Markets
Ranked: The 100 Biggest Public Companies in the World
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The Biggest Companies in the World in 2022
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This year has been shaped by uncomfortable macroeconomic headwinds.
Trillions of dollars were erased in public company market capitalizations, investor confidence waned, and cost pressures squeezed consumer pocketbooks.
Taken together, many of the world’s largest companies experienced sharp declines in market share. Still, a few companies in key sectors had positive growth over the year.
As 2022 comes to a close, the above infographic shows the biggest companies in the world, using data from Companiesmarketcap.com.
The World’s Largest Public Companies in 2022
Today, Apple stands as the world’s most valuable company, towering at a $2.3 trillion valuation.
Despite the tech downturn of 2022—driven by rising interest rates and slower sales—Apple maintained its top spot. This was largely thanks to record revenues and healthy consumer demand for iPhones, which drive about half of its total revenue.
Following Apple is Microsoft. Unlike Apple, Microsoft has faced slower earnings over the year due to lower demand for personal computers and the weighing impact of a strong U.S. dollar. Overall, about 50% of the company’s sales take place overseas.
As we show below, there are now only four companies left in the trillion dollar market cap club.
2022 Rank | Company | Market Capitalization | Sector | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Apple | $2.3T | Technology | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
2 | Microsoft | $1.9T | Technology | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
3 | Saudi Aramco | $1.8T | Energy | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia |
4 | Alphabet | $1.2T | Technology | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
5 | Amazon | $924B | Consumer Discretionary | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
6 | Berkshire Hathaway | $686B | Financials | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
7 | Tesla | $522B | Consumer Discretionary | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
8 | UnitedHealth Group | $510B | Health Care | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
9 | Johnson & Johnson | $465B | Health Care | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
10 | Visa | $454B | Industrials | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
11 | NVIDIA | $437B | Technology | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
12 | Exxon Mobil | $437B | Energy | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
13 | TSMC | $417B | Technology | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
14 | Walmart | $399B | Consumer Discretionary | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
15 | Tencent | $397B | Technology | 🇨🇳 China |
16 | JPMorgan Chase | $394B | Financials | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
17 | LVMH | $377B | Consumer Discretionary | 🇫🇷 France |
18 | Procter & Gamble | $361B | Consumer Staples | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
19 | Eli Lilly | $349B | Health Care | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
20 | Mastercard | $344B | Industrials | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
21 | Home Depot | $334B | Consumer Discretionary | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
22 | Chevron | $328B | Energy | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
23 | Nestlé | $322B | Consumer Staples | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
24 | Kweichow Moutai | $313B | Consumer Staples | 🇨🇳 China |
25 | Samsung | $306B | Technology | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
26 | Meta (Facebook) | $304B | Technology | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
27 | Pfizer | $293B | Health Care | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
28 | AbbVie | $292B | Health Care | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
29 | Novo Nordisk | $292B | Health Care | 🇩🇰 Denmark |
30 | Coca-Cola | $277B | Consumer Staples | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
31 | Merck | $276B | Health Care | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
32 | Roche | $267B | Health Care | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
33 | Bank of America | $263B | Financials | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
34 | Pepsico | $253B | Consumer Staples | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
35 | ASML | $247B | Technology | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
36 | Alibaba | $245B | Consumer Discretionary | 🇨🇳 China |
37 | Broadcom | $225B | Technology | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
38 | Thermo Fisher Scientific | $223B | Health Care | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
39 | Oracle | $219B | Technology | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
40 | Costco | $216B | Consumer Discretionary | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
41 | Astrazeneca | $215B | Health Care | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
42 | Reliance Industries | $214B | Energy | 🇮🇳 India |
43 | ICBC | $208B | Financials | 🇨🇳 China |
44 | McDonald's | $203B | Consumer Discretionary | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
45 | Cisco | $203B | Telecommunications | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
46 | Shell | $201B | Energy | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
47 | Danaher | $199B | Health Care | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
48 | L'Oréal | $197B | Consumer Discretionary | 🇫🇷 France |
49 | Toyota | $197B | Consumer Discretionary | 🇯🇵 Japan |
50 | Novartis | $196B | Health Care | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
51 | Abbott Laboratories | $109B | Health Care | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
52 | Accenture | $184B | Industrials | 🇮🇪 Ireland |
53 | T-Mobile | $177B | Telecommunications | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
