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 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.

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.

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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.

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Graph and download economic data for Market Capitalization Outside of Top 10 Largest Companies to Total Market Capitalization for Spain (DDAM02ESA156NWDB) from 1998 to 2020 about market cap, Spain, companies, and stock market.

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.

Sweden Share Trading: OMX Stockholm: Large Cap: Market Capitalization data was reported at 5,841,197,093.311 SEK th in Oct 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6,381,683,955.431 SEK th for Sep 2018. Sweden Share Trading: OMX Stockholm: Large Cap: Market Capitalization data is updated monthly, averaging 3,937,079,498.000 SEK th from Oct 2006 (Median) to Oct 2018, with 145 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6,382,585,867.283 SEK th in Aug 2018 and a record low of 1,874,067,343.029 SEK th in Jan 2009. Sweden Share Trading: OMX Stockholm: Large Cap: Market Capitalization data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Stockholm Stock Exchange. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Sweden – Table SE.Z004: OMX Stockholm Stock Exchange: Share Trading.

Graph and download economic data for Market Capitalization Outside of Top 10 Largest Companies to Total Market Capitalization for Ireland (DDAM02IEA156NWDB) from 1998 to 2018 about Ireland, market cap, companies, and stock market.

Big Shopping reported ILS12.56B in Market Capitalization this March of 2025, considering the latest stock price and the number of outstanding shares.Data for Big Shopping | BIG - Market Capitalization including historical, tables and charts were last updated by Trading Economics this last March in 2025.

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Graph and download economic data for Market Capitalization Outside of Top 10 Largest Companies to Total Market Capitalization for Japan (DDAM02JPA156NWDB) from 1998 to 2020 about market cap, companies, stock market, and Japan.

Graph and download economic data for Market Capitalization Outside of Top 10 Largest Companies to Total Market Capitalization for Greece (DDAM02GRA156NWDB) from 1998 to 2020 about Greece, market cap, companies, and stock market.

Ireland Market Capitalization: Irish Stock Exchange: Main Securities Market: Included in ISEQ data was reported at 121,835.000 EUR mn in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 100,199.000 EUR mn for 2016. Ireland Market Capitalization: Irish Stock Exchange: Main Securities Market: Included in ISEQ data is updated yearly, averaging 74,124.000 EUR mn from Dec 1998 (Median) to 2017, with 20 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 121,835.000 EUR mn in 2017 and a record low of 31,398.000 EUR mn in 2008. Ireland Market Capitalization: Irish Stock Exchange: Main Securities Market: Included in ISEQ data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Irish Stock Exchange. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ireland – Table IE.Z002: Irish Stock Exchange: Market Capitalization.

This horizontal bar chart displays market cap ($) by sector and is filtered where the company is BSL. The data is about companies.

As of Janaury 2025, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq - the two largest stock exchange operators in the United States - held a combined market capitalization for domestic listed companies of over 62 trillion U.S. dollars. Both markets were almost evenly sized at this point in time - at approximately 32 and 30 trillion U.S. dollars, respectively. However, the Nasdaq has grown much quicker than the NYSE since January 2018, when their respective domestic market caps were 23 and 11 trillion U.S. dollars. Much of this can be attributed to the success of information technology stocks during the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as the Nasdaq is the traditional venue for companies operating in the tech sector.