The COVID-19 pandemic brought about many problems. Volatility in the stock markets was unpredictably large. That, in its turn, led to the repeated change of leaders in the ranking of the world’s largest companies by market capitalization.
We recently published an article about the top-10 largest companies in the world. There, the rating was based on four different criteria, including profit and volume of sales. Here we will talk about the top-10 most valuable companies in the world. This rating is built only on one number – their market capitalization, that is, the total value of all their shares as a result of operations in 2022.
- 10. Meta (Facebook) – $460.5 billion
- 9. Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer TSMC – $445.56 billion
- 8. Tencent – $473.22 billion
- 7. Berkshire Hathaway – $614.06 billion
- 6. Tesla – $763.66 billion
- 5. Amazon – $1.184 trillion
- 4. Alphabet (Google) – $1.555 trillion
- 3. Microsoft – $2.002 trillion
- 2. Saudi Aramco – $2.180 trillion
- 1. Apple Inc. – $2.292 trillion
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Financial experts use various parameters to calculate the value of the world’s largest company. We will use market capitalization.
The annual list of the most valuable largest companies in the world has not undergone drastic changes compared to the listings of the past two years. However, due to investors, distribution, management, customers, revenue, share price and other factors, the rating has been changing regularly. For example, companies such as PayPal, Amazon, and Netflix have increased their revenues. They have benefited from the COVID-19 pandemic, because people developed a preference for online shopping, e-commerce and digital payments.
Market capitalization is one of the most popular metrics used to test the performance of the world’s most valuable companies. It corresponds to the current market value of the shares of the publicly traded companies.
Following is our ranking of the Top-10 most valuable companies in the world.
10. Meta (Facebook) – $319.88 billion
- Market sector: technology and the Internet;
- Products: Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp;
- Income based on latest estimates: $116 billion;
- Latest earnings: $43.89 billion.
Meta Platforms Inc. is the parent organization of the social network Facebook. The holding has a market capitalization of 319.88 billion and is the 10th most valuable company by market capitalization in the world. Facebook or Meta is the most popular social network on the planet with 2.963 billion users as of January 2023.
Meta is run by Mark Zuckerberg, a founder of Facebook. He created these assets in 2004. In the past, the company acquired many social platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Oculus.
The number of employees of one of the most valuable companies is nearly 50,000 people worldwide (more than 60% of which work from locations outside the United States).
9. Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer TSMC – $378.45 billion
- Market sector: semiconductors, technology, manufacturing and technical equipment;
- Products: integrated circuits, solar panels and other related services;
- Annual revenue based on latest news: $71.981 billion;
- Latest earnings: $32.89 billion.
The market capitalization of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) at the end of 2022 is $378.45 billion. This value makes TSMC the 9th most valuable company by market capitalization in the world.
TSMC is the third largest semiconductor manufacturer after Intel and Samsung. They are also considered the world’s largest independent contract semiconductor manufacturer and the #1 supply chain in Asia by market capitalization.
The company was founded in 1987 by Morris Chang and is headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan. In addition, TSMC is currently owned by foreign investors and has 65,152 employees.
8. Tencent – $ 405.09 billion
- Market sector: technology, the Internet, video games and eSports;
- Products: social networks, instant messages, media, web portals;
- Revenue based on latest estimates: $83.64 billion;
- Latest earnings: $44.61 billion.
Tencent is a conglomerate of technology and venture companies, as well as an investment holding company, created in China. The market capitalization of $405.09 billion makes Tencent the 8th most valuable company in the world.
Tencent Holdings is a large company operating in various industries. They are engaged not only in the gaming industry, but also in other segments: music, mobile games, web portals, Internet services and e-commerce. This company also provides:
- Messaging services;
- Social networks on the Internet;
- Internet value-added services;
- Multiplayer online games (MMO, MMORPG);
- E-commerce and online advertising.
As an expensive company that owns QQ, Qzone, and WeChat, it generated over $80 billion in revenue in 2022. Its main headquarters are located in the Nanshan district of the Shenzhen metropolitan area in China. At the end of 2022, Tencent reported having 88,130 employees and almost 575 million active users.
7. Berkshire Hathaway — $ 453.54 billion
- Market sector: finance, insurance, media, food, rail and non-food;
- Products: property and casualty insurance, diversified investments;
- Income based on latest news: $76.934 billion;
- Latest revenue: 295.722 billion.
Berkshire Hathaway has a market capitalization of $453.54 billion and is the 7th most valuable corporation in the world. The company is led by multi billionaire and a major American investor Warren Buffett. It was founded as a textile manufacturer in 1839, almost two centuries ago.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is a conglomerate of more than 80 companies in various fields: energy supply, insurance, reinsurance, rail transportation, financial services, manufacturing, and retail. It owns such brands as Duracell, GEICO, Dairy Queen, Lubrizol, and many others.
The company has over 360,000 employees. Its shares are also considered among the most expensive stocks in the world, as they are listed at prices around $304,000 per share.
6. Tesla — $656.96 billion
- Industry: automotive, technology, autonomous driving, electric vehicles and energy;
- Products: trucks, cars, batteries, solar panels and more;
- Income based the latest estimates: $12.583 billion;
- Latest revenue: $81.4 billion.
The current market capitalization of one of the most valuable companies in the world, Tesla, is $656.96 billion. It is interesting to note that by the end of 2022 it made a dramatic dive down to $388.97 billion (-63.35%!!) due to the company owner Ilon Musk’s questionable acquisition of the social network Twitter and a decline in the company’s sales. However, the current value still puts Tesla in the 6th place in the ranking of the most valuable companies in the world. Tesla Incorporation manufactures and sells electric vehicles, photovoltaic systems, and energy storage equipment. The mission of the company is to encourage the move to sustainable energy.