54 | Nike | $175B | Consumer Discretionary | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
55 | Walt Disney | $173B | Consumer Discretionary | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
56 | Nextera Energy | $172B | Utilities | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
57 | Hermès | $169B | Consumer Discretionary | 🇫🇷 France |
58 | Bristol-Myers Squibb | $168B | Health Care | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
59 | Linde | $166B | Basic Materials | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
60 | Wells Fargo | $163B | Financials | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
61 | Texas Instruments | $161B | Technology | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
62 | BHP Group | $160B | Basic Materials | 🇦🇺 Australia |
63 | Verizon | $159B | Telecommunications | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
64 | Philip Morris | $159B | Consumer Staples | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
65 | Comcast | $158B | Telecommunications | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
66 | UPS | $158B | Industrials | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
67 | Adobe | $157B | Technology | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
68 | Morgan Stanley | $154B | Financials | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
69 | China Construction Bank | $152B | Financials | 🇨🇳 China |
70 | TotalEnergies | $152B | Energy | 🇫🇷 France |
71 | Charles Schwab | $150B | Financials | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
72 | Amgen | $148B | Health Care | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
73 | Raytheon Technologies | $146B | Industrials | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
74 | Tata Consultancy | $146B | Technology | 🇮🇳 India |
75 | CATL | $145B | Consumer Discretionary | 🇨🇳 China |
76 | China Mobile | $145B | Telecommunications | 🇨🇳 China |
77 | Honeywell | $144B | Industrials | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
78 | Agricultural Bank of China | $141B | Financials | 🇨🇳 China |
79 | Netflix | $140B | Consumer Discretionary | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
80 | Meituan | $140B | Technology | 🇨🇳 China |
81 | ConocoPhillips | $139B | Energy | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
82 | AT&T | $138B | Financials | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
83 | CVS Health | $136B | Health Care | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
84 | Dior | $136B | Consumer Discretionary | 🇫🇷 France |
85 | Qualcomm | $136B | Technology | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
86 | Prosus | $135B | Technology | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
87 | RBC | $135B | Financials | 🇨🇦 Canada |
88 | IBM | $134B | Technology | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
89 | Salesforce | $133B | Technology | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
90 | Union Pacific | $133B | Industrials | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
91 | Deere & Company | $132B | Industrials | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
92 | Unilever | $130B | Consumer Staples | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
93 | CM Bank | $130B | Financials | 🇨🇳 China |
94 | HDFC Bank | $129B | Financials | 🇮🇳 India |
95 | Elevance Health | $128B | Health Care | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
96 | AIA | $128B | Financials | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong |
97 | Lockheed Martin | $127B | Industrials | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
98 | PetroChina | $127B | Energy | 🇨🇳 China |
99 | SAP | $127B | Technology | 🇩🇪 Germany |
100 | Lowe's | $124B | Consumer Discretionary | 🇺🇸 U.S. |
*As of Dec 12, 2022.
Oil giant Saudi Aramco is the third largest publicly-traded company globally, at $1.8 trillion. It’s also the only non-U.S. company in the top 10.
In May, the state-run company briefly became the most valuable company on the planet as soaring energy prices boosted earnings. Saudia Arabia is the largest exporter of oil in the world, and the country’s economy is forecast to grow 7.6% in 2022—one of the fastest globally.
Overall, 62 companies of the 100 largest are headquartered in the U.S., 11 are based in China, and five are located in France.
Top 10 Performance in 2022
For many of the world’s largest companies, 2022 was a brutal year for performance.
As the above graphic shows, the vast majority of the world’s titans saw their market values decline. Half of these companies saw double-digit drops.
Tesla has witnessed nearly 70% of its market cap being erased this year. Two main factors are behind this drop: falling demand, especially in China, and CEO Elon Musk’s volatile and risky acquisition of Twitter.
On the other hand, UnitedHealth Group has seen the strongest performance among the top 10.
The company, which rakes in a large share of its earnings from employer-backed insurance plans, said that recessionary impacts had not yet begun materializing in 2022.
Biggest Companies in the World, by Sector
Even with sinking market values across the sector in 2022, tech remains dominant.
Among the world’s biggest companies, 20 are in tech, spanning a combined market value of $9.2 trillion. For perspective, that’s about 31% of the market value of the 100 largest companies.
Rank | Sector | Combined Market Value | Number of Companies | Biggest Company in Sector |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 👩💻 Technology | $9.2T | 20 | Apple |
2 | 🚗 Consumer Discretionary | $4.7T | 17 | Amazon |
3 | 🩺 Health Care | $4.3T | 17 | UnitedHealth Group |
4 | 🛢️ Energy | $3.4T | 8 | Saudi Aramco |
5 | 💵 Financials | $3.0T | 14 | Berkshire Hathaway |
6 | 🏭 Industrials | $1.8T | 9 | Visa |
7 | 🥫 Consumer Staples | $1.8T | 7 | Procter & Gamble |
8 | 📞 Telecommunications | $841B | 5 | Cisco |
9 | ⛏️ Basic Materials | $326B | 2 | Linde |
10 | 🔌 Utilities | $127B | 1 | Nextera Energy |
Companies are classified according to the FTSE Russell Industry Classification Benchmark. *As of Dec 12, 2022.
