It’s no secret that tech giants have exploded in value over the last few years, but the scale can be hard to comprehend.

Through wide-scaling market penetration, smart diversification, and the transformation of products into services, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google have reached market capitalizations well above $1.5 trillion.

To help us better understand these staggering numbers, a recent study at Mackeeper took the market capitalization of multiple tech giants and compared them with the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of countries.

Editor’s note: While these numbers are interesting to compare, it’s worth noting that they represent different things. Market cap is the total value of shares outstanding in a publicly-traded company and gives an indication of total valuation, and GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced by a country in an entire year.

Companies vs. Countries: Tech Giants

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If Apple’s market capitalization was equal to a country’s annual GDP, it might just be in the G7.

At a market cap of more than $2.1 trillion, Apple’s market capitalization is larger than 96% of country GDPs, a list that includes Italy, Brazil, Canada, and Russia.

In fact, only seven countries in the world have a higher GDP than Apple’s market cap.

Further back is Microsoft, which would be the 10th richest country in the world if market cap was equivalent to GDP.

With a market cap of more than $1.9 trillion, Microsoft’s value is larger than the GDP of global powerhouses Brazil, Canada, Russia, and South Korea.

Though all of the tech giants fared well during the COVID-19 pandemic, perhaps none have stood to benefit as much as Amazon.

With online retail and web services both in high demand, Amazon’s market cap has grown to $1.7 trillion, larger than 92% of country GDPs.

Other Companies “Bigger” Than Countries

Tech giants aren’t the only companies that would give countries a run for their money.

Saudi Arabia’s state-owned corporation Saudi Aramco also makes the list, boasting a market cap more than double the GDP of its home country.

China’s tech giant Tencent also has a market cap that towers over many country GDPs, such as those of Switzerland or Poland.

Until recently, Tencent was also ahead of fellow tech giant Facebook in market cap, but the social network has climbed ahead and almost reached $1 trillion in market capitalization.

Of course, the biggest caveat to consider with these comparisons is the difference between market cap and GDP numbers.

A company’s market cap is a proxy of its net worth in the eyes of public markets and changes constantly, while GDP measures the economic output of a country in a given year.

But companies directly and indirectly affect the economies of countries around the world. With international reach, wealth accumulation, and impact, it’s important to consider just how much wealth and power these companies have.

The Dividend Aristocrats in 2021

Legendary investor George Soros once said, “Good investing should be boring”. But an increase in volatile themes today suggests this maxim has gone ignored by at least some market participants.

From a high level, we can view investments on a spectrum. Volatile assets like cryptocurrencies and SPACs are more on the exciting side of things. The boring side is likely where Dividend Aristocrat stocks lie.

The data above, from Sure Dividend, looks at all 65 Dividend Aristocrats, ranking them by their yield, sector, and years of growth.

What are Dividend Aristocrats?

The U.S. Dividend Aristocrats are a basket of 65 stocks in the S&P 500 index. These companies have been growing their dividend per share consecutively, for a minimum of 25 years.

This is easier said than done, since companies often distribute dividends quarterly. To pay and grow a dividend in the long run implies a business model that can withstand varying economic environments, including setbacks like market crashes.

Though dividend stocks may not carry the same excitement as other investments, studies show that dividends represent over 50% of total S&P 500 market returns.

Numerous companies on this list have brand value that stretches all over the globe—including the likes of McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Walmart.

Vast global recognition and branding power is in part why these companies can generate cash flows to pay dividends for decades on end. For instance, 94% of the world population recognizes Coca-Cola’s logo.

Zooming In

The 65 Dividend Aristocrat stocks break down into 11 sectors. Across sectors, Industrials is the most crowded, consisting of 14 companies, with an average yield of 1.6% and a dividend growth duration of 43 years. Popular stocks in this sector include 3M and Caterpillar.

Next is the Consumer Defensive sector, containing 13 companies like Clorox, Target, Pepsi, and Procter & Gamble. The average yield is 2.2%, with an average growing duration of 49 years.

The highest yield by sector belongs to Energy, at 5.5%, but is only made up of only Chevron and Exxon Mobil. Their dividend track record may falter in the years to come, due to transitions away from the oil business. Just last year, Big Oil firms reported record net income losses, and Exxon was booted from the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA).

The Consumer Cyclical sector has been increasing their dividend for an average of 50 years, the longest of any sector. Lowe’s and McDonald’s are involved in this category.

Businesses for Today and Tomorrow

Although the Dividend Aristocrats list is published every year, the companies on the list are a stable bunch, meaning changes are fairly infrequent.

In a market climate in part shaped by low rates and compressed yields in the fixed income space, Dividend Aristocrats might be a particularly attractive alternative for investors with a longer-term outlook.