It is richer than many countries, with most of them worth more than a trillion dollars, and some of them worth more than 3 trillion US dollars, and it dominates the planet with its diverse investments, starting with technology, through energy, oil and gas, e-commerce, medicines and pharmaceuticals, and not ending with semiconductors.
The world’s largest companies by market capitalization are diversified across different market sectors. Most of the companies in the top ten have annual revenues in the hundreds of billions of dollars, with most of them generating annual revenues of at least $100 billion, which deepens investor confidence in them and the potential growth of these companies compared to other companies, according to Investopedia.
The size of a company is often measured by its market capitalization, which is the total value of all of the company’s shares in the market. Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple are the three largest global companies by this measure, with each having a market capitalization of more than $3 trillion (as of June 24, 2024).
We present to you in Al Jazeera Net the 10 largest companies in the world in terms of their market value in 2024 (until July 5, 2024), according to the Companies Market Cap platform, with information and a brief overview of each one, according to a number of specialized websites and platforms, such as Forbes/India, US News, Investopedia, and Axi.
Top 10 Companies in the World
10th place: Eli Lilly
- Country: United States of America
- Year of establishment: 1876
- Industry: Pharmaceuticals
- Market Cap (USD): $800,18 billion,092 million
- CEO: David A. Ricks
The company was founded in 1876 under the leadership of Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical chemist and former Union Army colonel in the American Civil War.
Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, the company made its mark by being the first company to mass-produce polio vaccine, has offices in 18 countries, and its products are sold in approximately 125 countries.
Although best known for Prozac and Zyprexa, its steady revenues come from its diabetes drug line, particularly Humalog and Trulicity, and its innovations in diabetes treatment have led to it being a pioneer in the production of human insulin using DNA and biosynthetic insulin.
It also produces unapproved obesity drugs using its diabetes medications, according to U.S. News. It is also ramping up efforts to expand manufacturing capacity to meet the huge demand for its products.
The company continues to strengthen its acquisitions and research focus on additional drugs for the treatment of diabetes and obesity, as well as treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and autoimmune enhancement, which are also expected to have significant growth potential in the future.
9th place: Berkshire Hathaway
- Country: United States of America
- Year of establishment: 1839
- Industry: Diversified investments
- Market Cap: $880.10 Billion
- CEO: Warren Buffett
The oldest company on this list, it was the culmination of a series of mergers. The Valley Falls, Rhode Island company began in 1839 under Oliver Chase, and merged 50 years later with the Berkshire Cotton Manufacturing Company to form Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates.
A merger with Hathaway Manufacturing in 1955 enabled the new company to survive into the next decade despite the decline in the textile industry. By the mid-1960s, the company was trading well below its market working capital.
The Oracle of Omaha (as he is called) Warren Buffett helped save the company and lead it to success, as he acquired a controlling stake in the company’s shares in the 1960s, and he still leads it to this day.
Today, Berkshire Hathaway owns a large number of subsidiaries operating in the fields of insurance, rail transportation, retail trade, and power generation and distribution. The company also operates companies that manufacture products for industrial uses and building materials.
The company manufactures 70% of the world’s semiconductors, and more than 90% of the best chips (Reuters)
8th place: TSMC
- Country: Taiwan
- Year of establishment: 1987
- Industry: Semiconductors
- Market Cap: $953.25 Billion
- CEO: CC Wei
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is a leading company in the semiconductor industry. It is the largest independent semiconductor manufacturer in the world.
The company’s advanced and sophisticated manufacturing capabilities and its role in providing key components for a wide range of electronic devices make it a major player among the top companies in terms of market value.
The company manufactures 70% of the world’s semiconductors and more than 90% of the world’s best chips. The company has mastered the ability to pack the largest number of data transistors onto a single silicon chip.
The iPhone uses 16 billion transistors, while the company’s new Blackwell 200 chip has 208 billion transistors.
Seventh place: Meta (Facebook)
- Country: United States of America
- Year of establishment: 2004
- Industry: Technology & Social Media
- Market Cap: $1.340 Trillion
- CEO: Mark Zuckerberg
Facebook, renamed Meta Platforms, is a social media giant. It owns multiple platforms, including Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Oculus Metaverse.