Consumer discretionary and health care sectors fall next in line, with big players such as Amazon and Johnson & Johnson among their ranks.
At the other end of the spectrum is utilities, the smallest sector overall at least pertaining to the largest companies list. NextEra Energy, the sole utilities company among the rankings is one of the world’s largest developers of wind and solar energy. Over the next three years, it plans to invest up to $95 billion in greening its power operations.
Change of Fortune
It comes as no surprise that many of the biggest companies in the world are long-established players in global markets.
Yet within the rankings, some of the notable risers compared to 2021 are UnitedHealth Group, which launched from #19 in 2021 to #8 this year and NVIDIA which has climbed to become the 11th largest company globally, up from #24 last year.
By contrast, some of the biggest losers are Meta (Facebook’s parent company) and Alibaba. Meta has fallen across the rankings to #26 in 2022 from #6 in 2021. Meanwhile, Alibaba was once the ninth largest globally but has tumbled to #36. Both companies have seen considerable value wiped from their market caps—roughly 66% and 28%, respectively—amid lagging earnings.
With the year coming to a close, it remains to be seen whether the world’s biggest companies stage a comeback in 2023, or face more challenging conditions ahead.
Markets
The Top Google Searches Related to Investing in 2022
What was on investors’ minds in 2022? Discover the top Google searches and how the dominant trends played out in portfolios.


The Top Google Searches Related to Investing in 2022
It was a turbulent year for the markets in 2022, with geopolitical conflict, rising prices, and the labor market playing key roles. Which stories captured investors’ attention the most?
This infographic from New York Life Investments outlines the top Google searches related to investing in 2022, and offers a closer look at some of the trends.
Top Google Searches: Year in Review
We picked some of the top economic and investing stories that saw peak search interest in the U.S. each month, according to Google Trends.
Month of Peak Interest | Search Term |
---|---|
January | Great Resignation |
February | Russian Stock Market |
March | Oil Price |
April | Housing Bubble |
May | Value Investing |
June | Bitcoin |
July | Recession |
August | Inflation |
September | US Dollar |
October | OPEC |
November | Layoffs |
December | Interest Rate Forecast |
Data based on exact searches in the U.S. from December 26, 2021 to December 18, 2022.
Let’s look at each quarter in more detail, to see how these top Google searches were related to activity in the economy and investors’ portfolios.
Q1 2022
The start of the year was marked by U.S. workers quitting their jobs in record numbers, and the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war. For instance, the price of crude oil skyrocketed after the war caused supply uncertainties. Early March’s peak of $125 per barrel was a 13-year high.
Date | Closing Price of WTI Crude Oil (USD/Barrel) |
---|---|
January 2, 2022 | $76 |
March 3, 2022 | $125 |
December 29, 2022 | $80 |
While crude oil lost nearly all its gains by year-end, the energy sector in general performed well. In fact, the S&P 500 Energy Index gained 57% over the year compared to the S&P 500’s 19% loss.
Q2 2022
The second quarter of 2022 saw abnormal house price growth, renewed interest in value investing, and a bitcoin crash. In particular, value investing performed much better than growth investing over the course of the year.
Index | Price Return in 2022 |
---|---|
S&P 500 Value Index | -7.4% |
S&P 500 Growth Index | -30.1% |
Value stocks have typically outperformed during periods of rising rates, and 2022 was no exception.
Q3 2022
The third quarter was defined by worries about a recession and inflation, along with interest in the rising U.S. dollar. In fact, the U.S. dollar gained against nearly every major currency.
Currency | USD Appreciation Against Currency (Dec 31 2020-Sep 30 2022) |
---|---|
Japanese Yen | 40.1% |
Chinese Yuan | 9.2% |
Euro | 25.1% |
Canadian Dollar | 7.2% |
British Pound | 22.0% |
Australian Dollar | 18.1% |
Higher interest rates made the U.S. dollar more attractive to investors, since it meant they would get a higher return on their fixed income investments.
Q4 2022
The end of the year was dominated by OPEC cutting oil production, high layoffs in the tech sector, and curiosity about the future of interest rates. The Federal Reserve’s December 2022 economic projections offer clues about the trajectory of the policy rate.
2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Longer Run | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Minimum Projection | 4.9% | 3.1% | 2.4% | 2.3% |
Median Projection | 5.1% | 4.1% | 3.1% | 2.5% |
Maximum Projection | 5.6% | 5.6% | 5.6% | 3.3% |
The Federal Reserve expects interest rates to peak in 2023, with rates to remain elevated above pre-pandemic levels for the foreseeable future.
The Top Google Searches to Come
After a year of volatility across asset classes, economic uncertainty remains. Which themes will become investors’ top Google searches in 2023?
Find out how New York Life Investments can help you make sense of market trends.

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