Largest UK companies by market cap

The largest UK companies by market cap are those listed on the UK stock exchange with the highest total value of all shares, representing their perceived worth by investors. These companies, such as BP, Shell, Unilever, HSBC Holdings, and GlaxoSmithKline, are considered some of the most valuable and powerful in the country, with a significant impact on the global economy. AstraZeneca, Rio Tinto, and Reckitt Benckiser are also notable high-market cap companies in the UK, reflecting their strong foothold in their respective markets.

London Stock Exchange stock price, live market quote, shares value, historical data, intraday chart, earnings per share and news.

Graph and download economic data for Financial Market: Share Prices for United Kingdom (SPASTT01GBM661N) from Dec 1957 to Oct 2025 about stock market and United Kingdom.

The total market capitalization of all companies trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) took a large hit during the early months of 2020, due mostly part to a mass sell-off of shares caused by the fears surrounding the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Between December 2019 and March 2020, the total value of market capitalization decreased by more than *** billion British pounds (GBP). The overall number of companies currently trading has also been falling. The number of daily trades spiked in March 2020 and then decreased as well. As of February 2025, the total market value of all companies trading on the London Stock Exchange stood at over **** trillion British pounds. European stock exchanges While almost every country has a stock Exchange, in Europe only five exchanges are considered major, with total market capital amounting to over *** trillion euros. The London Stock Exchange is the second largest in Europe and tenth largest worldwide. As of January 2025, Europe’s largest stock exchange, Euronext had a total market capital of listed companies valued at approximately **** trillion U.S. dollars.

United Kingdom's main stock market index, the GB100, fell to 9690 points on December 2, 2025, losing 0.13% from the previous session. Over the past month, the index has declined 0.12%, though it remains 15.91% higher than a year ago, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks this benchmark index from United Kingdom. United Kingdom Stock Market Index (GB100) - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on December of 2025.

United Kingdom UK: Stocks Traded: Total Value data was reported at 2,357.017 USD bn in 2014. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,675.053 USD bn for 2013. United Kingdom UK: Stocks Traded: Total Value data is updated yearly, averaging 487.920 USD bn from Dec 1975 (Median) to 2014, with 40 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3,947.700 USD bn in 2007 and a record low of 19.361 USD bn in 1977. United Kingdom UK: Stocks Traded: Total Value data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Financial Sector. The value of shares traded is the total number of shares traded, both domestic and foreign, multiplied by their respective matching prices. Figures are single counted (only one side of the transaction is considered). Companies admitted to listing and admitted to trading are included in the data. Data are end of year values converted to U.S. dollars using corresponding year-end foreign exchange rates.; ; World Federation of Exchanges database.; Sum; Stock market data were previously sourced from Standard & Poor's until they discontinued their 'Global Stock Markets Factbook' and database in April 2013. Time series have been replaced in December 2015 with data from the World Federation of Exchanges and may differ from the previous S&P definitions and methodology.

Between the first quarter of 2007 and the fourth quarter of 2024, the lowest market capitalization of all companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) was recorded in the first quarter of 2009, at *** trillion British pounds. As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the market capitalization of the entire LSE amounted to *** trillion British pounds. Although the value of companies trading has fluctuated and increased overall, a downward trend can be seen in the number of companies listed on the LSE.

As of May 2025, the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca was the leading company listed on the London Exchange (LSE), with a market capitalization of 159 billion British pounds. This made them the largest of all companies listed on the LSE. Seen as the heart of the global financial community, the London Stock Exchange is the second-largest stock market in Europe and ranks eighth globally. Key information The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is among the largest stock market operators globally and ranks 11th in terms of the oldest stock exchanges in existence, with 224 years of operation as of 2025. Performance after Covid The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound effect on the global economy, causing considerable volatility on the stock market. The London Stock Exchange (LSE) saw a notable decline in the market capitalization value of its listed companies, reaching its lowest value in March 2020 at approximately three trillion British pounds in correlation with a surge in the average daily number of trades, which peaked at over two billion. Following this initial reaction, the LSE observed a decrease in the average daily active traders, alongside a gradual recovery in the market capitalization of the listed companies.

Graph and download economic data for Security Price Index, British Railway Common Shares, Stock Exchange Value for London, Great Britain (M11014GB00LONM324NNBR) from Apr 1887 to Mar 1935 about stocks, United Kingdom, securities, price index, indexes, and price.

As of January 29, 2025, the FTSE index stood at ******** points - well above its average value of around ***** points in the past few years.On the 12th of March 2020, amid the escalating crisis surrounding the coronavirus and fears of a global recession, the FTSE 100 suffered the second largest one day crash in its history and the biggest since the 1987 market crash. On the 23rd of March, the FTSE index saw its lowest value this year to date at ******** but has since began a tentative recovery. With the continuation of the pandemic, the FTSE 100 index was making a tentative recovery between late March 2020 and early June 2020. Since then the FSTE 100 index had plateaued towards the end of July, before starting a tentative upward trend in November. FTSE 100 The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, otherwise known as the FTSE 100 Index is a share index of the 100 largest companies trading on the London Stock Exchange in terms of market capitalization. At the end of March 2024, the largest company trading on the LSE was Shell. The largest ever initial public offering (IPO) on the LSE was Glencore International plc. European stock exchanges While nearly every country in Europe has a stock exchange, only five are considered major, and have a market capital of over one trillion U.S dollars. European stock exchanges make up two of the top ten major stock markets in the world. Europe’s biggest stock exchange is the Euronext which combines seven markets based in Belgium, France, England, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal.

