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.

Apple retained its position as the world’s most valuable brand in 2025, with an estimated brand value of nearly *** trillion U.S. dollars. Google ranked second, having been valued at *** billion dollars. Overall, the brand ranking was dominated by U.S.-based tech companies. Apple’s brand is synonymous with simplicity and innovation Apple is a California-based technology titan specializing in consumer electronics, software, and online services. According to the company’s latest filings, Apple’s global revenue reached *** billion U.S. dollars in 2024, with the iPhone being its most profitable operating segment. In addition to its signature smartphone, Apple’s other breakthrough products include the Mac computer, iPad tablet, and Apple Watch, all of which are continuously updated to match consumer needs and preferences. Nvidia Climbs into the Top 5 as AI Boom Accelerates A leading force in artificial intelligence, Nvidia reached the top five most valuable global brands for the first time in 2025. Behind the chips driving many of today’s generative AI applications, Nvidia is among the leading tech companies in terms of market capitalization, with a valuation of over ***** trillion U.S. dollars.

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.

As of May 23, 2025, Microsoft was the leading tech company by market capitalization globally at 3.38 trillion U.S. dollars. Nvidia ranked second at 3.24 trillion U.S. dollars. Tech company stocks were impacted through 2025 as a result of various global tariff threats by the United States government. Apple among the leaders 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.

Google is a California-based, multinational internet company which provides digital products and services such as online search and advertising, cloud computing and software. As of 2020, Google was ranked as the third most valuable brand in the United States, with a brand value of around 303 billion U.S. dollars. Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Visa were the top five most valuable brands that year. Except for Visa, these companies also feature at the top of the rankings for most valuable global brands, showing the size of U.S. brands in the global market.

Brand value
Brand value, not to be mistaken with brand equity, is a commonly used phrase in the marketing industry. It describes the value of brands based on the assumption that the owner of a well-known brand name can generate more money compared to products with a less well-known name.

Nation brand value
When it comes to nation brand value, the United States was the leading country by some distance in 2019, valued at more than billion more than brand value of second placed China. Nation brand value refers to the impact of a country’s national image on a country’s economy and the brands based in the country.

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 ** percent of the total market cap of the pack. With ** 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.

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.

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.

As of January 2025, Amazon's market capitalization surpassed 2.4 trillion U.S. dollars, making it the most valuable internet company by market capitalization worldwide. Second-ranked Alphabet had a market capitalization of approximately 2.2 trillion U.S. dollars. Social networking company Meta Platforms (née Facebook Inc.) ranked third. Facebook is the leading social network worldwide and has successfully taken advantage of the increasingly mobile online environment. Amazon's position in the market Amazon is one of the biggest internet companies worldwide by revenue. It generates profit from its position as the world's largest online retailer. In 2023, the company's net sales revenue amounted to 574.78 billion U.S. dollars. The e-commerce giant's net revenue, generated through online stores, was 231.87 billion U.S. dollars. Google and its most profitable services Google, with the parent company Alphabet inc, generates its revenue mainly from advertising. The company uses its advertisement services, such as Google AdWords – which takes advantage of Google searches and appears as small advertisements next to search results – and Google AdSense, which generates advertisements based on a user's search history and location, among others. Advertisements based on AdSense appear across Google-owned sites, including YouTube and Google Finance. The online company also profits from the development of Android OS, licensing, and mobile apps. In 2024, Google’s total revenue amounted to 348.16 billion U.S. dollars.

As of 2024, Google was the most valuable media brand in the world, with an estimated brand value of about ****** billion U.S. dollars. TikTok/Douyin took the second place, with a brand value of nearly **** billion dollars. The Chinese short-form video platform ranked ahead of Facebook. TikTok: A global social media marketing sensation Initially, many thought TikTok was just a passing fad, a craze that would soon fade away. However, the platform has proven to be a powerhouse of social media. As of April 2024, the digital playground owned by Beijing-based tech company ByteDance was one of the most popular social media networks worldwide, with more than *** billion monthly active users. This popularity has made TikTok attractive for brands to reach and engage with potential customers. In fact, TikTok was one of the leading social media platforms among marketers worldwide. Around ** percent used the network to promote their brands, products, or services. The recent restrictions on the platform in the United States will likely continue to be watched by marketing experts and users alike. Most valuable brand in the world Brand value is a term marketers use to describe a brand's worth. In 2024, Apple was the highest-valued brand worldwide. The company had an estimated brand value of roughly *** billion dollars.

The most expensive internet company operating in Russia as of February 2025 was Yandex, whose value was measured at over ** billion U.S. dollars. Founded in 1997, it provides services such as search, maps, advertising, e-commerce, or taxi. The second-leading business on the list was Ozon, an online marketplace. The third-leading company was Wildberries, founded in 2004, the largest online retailer in Russia.