The American company is named after the physicist Nikola Tesla. The company is the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles. It also makes rooftop solar panels and batteries that provide clean energy.
Together with 27 other companies, Tesla launched the Zero Emissions Transportation Association (ZETA) in 2020 aimed at developing the transition from internal combustion engines to electric ones. Tesla has about 438 retail stores and 127,855 employees around the world.
5. Amazon — $960.78 billion
- Market sector: e-commerce, Internet, technology, retail and software services;
- Products: Kindle, Software, FireTV and Echo;
- Revenue in Q4 2022: $149.2 billion.
- Latest earnings: $513.983 billion.
Amazon has a market capitalization of $960.78 billion. Amazon is the 5th most valuable company in the world. Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 from the comfort of his garage. Amazon Inc. is a virtual retailer with a wide range of products.
Amazon is the market leader in e-commerce. It has the largest online selection of books, CDs and videos. In addition, individuals and companies can also sell used or new products on the company’s website and in the mobile app Amazon Shopping.
The company pioneered the Amazon Kindle e-reader. She also created the Amazon Fire tablet computer, the FIRE set-top box, the HDMI Stick, and the Echo speech recognition system. In 2019, Amazon ranked third on the list of expensive companies behind Apple and Microsoft.
4. Alphabet (Google) – $1.145 trillion
- Market sector: Internet services and software;
- Products: search engine, operating system and mobile phones;
- Income based on the latest reports: $59 billion in 2022, which was a notable decrease from the $76 billion in the previous year;
- Latest revenue: $282.836B billion;
The market cap of Alphabet (Google) is around 1.145 trillion US dollars. Thanks to this value, Alphabet takes the 4th place in our ranking of the most valuable companies in the world. Alphabet Inc is an American multinational corporation, the parent company of Google LLC and several other subsidiaries.
Sergey Brin and Larry Page founded this company in 1998 while studying at Stanford University. Today, the company has over 190,000 employees. Google Inc. leads the world’s search engine segment, and as of 2022, their market share is 84.69%.
3. Microsoft — $ 1.787 trillion
- Market sector: information technology, software development and household electronics;
- Products: Microsoft Office, Windows, Xbox operating system, laptops, and search engines;
- Recent operating income: $83 billion;
- Revenue according to recent data: $198 billion.
With a market capitalization of $ 1.787 trillion, Microsoft occupies the third place of the rating of the most expensive companies in the world. Microsoft is an American company that develops software and services, such as the Windows operating system and cloud solutions.
Bill Gates founded Microsoft in 1975. This company is a pioneer in the field of software for personal computers. The Microsoft Windows operating system was a huge success; it brought in the most money. Microsoft is also engaged in laptop production.
According to the latest financial reports of Microsoft, the current revenue of the company is 198 billion US dollars.
2. Saudi Aramco – $1.889 trillion
- Market sector: energy, oil, gas, and processing of resources
- Products: petrochemical derivatives, raw oil and natural gas
- Net income for the reporting year: $159.1 billion
- Revenue in 2022: $552.25 billion
The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (acting as Saudi Aramco) with headquarters in the city of Dhahran in Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest integrated oil and gas company. In addition to prospecting, production, processing, distribution, and shipment of hydrocarbons, the most expensive company in the world also provides raw oil marketing services. It serves global markets through its extensive network of offices, research centers, joint ventures, and subsidiaries.
Saudi Aramco went public on the Saudi Exchange on December 11, 2019. On the second day of public trading, the IPO of Saudi Aramco increased to $2 trillion.
Saudi Aramco accounts for one eighth of daily oil production in the world. In 2018, Saudi Aramco produced its historical maximum – 13.6 million barrels per day of oil equivalent, including 10.3 million barrels per day of raw oil. In processing, Saudi Aramco became the first largest integrated oil refining company in the world. The company has concluded partnerships with other leading oil companies in the world, including Chevron, Sinopec, Exxon Mobil and Total. In 2016, Chevron and Saudi Aramco signed a five-year cooperation agreement to study research projects representing mutual interest.
In the last year or so, Saudi Aramco has been swapping around the top place in the world rating by market cap with our today’s leader, Apple, Inc. For example, on May 13, 2022, Aramco was announced as the largest company by market capitalization, which at that point reached $2.38 trillion. At the moment, it is believed to occupy the second place in the rating. But that may change in the near future.
1. Apple Inc. – $2.33 trillion
- Market sector: information technology and electronics;
- Products: iPhone, iPad, IMAC, MacBook, Apple Watch, Apple TV, Air Pods, Home Pod Mini;
- Net income according to the latest report: $99.803 billion;
- Total revenue in 2022: $394.328 billion.
And here is the leader of our rating of the most expensive companies in the world – Apple, Incorporated with a market cap of around $2.33 trillion. Over the past few months, it managed to overtake Saudi Aramco on market capitalization yet again. However, like we said above, the market is an unpredictable thing, and Apple may take the second line again next month. Apple is considered one of the largest companies, with 522 retail stores and about 164,000 full-time employees around the world.
Apple Inc. was founded in 1976 by three wizards of technology Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. This American company sells household electronics, such as smartphones, tablets and computers. Moreover, Apple has a platform for music and films that generates Internet sales, and develops applied software and operating systems.
Apple started operating in the market sector of personal computers manufacturing, which grew considerably after its mass victory over the competitors with its daughter companies. The technological giant began with the release of iPhone smartphones and MacBook laptops, but over the years has diversified its product range to include iPad tablets, smart watches, wireless headphones, and other accessories. Moreover, Apple is the first public company in the world to have reached a market capitalization of $3 trillion in 2022. After that, its total value decreased back to about $2.3 trillion.
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