The Biggest Companies in the World in 2021

The Biggest Companies in the World

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Since the COVID-19 crash, global equity markets have seen a strong recovery. The 100 biggest companies in the world were worth a record-breaking $31.7 trillion as of March 31 2021, up 48% year-over-year. As a point of comparison, the combined GDP of the U.S. and China was $35.7 trillion in 2020.

In today’s graphic, we use PwC data to show the world’s biggest businesses by market capitalization, as well as the countries and sectors they are from.

The Top 100, Ranked

PwC ranked the largest publicly-traded companies by their market capitalization in U.S. dollars. It’s also worth noting that sector classification is based on the FTSE Russell Industry Classification Benchmark, and a company’s location is based on where its headquarters are located.

Here is the top 100 ranking of the biggest companies in the world, organized from the biggest to the smallest.

Rank	Company name	Location	Sector	Market Capitalization
1	APPLE INC	🇺🇸 United States	Technology	$2.1T
2	SAUDI ARAMCO	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	Energy	$1.9T
3	MICROSOFT CORP	🇺🇸 United States	Technology	$1.8T
4	AMAZON.COM INC	🇺🇸 United States	Consumer Discretionary	$1.6T
5	ALPHABET INC	🇺🇸 United States	Technology	$1.4T
6	FACEBOOK INC	🇺🇸 United States	Technology	$839B
7	TENCENT	🇨🇳 China	Technology	$753B
8	TESLA INC	🇺🇸 United States	Consumer Discretionary	$641B
9	ALIBABA GRP	🇨🇳 China	Consumer Discretionary	$615B
10	BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY	🇺🇸 United States	Financials	$588B
11	TSMC	🇹🇼 Taiwan	Technology	$534B
12	VISA INC	🇺🇸 United States	Industrials	$468B
13	JPMORGAN CHASE	🇺🇸 United States	Financials	$465B
14	JOHNSON & JOHNSON	🇺🇸 United States	Health Care	$433B
15	SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS	🇰🇷 South Korea	Technology	$431B
16	KWEICHOW MOUTA	🇨🇳 China	Consumer Staples	$385B
17	WALMART INC	🇺🇸 United States	Consumer Discretionary	$383B
18	MASTERCARD INC	🇺🇸 United States	Industrials	$354B
19	UNITEDHEALTH GRP	🇺🇸 United States	Health Care	$352B
20	LVMH MOET HENNESSY	🇫🇷 France	Consumer Discretionary	$337B
21	WALT DISNEY CO	🇺🇸 United States	Consumer Discretionary	$335B
22	BANK OF AMERICA	🇺🇸 United States	Financials	$334B
23	PROCTER & GAMBLE	🇺🇸 United States	Consumer Staples	$333B
24	NVIDIA CORP	🇺🇸 United States	Technology	$331B
25	HOME DEPOT INC	🇺🇸 United States	Consumer Discretionary	$329B
26	NESTLE SA	🇨🇭 Switzerland	Consumer Staples	$322B
27	IND & COMM BK	🇨🇳 China	Financials	$290B
28	PAYPAL HOLDINGS	🇺🇸 United States	Industrials	$284B
29	ROCHE HOLDING	🇨🇭 Switzerland	Health Care	$283B
30	INTEL CORP	🇺🇸 United States	Technology	$261B
31	ASML HOLDING NV	🇳🇱 Netherlands	Technology	$255B
32	TOYOTA MOTOR	🇯🇵 Japan	Consumer Discretionary	$254B
33	COMCAST CORP	🇺🇸 United States	Telecommunications	$248B
34	VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS	🇺🇸 United States	Telecommunications	$241B
35	EXXON MOBIL CORP	🇺🇸 United States	Energy	$236B
36	NETFLIX INC	🇺🇸 United States	Consumer Discretionary	$231B
37	ADOBE INC	🇺🇸 United States	Technology	$228B
38	COCA-COLA CO	🇺🇸 United States	Consumer Staples	$227B
39	MEITUAN	🇨🇳 China	Technology	$226B
40	PING AN	🇨🇳 China	Financials	$219B
