Stakeholder Capitalism

The top 100 companies of the world: the US vs everyone else

A picture of the Dow Jones stock price.

The US has more companies in the Top 100 than any other. Image: Unsplash/Markus Spiske

  • The world’s top 100 companies account for $31.7 trillion in market capital.
  • 65% of the total market value are US companies, equal to $20.55 trillion.
  • China accounted for 13% or $4.19 trillion,
  • Europe accounts for just $3.46 trillion or 11% of the total market cap value of the list.
a chart showing how the different countries in the world make up the worlds 100 largest companies
65% of the total market capital value is made up by US companies. Image: Visual Capitalist

When it comes to breaking down the top 100 companies of the world, the United States still commands the largest slice of the pie.

Throughout the 20th century and before globalization reached its current peaks, American companies made the country an economic powerhouse and the source of a majority of global market value.

But even as countries like China have made headway with multi-billion dollar companies of their own, and the market’s most important sectors have shifted, the U.S. has managed to stay on top.

How do the top 100 companies of the world stack up? This visualization pulls from PwC’s annual ranking of the world’s largest companies, using market capitalization data from May 2021.

Have you read?
  • 130 countries back global minimum corporate tax of 15%
  • World's 10 Best Companies to Work For
  • The best companies to work for in 2020, according to Glassdoor

Where are the world’s largest companies located?

The world’s top 100 companies account for a massive $31.7 trillion in market cap, but that wealth is not distributed evenly.

Between companies, there’s a wide range of market caps. For example, the difference between the world’s largest company (Apple) and the 100th largest (Anheuser-Busch) is $1.9 trillion.

And between countries, that divide becomes even more stark. Of the 16 countries with companies making the top 100 ranking, the U.S. accounts for 65% of the total market cap value.

a chart showing where the top 100 companies are based
The US has more companies in the Top 100 than any other. Image: Visual Capitalist

Compared to the U.S., other once-prominent markets like Japan, France, and the UK have seen their share of the world’s top 100 companies falter over the years. In fact, all of Europe accounts for just $3.46 trillion or 11% of the total market cap value of the list.

A major reason for the U.S. dominance in market values is a shift in important industries and contributors. Of the world’s top 100 companies, 52% were based in either technology or consumer discretionary, and the current largest players like Apple, Alphabet, Tesla, and Walmart are all American-based.

Discover

What is the World Economic Forum doing about digital trade?

The top 100 companies of the world: competition from China

The biggest and most impressive competitor to the U.S. is China.

With 14 companies of its own in the world’s top 100, China accounted for $4.19 trillion or 13% of the top 100’s total market cap value. That includes two of the top 10 firms by market cap, Tencent and Alibaba.

a chart showing the nationality of the top ten companies
Of the Top 10 companies, 7 are US based. Image: Visual Capitalist

Impressively, China’s rise in market value isn’t limited to well-known tech and consumer companies. The country’s second biggest contributing industry to the top 100 firms was finance, once also the most valuable sector in the U.S. (currently 4th behind tech, consumer discretionary, and health care).

Other notable countries on the list include Saudi Arabia and its state-owned oil and gas giant Saudi Aramco, which is the third largest company in the world. Despite only having one company in the top 100, Saudi Arabia had the third-largest share of the top 100’s total market cap value.

As Europe continues to lose ground year-over-year and the rest of Asia struggles to keep up, the top 100 companies might become increasingly concentrated in just the U.S. and China. The question is, will the imbalance of global market value start to even out, or become even bigger?

Loading...
Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

United States

Related topics:
Stakeholder CapitalismTrade and InvestmentGeographies in Depth
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how United States is affecting economies, industries and global issues
World Economic Forum logo

Forum Stories newsletter

Bringing you weekly curated insights and analysis on the global issues that matter.

Subscribe today

What are green bonds and why is this market growing so fast?

Patrick Henry and Madeleine North

November 22, 2024

Alternative assets: Why governance is key to strategic advantage

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum