo. During the measured period, Alibaba's market cap amounted to over 200 billion U.S. dollars. Amazon is one of the most valuable brands worldwide Ranked fourth out of the leading brands worldwide, Amazon continues to grow, with its brand value estimated at 577 billion U.S. dollars. Amazon.com was founded in 1994 and has since become one of the world’s largest e-commerce retailers selling goods like books, clothing, electronics, and even having its own subscription service, Amazon Prime. In 2023, the company achieved a net sales revenue of 575 billion U.S. dollars, showing its continued profitability. Despite its worldwide popularity, Amazon’s annual net sales revenue is remarkably higher in North America (353 billion U.S. dollars) when compared to how the company performs internationally (131 billion U.S. dollars). A closer look at Amazon's third-party sellers Most of Amazon's units (61 percent) are sold by third-party (3P) sellers, meaning independent sellers who list and sell products on the marketplace but do not sell the products to the platform itself. In 2023, Amazon made 140 billion U.S. dollars in global net revenue from 3P sales alone. However, in Amazon's biggest market, the United States, most sellers use a hybrid model (74 percent), this includes both 3P and first-party (1P) sellers, with the latter being a business or manufacturer that sells its products directly to a retailer or platform.

As of January 1, 2025, tech giants Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft , Amazon, and Alphabet (Google) dominated the S&P 500 index and were the among only nine companies with a market capitalization exceeding one trillion U.S. dollars in the U.S.

As of March 3, 2025, Nvidia ranked as the leading semiconductor company in terms of market capitalization at 3.05 trillion U.S. dollars, followed by the likes of TSMC, Broadcom, ASML, and Samsung. Many of the leading semiconductor stocks tumbled upon the debut of DeepSeek's powerful AI model in January 2025, wiping nearly 600 billion U.S. dollars from Nvidia's market cap alone. Nonetheless, the mix of companies featured on the list reflects the broad and complex nature of the semiconductor industry, with firms coming from across all parts of the chip ecosystem. Regional highlights The global semiconductor industry is dominated by companies from North America and the Asia-Pacific region. As a result, China, South Korea, and Taiwan rank as some of the biggest regional markets for semiconductor equipment spending. One of the world’s leading chip-making machine manufacturers, and the only company in the world producing extreme ultraviolet lithography, or EUV, machines, is ASML based in Europe. ASML supplies its machines to the likes of TSMC, who are then contracted to manufacture chips for Nvidia. A dynamic industry In 2025, the semiconductor industry is expected to grow strongly, with forecasts suggesting the market could rise to just below 700 billion U.S. dollars. Nonetheless, companies across the whole supply chain must continue to navigate a challenging and changing world. Geopolitical tensions, such as the ongoing tech competition between the United States and China, as well as the growth of the AI chip market, will have a profound influence on the semiconductor industry moving forward.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the largest stock exchange in the world, with an equity market capitalization of just below 32 trillion U.S. dollars as of January 2025. The following three exchanges were the NASDAQ, Shanghai Stock Exchange, and the Japan Exchange Group. What is a stock exchange? A stock exchange is a marketplace where stockbrokers, traders, buyers, and sellers can trade in equities products. The largest exchanges have thousands of listed companies. These companies sell shares of their business, giving the general public the opportunity to invest in them. The oldest stock exchange worldwide is the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, founded in the late sixteenth century. Other functions of a stock exchange Since these are publicly traded companies, every firm listed on a stock exchange has had an initial public offering (IPO). The largest IPOs can raise billions of dollars in equity for the firm involved. Related to stock exchanges are derivatives exchanges, where stock options, futures contracts, and other derivatives can be traded.