41	CISCO SYSTEMS	🇺🇸 United States	Telecommunications	$218B
42	AT&T INC	🇺🇸 United States	Financials	$216B
43	L'OREAL	🇫🇷 France	Consumer Discretionary	$215B
44	CHINA CONSTRUCTION BANK	🇨🇳 China	Financials	$213B
45	ABBOTT LABS	🇺🇸 United States	Health Care	$212B
46	NOVARTIS AG	🇨🇭 Switzerland	Health Care	$212B
47	NIKE INC	🇺🇸 United States	Consumer Discretionary	$209B
48	ORACLE CORP	🇺🇸 United States	Technology	$202B
49	PFIZER INC	🇺🇸 United States	Health Care	$202B
50	CHEVRON CORP	🇺🇸 United States	Oil & Gas	$202B
51	CHINA MERCH	🇨🇳 China	Financials	$196B
52	PEPSICO INC	🇺🇸 United States	Consumer Staples	$195B
53	SALESFORCE.COM	🇺🇸 United States	Technology	$195B
54	MERCK & CO	🇺🇸 United States	Health Care	$195B
55	ABBVIE INC	🇺🇸 United States	Health Care	$191B
56	BROADCOM INC	🇺🇸 United States	Technology	$189B
57	PROSUS NV	🇳🇱 Netherlands	Technology	$181B
58	RELIANCE INDS	🇮🇳 India	Energy	$180B
59	THERMO FISHER	🇺🇸 United States	Health Care	$180B
60	ELI LILLY & CO	🇺🇸 United States	Health Care	$179B
61	AGRICULTURAL BANK OF CHINA	🇨🇳 China	Financials	$178B
62	SOFTBANK GROUP	🇯🇵 Japan	Telecommunications	$176B
63	ACCENTURE PLC	🇮🇪 Ireland	Industrials	$176B
64	TEXAS INSTRUMENT	🇺🇸 United States	Technology	$174B
65	MCDONALDS CORP	🇺🇸 United States	Consumer Discretionary	$167B
66	VOLKSWAGEN AG	🇩🇪 Germany	Consumer Discretionary	$165B
67	BHP GROUP LTD	🇦🇺 Australia	Basic Materials	$163B
68	WELLS FARGO & CO	🇺🇸 United States	Financials	$162B
69	TATA CONSULTANCY	🇮🇳 India	Technology	$161B
70	DANAHER CORP	🇺🇸 United States	Health Care	$160B
71	NOVO NORDISK	🇩🇰 Denmark	Health Care	$160B
72	MEDTRONIC PLC	🇮🇪 Ireland	Health Care	$159B
73	WULIANGYE YIBI	🇨🇳 China	Consumer Staples	$159B
74	COSTCO WHOLESALE	🇺🇸 United States	Consumer Discretionary	$156B
75	T-MOBILE US INC	🇺🇸 United States	Telecommunications	$156B
76	CITIGROUP INC	🇺🇸 United States	Financials	$152B
77	HONEYWELL INTL	🇺🇸 United States	Industrials	$151B
78	QUALCOMM INC	🇺🇸 United States	Technology	$151B
79	SAP SE	🇩🇪 Germany	Technology	$151B
80	BOEING CO	🇺🇸 United States	Industrials	$149B
81	ROYAL DUTCH SHELL	🇳🇱 Netherlands	Oil & Gas	$148B
82	NEXTERA ENERGY	🇺🇸 United States	Utilities	$148B
83	UNITED PARCEL	🇺🇸 United States	Industrials	$148B
84	UNION PAC CORP	🇺🇸 United States	Industrials	$148B
85	UNILEVER PLC	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	Consumer Staples	$147B
86	AIA	🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR	Financials	$147B
87	LINDE PLC	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	Basic Materials	$146B
88	AMGEN INC	🇺🇸 United States	Health Care	$144B
89	BRISTOL-MYER SQB	🇺🇸 United States	Health Care	$141B
90	SIEMENS AG	🇩🇪 Germany	Industrials	$140B
91	BANK OF CHINA	🇨🇳 China	Financials	$139B
92	PHILIP MORRIS INC	🇺🇸 United States	Consumer Staples	$138B
93	LOWE'S COS INC	🇺🇸 United States	Consumer Discretionary	$136B
94	CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS	🇺🇸 United States	Telecommunications	$135B
95	CHINA MOBILE	🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR	Telecommunications	$134B
96	SONY GROUP CORP	🇯🇵 Japan	Consumer Discretionary	$132B
97	ASTRAZENECA PLC	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	Health Care	$131B
98	ROYAL BANK OF CANADA	🇨🇦 Canada	Financials	$131B
99	STARBUCKS CORP	🇺🇸 United States	Consumer Discretionary	$129B
100	ANHEUSER-BUSCH	🇧🇪 Belgium	Consumer Staples	$128B