The company aims to push the metaverse to new heights, and seeks to promote a 3D virtual place that offers lifelike experiences.
Meta’s Oculus division offers a seamless virtual experience where users can participate in real-world activities.
Sixth place: Saudi Aramco
- State Saudi Arabia
- Year of establishment: 1933
- Industry: Oil & Gas
- Market Cap: $1.820 Trillion
- CEO: Amin Nasser
Saudi Aramco operates in the oil and gas sector, and is the backbone of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s economy. Saudi Aramco’s vast oil reserves and strategic location in the Middle East contribute to its position among the leading energy companies in global markets.
Fifth place: Amazon
- Country: United States of America
- Year of establishment: 1994
- Market Cap: $2.076 Trillion
- Industry: Technology & E-Commerce
- CEO: Andy Jassy
It is the world’s largest e-commerce company with over 200 million users worldwide, and its business has diversified to include cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence.
Amazon’s broad product offerings and dominance in online retail make it a major player among the top companies by market value.
Fourth place: Alphabet – Google
- Country: United States of America
- Year of establishment: 1998
- Industry: Technology
- Market Cap: $2.359 trillion (as of June 24, 2024)
- CEO: Sandra Pichai
Google, headquartered in Mountain View, California, was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, owns a diverse portfolio that includes search engines, online advertising technologies, cloud computing, software, and hardware.
Google’s ubiquitous presence in the digital world helps Alphabet become one of the world’s most valuable companies.
Third place: Nvidia
- Country: United States of America
- Year of establishment: 1993
- Industry: Technology & Chip Manufacturing
- Market Cap: $3.113 Trillion
- CEO: Jensen Huang
The market value of US chipmaker Nvidia surpassed $3 trillion for the first time ever in the first week of June.
The Santa Clara, California-based company’s stock has soared nearly 147% this year, adding about $1.8 trillion as voracious demand for its chips used to power artificial intelligence applications soars.
The stock rose 5.2% on June 5, 2024, to close at a record $1,224.40, pushing the market value to more than $3 trillion, according to a previous report by Al Jazeera Net.
The company has long been a leader in making standalone GPUs; its GPUs are integral to generative AI platforms like ChatGPT, OpenAI, Bard, and Google.
Second place: Apple
- Country: United States of America
- Year of establishment: 1976
- Industry: Technology
- Market Cap: $3.441 Trillion
- CEO: Tim Cook
The company is known for its leading products, such as the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, MacBook computers, and other products that are widely popular around the world.
It is constantly pushing the boundaries of global technological innovation. The company’s commitment to innovation and high-quality design has made it a consumer favorite and a giant among the world’s most valuable companies.
First place: Microsoft
- Country: United States of America
- Year of establishment: 1975
- Industry: Technology
- Market Cap: $3.462 Trillion.
- Current CEO: Satya Nadella
Microsoft offers a wide range of innovative and cutting-edge products and services, and Microsoft’s influence extends beyond software, with ventures in cloud computing and artificial intelligence, cementing its position as the world’s largest company by market value.
The company’s Windows operating system has long been the go-to choice in the business market. It also has a broad portfolio that includes the Office suite, the Edge web browser, and personal computers. Microsoft also owns LinkedIn, Bing, Azure, and more.
The company saw that the secret to its future success is artificial intelligence, so it gave it great focus and attention. Its partnership with OpenAI, which owns a 49% stake in it and produces the ChatGPT program, led to its shares rising to new record levels.
And finally here you go:
Top 10 Most Valuable Companies in the World
- Microsoft, Market Cap: $3.462 Trillion.
- Apple Inc., Market Cap: $3.441 trillion.
- Nvidia, Market Cap: $3.113 Trillion
- Alphabet (Google), Market Cap: $2.349 Trillion
- Amazon, Market Cap: $2.076 Trillion
- Saudi Aramco, Market Cap: $1.820 Trillion
- Meta (Facebook), Market Cap: $1.340 Trillion
- TSMC, Market Cap: $953.25B
- Berkshire Hathaway, Market Cap: $880.10 billion
- Eli Lilly, Market Cap: $818.92 Billion
