Stocks
Animation: The Biggest Tech Companies by Market Cap Over 23 Years
The business world is certainly not a static one.
In the past, we’ve shown that the market leaders in the most stable industries are unlikely to keep their leadership positions over long periods of time.
But limit your window to just the dynamic world of tech and you’ll see an even more extreme example of this inherent volatility. Sometimes companies are able to separate from the rest of the pack for days or months, but it’s never an advantage that lasts for long.
Biggest Tech Companies by Market Cap
Today’s animation was originally posted to Reddit by /r/TheNerdistRedditor and captures the crazy world of tech valuations for public companies.
Watch the intense 1 minute animation below:
Note: the data here only lists companies traded on U.S. exchanges, and does not show every single valuation point.
Over just 23 years, the company topping the list flips eight separate times – and if you were to get more granular with the numbers (looking at daily valuations, for example), you’d see it happen far more often.
Today’s Market Cap Leaders
As we noted above, company valuations are constantly changing – and back in early September 2018, both Apple and Amazon even topped the $1 trillion milestone for a short period of time.
Using the same criteria as the above animation, which is based on U.S. listed companies, here are the top 10 tech companies based on data at time of publication:
Rank | Company | Ticker(s) | Market Cap (March 18, 2019) |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | Microsoft | MSFT | $902 billion |
#2 | Apple | AAPL | $887 billion |
#3 | Amazon | AMZN | $856 billion |
#4 | Alphabet | GOOG, GOOGL | $824 billion |
#5 | Alibaba | BABA | $471 billion |
#6 | FB | $458 billion | |
#7 | Intel | INTC | $243 billion |
#8 | Cisco | CSCO | $236 billion |
#9 | Oracle | ORCL | $192 billion |
#10 | Netflix | NFLX | $159 billion |
Based on March 18, 2019 data
This is not a comprehensive list globally, as it misses companies like Tencent which are listed on other exchanges such as the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Based on recent HKD/USD conversion rates, it’s estimated that Tencent would be roughly worth $450 billion today – good enough for 7th on the list.
Regardless, since change is the only constant in the tech world, it’s fair to say that the above list of the biggest tech companies will likely be much different in just a few months time.
Economy
Animated Chart: The S&P 500 in 2023 So Far
Track the S&P 500’s performance in 2023, including all 500 companies, and the sectors they belong to, in this animated video.

The S&P 500’s Performance in 2023 Q1
With one quarter of 2023 in the books, how has the S&P 500 performed so far?
The index had a tumultuous 2022, ending the year down 18%, its worst performance since 2008. But so far, despite dealing with tight monetary conditions and an unexpected banking crisis, the S&P 500 has promptly started to rebound.
The above animation from Jan Varsava shows the stock performance of each company on the S&P 500, categorized by sector.
Biggest Gainers on the S&P 500
The S&P 500 increased 7.5% during the first quarter of 2023. Though it was led by a few big outperformers, more than half of the stocks on the index closed above their end-of-December prices.
Here are the top 30 biggest gainers on the index from January 1 to March 31, 2023.
Rank | Company | 3-Month Return |
---|---|---|
1 | Nvidia | 90.1% |
2 | Meta (Facebook) | 76.1% |
3 | Tesla | 68.4% |
4 | Warner Bros. Discovery | 59.3% |
5 | Align Technology | 58.4% |
6 | AMD | 51.3% |
7 | Salesforce | 50.7% |
8 | West Pharmaceuticals | 47.3% |
9 | General Electric | 46.3% |
10 | Catalent | 46.0% |
11 | First Solar | 45.2% |
12 | Monolithic Power Systems | 41.8% |
13 | MarketAxess Holdings | 40.6% |
14 | GE Healthcare Tech | 40.5% |
15 | Arista Networks | 38.3% |
16 | ANSYS Inc. | 37.8% |
17 | Fortinet Inc. | 35.9% |
18 | Wynn Resorts | 35.7% |
19 | Paramount Global | 33.8% |
20 | FedEx Corp | 32.7% |
21 | MGM Resorts | 32.5% |
22 | Royal Caribbean Group | 32.1% |
23 | ON Semiconductor Corp | 32.0% |
24 | Booking Holdings | 31.6% |
25 | Cadence Design Systems | 30.8% |
26 | Skyworks Solutions | 30.2% |
27 | Pulte Group | 28.4% |
28 | Seagate Technology | 27.1% |
29 | Apple | 27.1% |
30 | Lam Research | 26.6% |
Nvidia shares gained the most of all the companies on the S&P 500 in Q1 2023, posting a staggering 90% return over three months.