Note: Data as of March 31, 2021.

Within the ranking, there was a wide disparity in value. Apple was worth over $2 trillion, more than 16 times that of Anheuser-Busch (AB InBev), which took the 100th spot at $128 billion.

In total, 59 companies were headquartered in the United States, making up 65% of the top 100’s total market capitalization. China and its regions was the second most common location for company headquarters, with 14 companies on the list.

Risers and Fallers

What are some of the notable changes to the biggest companies in the world compared to last year’s ranking?

Tesla’s market capitalization surged by an eye-watering 565%, temporarily making Elon Musk the richest person in the world. Food delivery platform Meituan and PayPal benefited from growing e-commerce popularity with their market capitalizations growing by 221% and 151% respectively.

Tech companies TSMC and ASML Holdings were also among the top 10 risers, thanks to a shortage of semiconductor chips and growing demand.

On the other end of the scale, Swiss companies Nestlé, Novartis, and Roche Holding were all among the bottom 10 companies by market capitalization growth. China Mobile was the only company to decline with a -12% change. The company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange as a result of an executive order issued by former president Donald Trump, and recently announced its intention to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

A Sector View

Across the 100 biggest companies in the world, some sectors had higher weightings.

Sector	Total Market Cap in Top 100	% of Top 100 Market Cap	Number of Companies in Top 100
Technology	$10.5T	33.0%	20
Consumer Discretionary	$6.0T	18.9%	17
Financials	$3.4T	10.8%	14
Health Care	$3.3T	10.5%	16
Energy	$2.7T	8.5%	5
Consumer Staples	$2.0T	6.4%	9
Industrials	$2.0T	6.4%	9
Telecommunications	$1.3T	4.1%	7
Basic Materials	$0.3T	1.0%	2
Utilities	$0.1T	0.5%	1

Technology had the highest market capitalization and was also the most common sector, with Big Tech dominating the top 10. Companies in the consumer discretionary, financials, and health care sectors also had a strong representation in the ranking.

Despite having only five companies on the list, the energy sector amounted to almost 10% of the top 100’s market capitalization, mostly due to Saudi Aramco’s whopping valuation.

An Uncertain Recovery

From near market lows on March 31, 2020, all sectors saw increases in their market capitalization. However, top 100 companies in some sectors outperformed their respective industry index, while others did not.

Basic materials and industrials, both cyclical sectors, were high performers in the top 100 and outperformed their respective industry indexes. Technology companies also outperformed, and accounted for $255 billion or 31% of all shareholder distributions by the top 100, far more than any other sector. Apple alone spent $73 billion on share buybacks and $14 billion in dividends in the 2020 calendar year.

On the other hand, the worst-performing sectors in the top 100 were health care, utilities, and energy. While the index performance for health care and utilities was also relatively poor, the wider energy sector performed fairly well.

It’s perhaps not surprising that all sectors saw positive returns since their low levels in March 2020, buoyed by fiscal stimulus and central bank policies. As countries begin to reopen, will the value of the biggest companies in the world continue to climb?