The global economy's dynamic nature has led to a keen interest in the top companies by market capitalisation among investors and observers. In 2018, Apple made history by becoming the first company to achieve a market capitalisation of $1 trillion. Subsequently, several other major companies surpassed this milestone. As of May 2023, Apple retained its dominance, holding the position of the world's largest company with a staggering market capitalisation of 2.75 trillion U.S. dollars. Despite occasional changes in the top spot, Apple's remarkable market cap underscored its continued significance in the business world.
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List of 10 Largest Companies In The World By Market Cap
While Apple claimed the top spot with a market capitalisation of 2.75 trillion U.S. dollars in May 2023, the remaining positions in the top five were held by some of the most globally recognised brands. Microsoft, the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), Alphabet (Google's parent company), and Amazon rounded out the top five companies by market capitalisation. Notably, in 2022, Saudi Aramco led the ranking of the world's most profitable companies, boasting a pre-tax income exceeding 300 billion U.S. dollars. The complete list of the 10 largest companies in the world by market cap is below:
| Rank | Company | Sector | Market Cap (in USD) |
| 1 | Apple | Technology | $2.974 trillion |
| 2 | Microsoft | Technology | $2.783 trillion |
| 3 | Saudi Aramco | Oil & Gas | $2.145 trillion |
| 4 | Alphabet (Google) | Technology | $1.658 trillion |
| 5 | Amazon | E-commerce | $1.519 trillion |
| 6 | Nvidia | Technology | $1.156 trillion |
| 7 | Meta Platforms | Social Media | $834.76 billion |
| 8 | Berkshire Hathaway | Diversified Investments | $777.30 billion |
| 9 | Tesla | Automotive | $759.22 billion |
| 10 | Eli Lilly | Pharmaceuticals | $554.43 billion |
Nvidia, positioned at 6th place in the list of top companies by market capitalisation, has garnered significant attention due to its remarkable profitability in the previous quarter of 2023. The company is well-regarded for its expertise in producing stand-alone GPUs (graphics processing units). Notably, Nvidia's GPUs play a crucial role in powering generative AI platforms such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard. The widespread popularity of Nvidia is attributed to its leadership in the GPU market and its noteworthy financial performance compared to many industry counterparts.
Market Capitalisation vs Market Value
Market capitalisation (market cap) and market value are terms frequently used in discussions about a company's financial standing, but they have distinct meanings.
Market capitalisation refers to the total value of a company's outstanding shares of stock and is calculated by multiplying the current stock price by the total number of outstanding shares. It is a crucial metric for assessing the comparative value of companies, particularly in the context of trading opportunities. Market cap data for listed companies is commonly released by stock exchanges.
On the other hand, market value has a broader scope, representing what a company is worth in a more comprehensive context. This worth is shaped by multiple factors such as profitability, corporate debt, and the broader market environment. Market value seeks to gauge a company's overall value, where share price is just one contributing factor. Unlike market capitalisation, market value is not regularly reported and is determined on a case-by-case basis. In practice, market capitalisation is often used interchangeably with market value, even though they technically have different meanings. Understanding the distinction between the two is important, especially when evaluating the financial health and valuation of a company.
Note: The list will be updated for the year 2024 as soon as the data is available for the same. The list is based on a report by Statista titled, “The 100 largest companies in the world by market capitalisation in 2023”.
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