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.

Between 2019 and 2023, oil and gas explorers and producers logged the highest total revenue worldwide, reaching 5.3 trillion U.S. dollars. Life and health insurance carriers followed behind.

Reliance Industries topped the 2023 ranking of the conglomerates with the highest market value worldwide. The conglomerate beat out major players such as Danaher, Honeywell International, 3M, Raytheon Technologies, and Siemens.

Rise of Asian conglomerates European and U.S. companies remained dominant in the 2023 ranking, but Asian conglomerates are on the rise. Reliance Industries of India was the leading publicly traded Asian conglomerate in terms of market value, based on closing prices as of May 5, 2023. CK Hutchinson of Hong Kong made this year's ranking. For many years, this company had been managed by Sir Li Ka-shing, who is the 28th richest individual in the world. CK Hutchison is the parent company of the Hutchison Asia Telecom Group, Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings, A.S. Watson Group, Husky Energy, and Hutchison Port Holdings, one of the largest marine terminal operators globally. Softbank, LG Chem, Itochu, and Mitsui were among the Asian conglomerates that made it into the top 20.

In 2023, Apple was the most valuable consumer technology brand worldwide, with a brand value of more than 880 billion U.S. dollars.

Technology titans hold on to their titles

Technology brands continue to dominate the global brand rankings. According to the same source, in 2023, Apple retained its crown as the top brand worldwide by brand value. That year, the company was the leading tech company worldwide, with a market capitalization of around 2.8 trillion dollars, beating its closest rivals such as Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon.

The epicenter of brand value: The United States

Even though brand leaders come from a mix of different industries, many share the same geographical roots. In 2023, the lion’s share of the world’s 100 most valuable brands was headquartered in the United States, particularly Silicon Valley. Besides that, that year, non-U.S.-based brands which made the top 10 of the list were Chinese technology and entertainment conglomerate Tencent, with a brand value of 141 billion dollars, followed by French luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton, with nearly 125 billion dollars in brand value.

In 2024, 17 enterprises in the media and entertainment industry, such as Tencent Holding and ByteDance, contributed 11.9 percent of the total market cap of the top 500 most valuable non-state-owned companies in the Greater China region. Retail industry, represented by the Alibaba Group and Meituan, made up 7.7 percent of the total market value.

When looking at the leading food and drink service chains by market value, as ranked by Forbes in its 2024 "Global 2000" list of the largest companies worldwide, McDonald's came out on top. The fast food chain accounted for a market value of approximately 196.3 billion U.S. dollars that year. Meanwhile, second in the ranking was Chipotle Mexican Grill, with a market value of 88.26 billion U.S. dollars.

As of November 2024, Electronic Arts was the biggest gaming company in the United States, with a market cap of 42.78 billion U.S. dollars. (Formerly) indie gaming company Roblox Corporation started trading publicly on March 10, 2021, and closed its first day of trading activity with a market cap of over 37 billion U.S. dollars, ahead of several well-established industry heavyweights. Former industry leader Activision Blizzard ceased trading at the end of 2023 when the company's acquisition by Microsoft was completed nearly two years after the original announcement.

In 2023, the finance industry occupied the most spots in the top 500 most valuable companies in China. The likes of Ping An Insurance and Alipay contributed 11 percent of the total market cap of the pack. With 29 companies being listed in the ranking, alcoholic beverage industry represented by Kweichow Moutai and Wuliangye made up over a quarter of the total market value.

This statistic shows the estimated value of various global luxury markets in 2024, by market type. It was estimated that in 2024 the global luxury cars market was worth about 579 billion euros. The total value of the global luxury goods market was approximately 1.5 trillion euros that year. Luxury Goods IndustryThe global luxury goods industry, which includes cars, jets, drinks, fashion, cosmetics, fragrances, watches, jewelry, luggage and handbags, has been on an upward climb for many years. Although the technical term 'luxury good' is independent of the goods' quality, they are generally considered to be goods at the highest end of the market in terms of quality and price. Luxury goods manufacturers meet consumer demand by focusing on brand, aesthetics, quality materials, superior craftsmanship and pricing to transform everyday objects into status symbols. The industry rises and falls with the gross domestic product (GDP), seeing demand climb in times of economic stability and plummeting in unfavorable economic climates. The United States has long been the largest regional market for luxury goods and is estimated to continue to be the leading personal luxury goods market in 2018, with a value of 71 billion euros. Louis Vuitton was the most valuable luxury brand in the world, with a brand value of about 47.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. The LVMH Group's total revenue for the 2018 fiscal year was about 46.83 billion euros.New markets and segments are giving the industry growth points. One challenge for luxury companies is to maintain brand equity and cultivate their customer relationships. As luxury expands into more industries, expect a more mature segmented market. As a result, consumers should also become more rational.

