8 of the 10 Largest Companies in the World are American

According to the article from investopedia By Elvis Picardo, Eight of the world’s 10 Largest Companies in the World as measured by market capitalization are American. Market capitalization is the total value of a company’s entire shares of stock. While these companies have their roots in the U.S. and are the embodiment of “all-American” qualities such as innovation and industry, their reach is worldwide and their marketplace global.

According to Price Waterhouse Coopers, as of March 31, 2018, only one of these top 10 Largest Companies in the World are not categorized as a mega cap. Mega cap refers to companies with a market capitalization above $300 billion.

Half of the top 10 ranking are technology companies, while three deal in financials and the other two are in consumer services.

The disproportionate number of American companies in the ranks of global titans can be attributed to a combination of favorable factors in recent years. But such dominance also holds a disconcerting lesson, going by events over the past three decades. Before we delve into these points, here are the top 10 Largest Companies in the World.

Apple Number 1 of the 10 Largest Companies in the World

Market cap $1 trillion. The world’s most valuable company achieved a milestone on Aug. 2, 2018 by surpassing the $1 trillion mark in market capitalization.

It continues to reap billions by selling millions of iPhones, iPads and other coveted gadgets. At one point the computer-maker nearly faced bankruptcy, but has evolved into the most publicly-traded company in its 21-year history. Apple, the number 1, of the 10 largest companies in the world.

Alphabet Number 2 of the 10 Largest Companies in the World

Alphabet, one of the top largest companies in the world, has a market cap of $765.35 billion. Holding company Alphabet was created in August 2015 to separate Google’s main businesses such as search and advertising from a host of new projects that are riskier long shots.

Those include such ventures as Verily Life Sciences (whose projects include a glucose-sensing contact lens), Calico (focused on biotech), driverless cars and secretive lab Google X, plus investing units CapitalG and GV.

Google has grown significantly in just over a decade as a public entity, and if one or more of its long shots turn into home runs, the company may overtake Apple as No.1. In the first quarter of 2018, Google reported $3.1 billion in quarterly revenue, which surpassed Wall Street estimates by roughly $870 million.

Microsoft Number 3 of the 10 Largest Companies in the World

Market cap $833.23 billion. Microsoft was the world’s biggest company at the turn of the millennium and continues to be a steady presence in the ranks of the giants and number 3 of the 10 largest companies in the world.

The software company continues to make a successful transition away from its traditional products that are purchased and installed on clients’ computers, toward cloud-based products and services such as its Azure cloud services and the Office 365, as well as newer products on the horizon, including with a newer version of Windows 12 as well as Office 2019.

Amazon Number 4 of the 10 Largest Companies in the World

Market cap $860.39 billion. Amazon’s shares reached $2,000 per share in August 2018 for the first time. The stock has had a meteoric rise in the current bull market, having surged more than six-fold since 2009. Shortly after, Morgan Stanley analysts raised their 12-month price target on Amazon to $2,500, which was previously set at $1,850.

The new target price is said to be the highest on Wall Street, with predictions that the company could also surpass the $1 trillion mark in market cap, giving Apple a run for its money. Now, Amazon, Number 4 of the 10 Largest Companies in the World.

Tencent Holdings Number 5 of the 10 Largest Companies in the World

According to the PWC report, as Tencent Holdings was unavailable on Google Finance at the time of this writing, Tencent Holdings’ Market cap $496 billion. This Shenzhen China-based tech giant experienced a 30% increase in total revenues in the second quarter of 2018 over the same period in 2017. Tencent first hit the top 10 list in 2017, knocking Wells Fargo off of the list.

Berkshire Hathaway Number 6 of the 10 Largest Companies in the World

Warren Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway is one of largest companies in the world, it’s market cap $517.20 billion. Warren Buffett’s holding company reported record net income of $12 billion in the second quarter of 2018, as opposed to $4.26 billion in the same period in 2017.

Warren Buffett, its famed CEO, is also known as one of the most successful value-style investors in investing history.

Alibaba Number 7 of the 10 Largest Companies in the World

Alibaba’s Market cap $370.50 billion. China’s largest e-commerce company made waves in 2014 when it recorded the world’s biggest IPO in history.

Founder Jack Ma is retiring and in October 2018 it was announced he will relinquish ownership of the entities that hold Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s business licenses in China. Alibaba is one of largest companies in the world, it’s position is 7!

Facebook Number 8 of the 10 Largest Companies in the World

Market cap $444.78 billion. Facebook is the one of largest companies in the world, has the distinction of becoming the fastest company to reach $250 billion in market cap, having done so in about three and a half years since its initial public offering in May 2012.

However, amid the Cambridge-Analytica privacy scandal, concerning the 2016 presidential elections and the Brexit vote, the company has experienced some decline. Facebook’s market cap was $629 billion on July 25, 2018, and ended around $510 billion the following day.

Thomson Reuters data indicated that $120 billion loss in market value was the biggest single-day drop in history for any publicly held company.

JPMorgan Chase Number 9 of the 10 Largest Companies in the World

JPMorgan Chase is one of the largest companies in the world, Market cap $362.67 billion. One of the largest companies in the world surviving the economic downturn that began in 2008, it now holds the title of the largest bank in the U.S.

JPMorgan Chase has experienced rapid growth and is considered a main player in the country’s retail banking, investment banking, transaction banking, custody banking and asset management spaces, steadily building these businesses over time.

Legislative changes, like the Tax Jobs and Cuts Act of 2017, which was favorable for banks, has helped boost JPMorgan’s market capitalization, which is expected to continue to increase.

Bank of America Number 10 of the 10 Largest Companies in the World

Bank of America is one of the largest companies in the world, it’s market cap $282.87 billion. Second quarter 2018 profits exceeded the $5.92 billion analyst expectations, arriving at $6.8 billion.

The bank grew consumer and commercial loans, deposits, assets within its Merrill Edge business, took in more net new households in Merrill Lynch, and supported more institutional client activity, which has contributed to its overall upward climb.

10 of largest companies in the world by revenue

This list comprises the world’s largest companies by consolidated revenue as of 2018, according to the Fortune Global 500 tally. American retail corporation Walmart has been one of the largest companies in the world since 2014.

The list is limited to 50 companies, all of which have annual revenues exceeding $110 billion US dollars. 21 companies are from North America, 17 from Asia and 12 from Europe.

Only companies that publish financial data and report figures to a government agency are included. Therefore, this list may be incomplete as it excludes large companies such as Saudi Aramco that don’t publish financial data.

* Revenues are in USD millions.

Rank	Name	Industry	Revenue	Revenue growth	Employees	Country	Ref
1	Walmart	Retail	$500,300	3.0%	2,300,000		[1]
2	State Grid	Electricity	$348,903	10.7%	913,546		[4]
3	Sinopec	Oil and gas	$326,953	22.2%	667,793		[5]
4	China National Petroleum	Oil and gas	$326,008	24.2%	1,470,193		[6]
5	Royal Dutch Shell	Oil and gas	$311,870	29.9%	84,000		[7]
6	Toyota	Automotive	$265,172	4.1%	369,124		[8]
7	Volkswagen	Automotive	$260,028	8.2%	642,292		[9]
8	BP	Oil and gas	$244,582	31.1%	74,000		[10]
9	Exxon Mobil	Oil and gas	$244,363	17.4%	71,200		[11]
10	Berkshire Hathaway	Financials	$242,137	8.3%	377,000		[12]