This graphic presents a treemap chart that visualizes the world’s top 50 publicly-traded companies by market cap, using data as of Aug. 16, 2023.
Visual Capitalist Editor’s note: While market capitalization is a simple way to compare publicly-traded companies, it does have some limitations. Most importantly, it does not include debt or cash in the calculation.
The data shows that there are only a few trillion-dollar companies globally, including Apple, Microsoft, Saudi Aramco, Amazon, Alphabet, and Nvidia.
Meta and Tesla were previously trillion-dollar companies, but they now have market capitalizations around $700 billion due to factors like declining earnings and demand concerns.
The top 50 valuable companies collectively hold over $26.5 trillion in shareholder value. The Information Technology sector is the most prominent, with a combined market cap of $9.3 trillion, followed by Consumer Discretionary ($4.0 trillion) and Health Care ($3.3 trillion) sectors.
Data and highlights
The first 10 companies in the results.
Geographical breakdown
At a geographical level, the majority of the 50 most valuable companies are American. The following chart shows each country’s tally.
At a geographical level, the majority of the 50 most valuable companies are American.
After the U.S., the next three countries with notable representation are Switzerland, France, and China, each having three companies on the list.
Switzerland contributes companies like Nestlé, Roche, and Novartis. The latter two are major players in the healthcare industry..
France’s companies in the top 50 list all belong to Consumer Discretionary sector. They include renowned fashion giants like LVMH and Hermès, as well as L’Oréal, a global leader in cosmetics. Earlier this year, LVMH’s CEO Bernard Arnault held the title of the world’s richest person with a fortune of $215 billion.
Finally, from China, the list features two globally-recognized names, Tencent and Alibaba. The third Chinese company on the list is Kweichow Moutai, a partially state-owned producer of alcoholic beverages that enjoys global recognition.
Source: Visual Capitalist