As of November 2024, Nintendo held the top spot among the largest gaming companies by market cap. The multinational gaming company is headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, and develops as well as publishes both video games and gaming consoles. Nintendo’s market cap was 65 billion U.S. dollars, ahead of second-ranked Electronic Arts with 42 billion U.S. dollars. Roblox – a newcomer briefly shakes up the market (Formerly) indie gaming company Roblox Corporation started trading publicly on March 10, 2021, and closed its first day of trading activity with a market cap of over 37 billion U.S. dollars, ahead of several well-established industry heavyweights. After a significant decline throughout 2022 and 2023, Roblox Corporation was still ranked among the biggest gaming companies worldwide, with a market cap of 23.89 billion U.S. dollars in April 2024. Activision Blizzard – a giant exits the stage A summer of litigation caused Activision Blizzard's value to drop and the company to be relegated to second place with a market cap of nearly 46.98 billion U.S. dollars in October 2021 before bouncing back to 67.06 billion U.S. dollars in early 2023. Microsoft purchased the company in January 2022 in one of the biggest video game acquisitions of all time. After months of negotiations with regulatory bodies around the world, the deal was finalized in October 2023, and the company was taken off the market.

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.

In 2023, technology was the most value-creating industry in the Asia-Pacific region, with 23 percent share contribution to ten-year increase in market capitalization. Second most value-creating industry in the region was consumer nondurables, with nine percent share contribution to a decade increase in market capitalization.

In 2025, according to the source's ranking, Apple was the most valuable brand in the world. The technology giant had an estimated brand value of about 574.5 billion U.S. dollars, followed by Microsoft that was worth 461.1 billion dollars. The global dominance of technology companies   A closer look at the 2024 brand ranking reveals that U.S. tech brands once again dominated the top-10 list. As a case in point, the business technology and services platforms industry was the highest-valued sector worldwide among the 100 most valuable brands in 2023. Meanwhile, consumer technology and services platforms ranked second on the list. The importance of brand value Brand value, not to be mistaken with brand equity, is a term used in the marketing industry to describe the value of brands. The term is based on the implication that products with a well-known brand name can generate more money than those with a less well-known name. Strong brands enhance business performance primarily through their influence on three key stakeholder groups: customers, employees, and investors. They influence customer choice and create loyalty; attract, retain, and motivate talent; and lower the cost of financing for the companies.

ExxonMobil has the highest market capitalization of any oil and gas producer worldwide. As of December 18, 2024, the United States-based company had a market cap of 474.71 billion U.S. dollars. Big Oil's place among the ten leading oil and gas companies Of the five largest companies in this ranking, three were considered Big Oil companies. Meanwhile, the Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, which operates the world's largest oil refinery complex and is also involved in retail and telecommunications, ranked fourth, with a market cap of nearly 200 billion U.S. dollars. KPI's of top oil & gas companies While there has been little change in which companies are counted among the largest within their industry, their ranking varies depending on the metric used. Although ExxonMobil has often ranked first in terms of market capitalization, state-owned enterprises such as China's Sinopec are more likely to be found on top of a list of leading oil and gas companies worldwide based on revenue. State-owned enterprises such as Gazprom and PetroChina are furthermore the leading oil and gas companies worldwide based on employment. In 2023 and 2024, their respective workforce consisted of around 400,000 employees.