In 2025, Apple was the most valuable consumer technology brand worldwide, with a brand value of roughly *** trillion 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 2025, Apple retained its crown as the top brand worldwide by brand value. That year, the company was among the top three leading tech company worldwide, with a market capitalization of around ***** trillion dollars. 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 2025, the lion’s share of the world’s 100 most valuable brands was headquartered in the United States, particularly Silicon Valley.

In 2009, Ecxxon Mobil Corp had a market capitalization of approximately ****** 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.

According to Milward Brown's BrandZ China Top 100 ranking in 2020, Alibaba was the most valuable retail brand in China, with an estimated brand value of over 153 billion U.S. dollars. Many Chinese retail companies have launched their e-commerce platforms to maximize their earnings in big shopping festivals. On Singles' Day in 2020, Alibaba earned over 74 billion U.S. dollars in China.

As of September 11, 2024, the largest company in Singapore is the DBS Group, with a market capitalization of ***** billion Singapore dollars. The largest three companies in Singapore by market capitalization were two of its largest banks, followed by consumer internet company Sea Limited. DBS, OCBC, and UOB - stalwarts of Singapore’s financial sector Singapore’s three largest banking groups – DBS Group, OCBC, and UOB, are seen as stable stock market investments. They routinely make up the top three leading companies by market capitalization and rank consistently among the most valuable brands in Singapore. Despite the global economic turmoil, these three banks were forecast to turn profits in 2023, being among the biggest beneficiaries of rising interest rates in the Asia-Pacific region. Singapore is a leading financial hub in the Asia-Pacific region, and its financial sector makes up the third-largest sector of its economy. Sea Limited and Grab - volatility of tech companies in the stock market Among the largest companies in Singapore are two of its biggest tech companies, Sea Limited and Grab Holdings. Sea Limited operates the e-commerce marketplace Shopee and online gaming company Garena, while Grab Holdings is a super-app that provides ride-hailing, food delivery, and digital payment services. Despite the popularity of their services, both companies have faced a turbulent year, with Grab Holdings seeing their share prices drop during the first day of trading. Once valued more than DBS, OCBC, and UOB combined, Sea Limited saw its valuation drop in 2022 amidst net losses of around *** billion U.S. dollars in 2021.

In 2025, the self-assembly furniture retailer IKEA was the most valuable Swedish brand. The brand's value stood at *** billion Swedish kronor that year. Volvo came second, with a value of *** billion kronor. These two Swedish brands were also among the most valuable in the whole Nordic area, including Danish, Finnish, and Norwegian brands. Why is IKEA the most valuable Swedish brand? According to the source, the reason for the strength of IKEA’s value is that Sweden in general has a high reputation regarding self-assembly home furniture. Consumers recognize good quality, as well as convenience and low prices. The retailer owns *** stores worldwide and is still expanding. Furthermore, the company committed to supporting its stores with a higher online presence, as well as to becoming a circular retailer. Which sectors are most valuable? Strongly represented among the leading Swedish brands were also financial institutions. Nordea was the most valuable banking brand in 2025, at roughly ** billion kronor. Banks accounted for the second-highest share of brand values among all industries in Sweden, preceded only by retailer brands.

Dublin-based Accenture was by far the world’s most valuable IT services brand in 2025, with a brand value of 41.5 billion U.S. dollars. TCS and Infosys rounded out the top three brands.

In 2021, Apple was the largest publicly traded company in California based on revenue. That year, they had a revenue of ****** billion U.S. dollars. Alphabet, Chevron, Wells Fargo and Meta rounded out the top five publicly traded companies in California. Apple Apple is a multinational company headquartered in California. It was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. Known for their popular iPhones and Mac computers, they have further expanded into other products such as iPods, Apple Watch, Apple TV, Air Pods, and Apple Pay. It is now one of the world’s largest and most valuable companies. Their worldwide revenue has increased dramatically since 2004, with the largest share of their sales since 2012 coming from the Americas. Despite being one of the most successful technology companies, it has faced a lot of criticism from consumers. Some of the criticisms include tax avoidance, sweatshop use, and environmental destruction. Fortune 500 Companies In 2021, New York and California had the highest number of Fortune 500 companies, followed by Texas, Illinois, and Ohio. For New York, this can be attributed to its being the financial and cultural hub of the country. Fortune 500 Companies are ranked by Fortune magazine, which ranks the the top 500 companies in the United States based on revenue. Companies on this list are both publicly and privately held. The companies that get listed have changed over the years, for a variety of reasons such as company acquisitions, bankruptcies, and changes in the economy.

This statistic presents the ten most valuable technology corporations in Taiwan as of December 2017. During the time period in consideration, the most valuable tech company in Taiwan was the Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer, TSMC, which was worth around six trillion New Taiwan dollars.

In 2024, Vanke, a property development company based in Shenzhen, China, had a brand value of close to 10.5 billion U.S. dollars and was the most valuable real estate brand globally. Eight of the top ten most valuable real estate companies worldwide were based in China. The Texas-headquartered real estate company CBRE, and Dubai-headquartered EMAAR, were the two non-Chinese companies that made the top 10 ranking.