The most complete UK stock market historical price covering 1000 companies from 1988 - 2024. Feedback and suggestions are welcomed.

• 1026 companies
• Start date: 1988-05-03
• End date: 2024-05-22

End-of-day prices refer to the closing prices of various financial instruments, such as equities (stocks), bonds, and indices, at the end of a trading session on a particular trading day. These prices are crucial pieces of market data used by investors, traders, and financial institutions to track the performance and value of these assets over time. The Techsalerator closing prices dataset is considered the most up-to-date, standardized valuation of a security trading commences again on the next trading day. This data is used for portfolio valuation, index calculation, technical analysis and benchmarking throughout the financial industry. The End-of-Day Pricing service covers equities, equity derivative bonds, and indices listed on 170 markets worldwide.

United Kingdom UK: Index: Share Price: FTSE 100 data was reported at 123.755 2010=100 in Sep 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 113.513 2010=100 for Jun 2016. United Kingdom UK: Index: Share Price: FTSE 100 data is updated quarterly, averaging 82.851 2010=100 from Mar 1984 (Median) to Sep 2016, with 131 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 126.719 2010=100 in Jun 2015 and a record low of 19.340 2010=100 in Mar 1984. United Kingdom UK: Index: Share Price: FTSE 100 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.IMF.IFS: Share Price Index: Quarterly.

The United Kingdom: Stock market value traded, percent of GDP: The latest value from 2022 is 25.4 percent, a decline from 27.19 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 34.95 percent, based on data from 74 countries. Historically, the average for the United Kingdom from 1975 to 2022 is 50.17 percent. The minimum value, 5.83 percent, was reached in 1979 while the maximum of 129.28 percent was recorded in 2010.

Graph and download economic data for Volatility of Stock Price Index for United Kingdom (DDSM01GBA066NWDB) from 1985 to 2021 about volatility, stocks, United Kingdom, price index, indexes, and price.

This analysis presents a rigorous exploration of financial data, incorporating a diverse range of statistical features. By providing a robust foundation, it facilitates advanced research and innovative modeling techniques within the field of finance.

FTSE 100: Where to Next?

Financial data:

• Historical daily stock prices (open, high, low, close, volume)

• Fundamental data (e.g., market capitalization, price to earnings P/E ratio, dividend yield, earnings per share EPS, price to earnings growth, debt-to-equity ratio, price-to-book ratio, current ratio, free cash flow, projected earnings growth, return on equity, dividend payout ratio, price to sales ratio, credit rating)

• Technical indicators (e.g., moving averages, RSI, MACD, average directional index, aroon oscillator, stochastic oscillator, on-balance volume, accumulation/distribution A/D line, parabolic SAR indicator, bollinger bands indicators, fibonacci, williams percent range, commodity channel index)

Machine learning features:

• Feature engineering based on financial data and technical indicators

• Sentiment analysis data from social media and news articles

• Macroeconomic data (e.g., GDP, unemployment rate, interest rates, consumer spending, building permits, consumer confidence, inflation, producer price index, money supply, home sales, retail sales, bond yields)

Potential Applications:

• Stock price prediction

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Use Cases:

• Researchers investigating the effectiveness of machine learning in stock market prediction

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Additional Notes:

• The dataset may include different levels of granularity (e.g., daily, hourly)

• Data cleaning and preprocessing are essential before model training

• Regular updates are recommended to maintain the accuracy and relevance of the data

The total market value of basic material companies trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) between January 2018 and December 2023 decreased overall with some fluctuation, reaching its peak at ****** billion British pounds in March 2022. As of December 2023, it amounted to over *** billion British pounds, a more than ** billion decrease compared to the previous year.

The total market value of financial services companies on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) fluctuated between January 2018 and December 2023. 2020 saw the value drop significantly to ****** billion British pounds, a trend that was seen across the entirety of the London Stock Exchange. Overall, as of December 2023, companies reporting under the financial sector had a total market value of over *** billion British pounds, of which financial services companies accounted for ****** billion British pounds.

Prices for United Kingdom Stock Market Index (GB100) including live quotes, historical charts and news. United Kingdom Stock Market Index (GB100) was last updated by Trading Economics this December 2 of 2025.

The FTSE All-Share Index shed around *********** of its value between December 2019 and March 2020, largely due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but likely also influenced by the uncertainty around Brexit at the time. Since then, it has recovered and reached its peak of over ***** points at the end of February 2025.The FTSE All-Share Index is the aggregation of the FTSE 100, FTSE 250 FTSE Small Cap indexes, and represents around ***** percent of the total UK market capitalization. Since December 29, 2017 the index has been comprised of the *** largest U.K. companies by market capitalization on the London Stock Exchange.