In 2023, Walt Disney Company was the largest media company worldwide, with a market value of 183 billion U.S. dollars. In second place was Comcast Corporation with a market value of 170 billion U.S. dollars, followed by Charter Communications, Inc. at 53 billion U.S. dollars. Spotlight: Disney’s ever strong presence Not only is Disney a household name loved for its merchandise, theme parks, and near timeless appeal, it is also one of the most valuable media brands in the world. Despite the death of Walt Disney in 1966, the company went from strength to strength and kept up with the pace of every fast-moving market of which it is a part, with the most recent addition being streaming service Disney+. The Walt Disney Company has multiple assets, and its entertainment holdings include Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox, Pixar, and ESPN Inc. These are indisputably Disney’s biggest money makers, as the media and entertainment segment accounts for 65 percent of the total. Spotlight: Comcast competing for customers Comcast, the owner of such entertainment brands as NBCUniversal, Sky, DreamWorks, and Universal Studios, generates the largest share of its revenue from its cable communications segment, at more than 53 percent. However, the growth of the video streaming market and the subsequent increase in cord-cutting in the United States is directly impacting the subscriptions of most companies and Comcast is no stranger to this trend. Since 2018, the company has seen losses in video subscribers intensify year-on-year. Comcast’s ad-supported streaming service, Xumo, competes with Roku, Pluto, and Plex for the number of channels offered to stay in the game and attract consumers.

In 2024, tech companies ranked as the most valuable brands in the world, covering the five top spots in the source’s ranking. Apple led the list with a brand value of nearly 489 billion U.S. dollars, followed by Microsoft, Amazon, and Google – each with brand values of over 290 billion dollars. Samsung closed the top five, at over 100 billion dollars in brand value. Big techs are also huge in terms of market value The source determined brand value by combining financial information, the role the brand plays in determining consumer choice (independent of other factors such as price and convenience), and a qualitative assessment of the brand’s overall strength. Considering only financial data, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet (Google’s parent company) and Microsoft would be still on the top, as they have some of the highest global market capitalizations. However, when considering only qualitative factors regarding brand strength, the list would look very different, with Chinese app WeChat being the strongest brand worldwide in 2024. Brand value vs. profitability Brand value does not always translate into profitability. While Apple also happens to be the second most profitable company in the world, other companies with strong brands such as Google and Amazon rank lower in terms of net income. This phenomenon does not only apply to tech companies – Coca-Cola did not feature on the list of the most profitable companies worldwide. This is likely due to their franchised distribution structure, whereby manufacturing operations are handled by separate companies, each of which operates independently with an exclusive license to manufacture Coca-Cola beverages in their territory.

With a market value of 120 million euros, Victor Osimhen, born in Nigeria, was the most valuable African player in 2023. The 24-year-old plays for Napoli, joining from Lille since September 2020. He was the top scorer for the Serie A, with 26 goals, helping his team secure a third league title in their history. Achraf Hakimi (PSG), the Moroccan right back, and Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), the Egyptian forward, followed with 70 million euros each.

In 2023, the finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing industry contributed the highest amount of value to the GDP of the U.S. at 20.7 percent. The construction industry contributed around four percent of GDP in the same year.

With a market value of 120 million euros, Victor Osimhen, born in Lagos, was the most valuable African forward. The 24-year-old plays for Napoli, joining from LOSC Lille in September 2020. Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian forward playing for Liverpool, followed with 65 million euros. Moreover, it is worth noting that fourteen out of the fifteen most valuable midfielders with African nationalities play in European leagues.

This statistic shows the value of the personal luxury goods market worldwide from 1996 to 2024. In 2024, the value of the personal luxury goods market worldwide was estimated to be 363 billion euros. Luxury goods industryThe global luxury goods industry, which includes drinks, fashion, cosmetics, fragrances, watches, jewelry, luggage and handbags, has been on an upward climb for many years. Although the technical term 'luxury good' is independent of the goods' quality, they are generally considered to be goods at the highest end of the market in terms of quality and price. Luxury goods manufacturers meet consumer demand by focusing on brand, aesthetics, quality materials, superior craftsmanship and pricing to transform everyday objects into status symbols. The industry rises and falls with the gross domestic product (GDP), seeing demand climb in times of economic stability and plummeting in unfavorable economic climates. Most valuable luxury brandsLouis Vuitton was the most valuable luxury brand in the world, with a brand value of about 130 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. The LVMH Group's total revenue for the 2024 fiscal year was about 85 billion euros.New markets and segments are giving the industry growth points. One challenge for luxury companies is to maintain brand equity and cultivate their customer relationships. As luxury expands into more industries, expect a more mature segmented market. As a result, consumers should also become more rational.