Technology
Most Valuable U.S. Companies Over 100 Years
The Most Valuable Companies in America Over 100 Years
How much does the business world shift in a century?
Today’s visualization comes from HowMuch.net, and it uses Forbes data to show how the list of the top 10 companies in the U.S. has evolved over the last 100 years.
1917: The Industrialist Era
In 1911, both John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil and J.P. Morgan’s U.S. Steel (which was formed from Andrew Carnegie’s steel company and others) were facing antitrust action.
Standard Oil, which controlled over 90% of all oil in the United States by 1900, got split up into 34 independent companies after a ruling by the Supreme Court. However, U.S. Steel, which controlled 67% of steel in the country, was able to weather the antitrust storm at the time.
In the chart showing data for 1917, you can see that U.S. Steel – which was considered the world’s first “billion dollar” company – reigned supreme in the U.S. based on the value of its assets. Meanwhile, Standard Oil of N.J. (a fragment of the Standard Oil breakup) was still able to finish in the third spot on the list.
1967: The Hardware Era
Fast forward 50 years, and oil is still big.
Standard Oil of N.J. (eventually to be re-named as Exxon Corp. in 1972) is the fifth biggest company in the country. Texaco and Gulf Oil, both of which later merged into Chevron (another Standard Oil offshoot) also make the top 10 in terms of market valuation.
Aside from energy, the 1967 list seems dominated by companies that make tangible things. IBM was making some of the first and most advanced computers, GM was the largest U.S. auto manufacturer, and both Kodak and Polaroid made cameras. General Electric, a conglomerate, made everything from computers to jet engines at this time.
2017: The Platform Era
Fast forward to now, and platforms like Facebook, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Apple have taken over.
We’ve shown how these five companies make their billions, and also how Facebook and Google are able to dominate global ad revenues through scale.
Meanwhile, many of the stalwarts from 1967 have fallen: Polaroid and Kodak both filed for bankruptcy, and Sears Canada filed for bankruptcy months ago. And of the big names from 1917, only AT&T remains of significance.
This raises the question: what will the next 50 years hold – and how many names from the 2017 list will remain?
AI
Visualizing the Top U.S. States for AI Jobs
Nearly 800,000 AI jobs were posted in the U.S. throughout 2022. View this graphic to see a breakdown by state.

Visualizing the Top U.S. States for AI Jobs
Much ink has been spilled over fears that artificial intelligence (AI) will eliminate jobs in the economy. While some of those fears may be well-founded, red-hot interest in AI innovation is creating new jobs as well.
This graphic visualizes data from Lightcast, a labor market analytics firm, which shows how many AI-related jobs were posted in each state throughout 2022.
In total there were 795,624 AI jobs posted throughout the year, of which 469,925 (59%) were in the top 10. The full tally is included in the table below.
Rank | State | Number of job postings | % of total |
---|---|---|---|
1 | California | 142,154 | 17.9% |
2 | Texas | 66,624 | 8.4% |
3 | New York | 43,899 | 5.5% |
4 | Massachusetts | 34,603 | 4.3% |
5 | Virginia | 34,221 | 4.3% |
6 | Florida | 33,585 | 4.2% |
7 | Illinois | 31,569 | 4.0% |
8 | Washington | 31,284 | 3.9% |
9 | Georgia | 26,620 | 3.3% |
10 | Michigan | 25,366 | 3.2% |
11 | North Carolina | 23,854 | 3.0% |
12 | New Jersey | 23,447 | 2.9% |
13 | Colorado | 20,421 | 2.6% |
14 | Pennsylvania | 20,397 | 2.6% |
15 | Arizona | 19,514 | 2.5% |
16 | Ohio | 19,208 | 2.4% |
17 | Maryland | 16,769 | 2.1% |
18 | Minnesota | 11,808 | 1.5% |
19 | Tennessee | 11,173 | 1.4% |
20 | Missouri | 10,990 | 1.4% |
21 | Oregon | 10,811 | 1.4% |
22 | Washington, D.C. | 9,606 | 1.2% |
23 | Indiana | 9,247 | 1.2% |
24 | Connecticut | 8,960 | 1.1% |
25 | Wisconsin | 8,879 | 1.1% |
26 | Alabama | 7,866 | 1.0% |
27 | Kansas | 7,683 | 1.0% |
28 | Arkansas | 7,247 | 0.9% |
29 | Utah | 6,885 | 0.9% |
30 | Nevada | 6,813 | 0.9% |
31 | Idaho | 6,109 | 0.8% |
32 | Oklahoma | 5,719 | 0.7% |
33 | Iowa | 5,670 | 0.7% |
34 | South Carolina | 4,928 | 0.6% |
35 | Louisiana | 4,806 | 0.6% |
36 | Kentucky | 4,536 | 0.6% |
37 | Nebraska | 4,032 | 0.5% |
38 | Delaware | 3,503 | 0.4% |
39 | New Mexico | 3,357 | 0.4% |
40 | Rhode Island | 2,965 | 0.4% |
41 | New Hampshire | 2,719 | 0.3% |
42 | Hawaii | 2,550 | 0.3% |
43 | Mississippi | 2,548 | 0.3% |
44 | Maine | 2,227 | 0.3% |
45 | South Dakota | 2,195 | 0.3% |
46 | Vermont | 1,571 | 0.2% |
47 | North Dakota | 1,227 | 0.2% |
48 | Alaska | 970 | 0.1% |
49 | West Virginia | 887 | 0.1% |
50 | Montana | 833 | 0.1% |
51 | Wyoming | 769 | 0.1% |
The following chart adds some context to these numbers. It shows how the percentage of AI job postings in some of the top states has changed since 2010.
We can see that California quickly became the primary destination for AI jobs in the early 2010s, presumably as Silicon Valley companies began developing the technology.
California’s share has since declined, with a significant number of jobs seemingly moving to Texas. In fact, many tech companies are relocating to Texas to avoid California’s relatively higher taxes and cost of living.
The 10 Most In-Demand Specialized Skills
Lightcast also captured the top 10 specialized skills that were required for AI-related jobs. These are listed in the table below.
Skill | Frequency (number of postings) | Frequency (% of postings) |
---|---|---|
Python | 296,662 | 37% |
Computer Science | 260,333 | 33% |
SQL | 185,807 | 23% |
Data Analysis | 159,801 | 20% |
Data Science | 157,855 | 20% |
Amazon Web Services | 155,615 | 19% |
Agile Methodology | 152,965 | 19% |
Automation | 138,791 | 17% |
Java | 133,856 | 17% |
Software Engineering | 133,286 | 17% |
If you’re interested in a career that focuses on AI, becoming proficient in Python is likely to be a good first step.
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