As the world’s largest chipmaker by market cap, Nvidia gained from both strong earnings and semiconductor industry performance. It also benefited from the rising prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI) through software like ChatGPT.
Meanwhile, other tech giants Apple and Microsoft gained 27% and 21% respectively over the same time period.
Tech Leads Returns by Sector
The technology sector as a whole was the best performing sectoral index thanks to these big moves, up 21.7% at the end of March.
Sector | 3-Month Return |
---|---|
Technology | 21.65% |
Consumer Services | 21.27% |
Consumer Discretionary | 16.60% |
Materials | 4.29% |
Industrials | 3.47% |
Real Estate | 1.95% |
Consumer Staples | 0.72% |
Utilities | -3.24% |
Health Care | -4.31% |
Energy | -4.37% |
Financials | -5.56% |
S&P 500 | 7.5% |
Shares of other tech-adjacent companies like Meta (formerly Facebook) and Tesla—listed on the S&P 500 under the categories of communication services and consumer discretionary—also had a strong start to the year and lifted their respective sectors.
Meta in particular is up 76% in Q1 2023, continuing its rebound after falling to an eight-year low in November 2022 on the back of better-than-expected fourth quarter results and share buybacks.
Biggest Losers on the S&P 500
On the other side of the S&P 500, the financial sector was rocked by sudden collapses.
Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Financial Group shares lost the most ground in the first quarter, after both banks collapsed, shedding nearly all of their value in a matter of 30 days.
In fact, seven of the 10 worst performers on the index to start 2023 are banks or financial companies. The visualization shows the ripple effect on the market after the collapse of regional banks in March, and the ensuing rout driving the entire sector down 5.6% year-to-date.
Here are the top 30 biggest losers on the index from January 1 to March 31, 2023.
Rank | Company | 3-Month Return |
---|---|---|
1 | Signature Bank | -99.8% |
2 | Silicon Valley Financial Group | -99.6% |
3 | First Republic Bank | -88.5% |
4 | Lumen Technologies | -49.2% |
5 | Zions Bancorporation | -38.6% |
6 | Charles Schwab Corp | -36.9% |
7 | Comerica Incorporated | -33.9% |
8 | DISH Network | -33.5% |
9 | KeyCorp | -27.3% |
10 | Lincoln National Corp | -25.8% |
11 | Centene Corporation | -22.9% |
12 | Cigna Group | -22.5% |
13 | APA Corporation | -22.3% |
14 | Citizens Financial Group | -22.1% |
15 | Enphase Energy Inc. | -20.6% |
16 | Baxter International Inc. | -19.9% |
17 | Truist Financial Corporation | -19.9% |
18 | American International Group | -19.8% |
19 | CVS Health Corporation | -19.7% |
20 | Pfizer | -19.6% |
21 | Gen Digital | -19.5% |
22 | MetLife | -19.4% |
23 | Huntington Bancshares | -19.4% |
24 | Fidelity National | -19.3% |
25 | Halliburton Company | -19.2% |
26 | Molina Healthcare | -19.0% |
27 | PNC Financial Services | -18.8% |
28 | Boston Properties | -18.4% |
29 | Fifth Third Bancorp | -17.8% |
30 | Allstate Corporation | -17.7% |
Despite the tight monetary landscape, traditionally defensive sectors like energy, consumer staples, and healthcare also underperformed the broader index. This is a reversal from market trends seen in 2022.
Investment Trends to Watch for in 2023
Experts predict a pause in U.S. interest rate hikes “sometime in 2023” but it’s unclear when (or at what level) the pause will take place given persistent inflation in the economy.
However, if interest rates level off in 2023, it could be a key momentum maker for the S&P 500. As Barron’s points out, the index tends to rise after hikes are paused.
Meanwhile, the current tumult in the financial sector is fanning the flames of recessionary fears. How effectively regulators manage the crisis might be the story of the year.
Finally, as we have seen in 2023 so far, investor interest in AI has sent tech stocks soaring. Is this a quick fad, or an overarching trend for the year?
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