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Animation: The Largest Public Companies by Market Cap (2000–2022)

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The Largest Public Companies by Market Cap (2000–2022)

The 10 largest public companies in the world had a combined market capitalization of nearly $12 trillion as of July 2022.

But two decades ago, the players that made up the list of the largest companies by market capitalization were radically different—and as the years ticked by, emerging megatrends and market sentiment have worked to shuffle the deck multiple times.

This racing bar chart by Truman Du shows how the ranking of the top 10 largest public companies has changed from 2000 to 2022.

Market Cap vs. Market Value

Before diving in, it’s worth noting that market capitalization is just one of many metrics that can be used to help value a company.

Simply put, a company’s market cap measures the combined price of a company’s outstanding shares—in other words, it’s the price someone would pay if they wanted to purchase the company outright at current stock prices (theoretically speaking).

But while a market cap provides insight into what equity is worth at a given time, calculating the market value is far more complicated and nuanced. After all, a price paid might not reflect the actual value of a business. To get a measure of value, other metrics like a company’s price-to-sales (P/S) ratio, price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, or return-on-equity (ROE) may be considered.

The Largest Public Companies by Market Cap (2000–2022)

Over the last two decades, investor sentiment has shifted as different trends have played out, and the types of companies buoyed up by the market have changed as well.

For instance, tech and telecom companies were big in the very early 2000s, as investors got excited about the seemingly endless potential of the newly-introduced World Wide Web.

Largest Companies by Market Cap (January 1, 2000)

RankCompanyMarket Cap (Jan 1, 2000)
#1🇺🇸 Microsoft$606 billion
#2🇺🇸 General Electric$508 billion
#3🇯🇵 NTT Docomo$367 billion
#4🇺🇸 Cisco$352 billion
#5🇺🇸 Walmart$302 billion
#6🇺🇸 Intel$280 billion
#7🇯🇵 Nippon Telegraph$271 billion
#8🇫🇮 Nokia$219 billion
#9🇺🇸 Pfizer$206 billion
#10🇩🇪 Deutsche Telekom$197 billion

In the middle of the Dotcom bubble, investors were pouring money into internet-related tech startups. As PC and internet adoption picked up, investors hoped to “get in early” before these companies started to really turn a profit. This overzealous sentiment is reflected in the market capitalizations of public companies at the time, especially in the tech or telecom companies that were seen as benefitting from the internet boom.

Of course, the Dotcom bubble was not meant to last, and by January 2004 the top 10 list was looking much more diverse. At this time, Microsoft had lost the top spot to General Electric, which had a market cap of $309 billion. Then in the late 2000s, energy companies such as ExxonMobil, PetroChina, Gazprom, and BP took over the list as oil prices spiked well over $100 per barrel.

But fast forward to 2022, and we’ve come full circle, with Big Tech back in the limelight again.

Largest Companies by Market Cap (July 1, 2022)

RankCompanyMarket Cap (Jul 1, 2022)
#1🇸🇦 Saudi Aramco$2.27 trillion
#2🇺🇸 Apple$2.25 trillion
#3🇺🇸 Microsoft$1.94 trillion
#4🇺🇸 Alphabet$1.43 trillion
#5🇺🇸 Amazon$1.11 trillion
#6🇺🇸 Tesla$707 billion
#7🇺🇸 Berkshire Hathaway$612 billion
#8🇺🇸 United Health Group$485 billion
#9🇺🇸 Johnson & Johnson$472 billion
#10🇨🇳 Tencent$435 billion

Four of the five largest companies are in tech, and Tencent also cracks the list. Meanwhile, Tesla is classified as an automotive company, but it is thought of as an “internet of cars” company by many investors.

Big Picture Trends in the Top 10 by Market Cap List

YearDescriptionTop Company (Market Cap USD)Top 10 Description
2000Dotcom BubbleMicrosoft ($606B)Multiple tech/telecom companies in the mix
2004Post-BubbleGE ($309B)Diverse mix of companies by industry
2009Financial CrisisPetroChina ($367B)Six non-U.S. companies make the list
2014$100 OilApple ($560B)Last year of oil-dominated list; tech starts ascending
2022Big Tech EraAramco ($2,270B)*Tech accounts for 80% of Top 5 companies

*As of July 1, 2022. Since then, Saudi Aramco has been re-surpassed by Apple due to a reversal in oil prices.

Trending Downwards?

Amidst rising interest rates, crippling inflation, and political issues like the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, signs point towards a potential global recession. Tech companies fared well during the COVID-19 pandemic, but will likely not be immune to the impacts of a generalized economic slowdown.

It’ll be interesting to see how things pan out in 2023, and which companies (if any) will manage to stay on top throughout the turmoil.

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This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

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Swiss Watches: Market Share by Brand in 2023

In this graphic we rank the top Swiss watch brands, based on their estimated 2023 market share.

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Graphic ranking the top Swiss watch brands based on their estimated 2023 market share.

Swiss Watches: Market Share by Brand in 2023

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Swiss watches are renowned for their precision, craftsmanship, and quality. In this visualization, we rank the top Swiss watch brands based on their estimated 2023 market share, which comes from data provided by LuxeConsult and Morgan Stanley.

Rolex Dominates the Swiss Watch Market

Sales of Rolex watches are believed to have surpassed 10 billion Swiss francs ($11.2 billion) for the first time in 2023, significantly outpacing rivals like Cartier CHF 3.1 billion ($3.5 billion) and Omega CHF 2.6 billion ($2.9 billion).

Additionally, Rolex has strengthened its dominant position in the market, capturing a remarkable 30.3% retail market share.

BrandMarket Share (%)
Rolex30.3
Cartier7.5
Omega7.5
Patek Philippe5.6
Audemars Piguet4.9
Longines3.4
Richard Mille3.1
Vacheron Constantin2.7
Tissot2.5
Breitling2.4
IWC1.9
Hublot1.9
Jaeger-LeCoultre1.7
TAG Heur1.7
Other22.9

In 2023, the Swiss watch industry achieved record sales totaling CHF 26.7 billion ($30 billion). The “Big Four” watch brands—Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and Richard Mille—achieved a combined 43.9% market share last year, compared to a pre-Covid 2019 market share of 36.9%.

Also noteworthy is that Vacheron Constantin joined the billionaires’ club as the 8th brand to surpass CHF 1 billion in sales, reaching CHF 1.097 billion ($1.23 billion).

In conclusion, premium watches priced over CHF 25,000 ($28,000) drove 69% of the market’s growth in 2023, and constituted 44% of the total value of Swiss watch exports. Despite this significant value contribution, this segment represents only 2.5% of the total volume in terms of units sold.

See Related Infographics

If you enjoyed this content, check out The World’s Biggest Fashion Companies by Market Cap, or Ranked: Gen Z’s Favorite Brands in 2023.

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