The World’s Largest Companies in 2022
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This year has been shaped by uncomfortable macroeconomic headwinds.
Trillions of dollars were wiped off the market capitalization of public companies, investor confidence plummeted, and cost pressures squeezed consumer pocketbooks.
Taken together, many of the world’s largest companies experienced sharp declines in market share. Nevertheless, some companies in key sectors have posted positive year-on-year growth.
As 2022 approaches, the infographic above shows the world’s largest companies using data from Companiesmarketcap.com.
World’s Largest Public Companies in 2022
Today, Apple stands as the world’s most valuable company, towering over one $2.3 trillion assessment.
Despite the tech recession of 2022 – driven by rising interest rates and sluggish sales – Apple retained its top spot. This was largely thanks to record revenue and healthy consumer demand for iPhones, which drive half of its total revenue.
Apple is followed by Microsoft. Unlike Apple, Microsoft faced lower earnings for the year due to lower demand for personal computers and the weighting effect of a stronger US dollar. Overall, about 50% of the company’s sales are overseas.
As we show below, there are now only four companies left in the trillion dollar market cap club.
| 2022 category | Company | Market capitalization | area | location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | apple | $2.3T | Technology | 🇺🇸 America |
| 2 | Microsoft | $1.9T | Technology | 🇺🇸 America |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia | $1.8T | Energy | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia |
| 4 | Alphabet | $1.2T | Technology | 🇺🇸 America |
| 5 | Amazon | $924B | Consumer discretion | 🇺🇸 America |
| 6 | Berkshire Hathaway | $686B | financial | 🇺🇸 America |
| 7 | Tesla | $522 billion | Consumer discretion | 🇺🇸 America |
| 8 | United Health Group | $510B | Health care | 🇺🇸 America |
| 9 | Johnson & Johnson | $465 billion | Health care | 🇺🇸 America |
| 10 | Visa | $454 billion | Industrial | 🇺🇸 America |
| 11 | NVIDIA | $437 billion | Technology | 🇺🇸 America |
| 12 | Exxon Mobil | $437 billion | Energy | 🇺🇸 America |
| 13 | TSMC | $417 billion | Technology | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
| 14 | Walmart | $399B | Consumer discretion | 🇺🇸 America |
| 15 | Tencent | $397 billion | Technology | 🇨🇳 China |
| 16 | JP Morgan Chase | $394 billion | financial | 🇺🇸 America |
| 17 | LVMH | $377B | Consumer discretion | 🇫🇷 France |
| 18 | Proctor and gambling | $361 billion | Consumer staples | 🇺🇸 America |
| 19 | Eli Lilly | $349B | Health care | 🇺🇸 America |
| 20 | MasterCard | $344 billion | Industrial | 🇺🇸 America |
| 21 | Home Depot | $334 billion | Consumer discretion | 🇺🇸 America |
| 22 | Chevron | $328 billion | Energy | 🇺🇸 America |
| 23 | Nestlé | $322 billion | Consumer staples | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
| 24 | Kweichow Moutai | $313 billion | Consumer staples | 🇨🇳 China |
| 25 | Samsung | $306B | Technology | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
| 26 | Meta (Facebook) | $304 billion | Technology | 🇺🇸 America |
| 27 | Pfizer | $293 billion | Health care | 🇺🇸 America |
| 28 | AbbVie | $292 billion | Health care | 🇺🇸 America |
| 29 | Novo Nordisk | $292 billion | Health care | 🇩🇰 Denmark |
| 30 | coca cola | $277B | Consumer staples | 🇺🇸 America |
| 31 | Merck | $276B | Health care | 🇺🇸 America |
| 32 | Roche | $267B | Health care | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
| 33 | Bank of America | $263B | financial | 🇺🇸 America |
| 34 | PepsiCo | $253B | Consumer staples | 🇺🇸 America |
| 35 | ASML | $247B | Technology | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
| 36 | Ali Baba | $245B | Consumer discretion | 🇨🇳 China |
| 37 | Broadcom | $225 billion | Technology | 🇺🇸 America |
| 38 | Thermo Fisher Scientific | $223 billion | Health care | 🇺🇸 America |
| 39 | the oracle | $219B | Technology | 🇺🇸 America |
| 40 | Costco | $216B | Consumer discretion | 🇺🇸 America |
| 41 | AstraZeneca | $215B | Health care | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| 42 | Reliance Industries | $214B | Energy | 🇮🇳 India |
| 43 | ICBC | $208B | financial | 🇨🇳 China |
| 44 | McDonald’s | $203B | Consumer discretion | 🇺🇸 America |
| 45 | Cisco | $203B | Telecommunication | 🇺🇸 America |
| 46 | open up | $201 billion | Energy | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
| 47 | Danahar | $199B | Health care | 🇺🇸 America |
| 48 | L’Oreal | $197B | Consumer discretion | 🇫🇷 France |
| 49 | Toyota | $197B | Consumer discretion | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| 50 | Novartis | $196B | Health care | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
| 51 | Abbott Laboratories | $109B | Health care | 🇺🇸 America |
| 52 | Accenture | $184 billion | Industrial | 🇮🇪 Ireland |
| 53 | T-Mobile | $177 billion | Telecommunication | 🇺🇸 America |
| 54 | Nike | $175 billion | Consumer discretion | 🇺🇸 America |
| 55 | Walt Disney | $173 billion | Consumer discretion | 🇺🇸 America |
| 56 | Nextera Energy | $172 billion | utilities | 🇺🇸 America |
| 57 | Hermes | $169B | Consumer discretion | 🇫🇷 France |
| 58 | Bristol-Myers Squibb | $168B | Health care | 🇺🇸 America |
| 59 | Linde | $166B | Basic ingredients | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| 60 | Wells Fargo | $163 billion | financial | 🇺🇸 America |
| 61 | Texas Instruments | $161 billion | Technology | 🇺🇸 America |
| 62 | BHP Group | $160B | Basic ingredients | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| 63 | Verizon | $159 billion | Telecommunication | 🇺🇸 America |
| 64 | Philip Morris | $159 billion | Consumer staples | 🇺🇸 America |
| 65 | Comcast | $158 billion | Telecommunication | 🇺🇸 America |
| 66 | UPS | $158 billion | Industrial | 🇺🇸 America |
| 67 | Adobe | $157 billion | Technology | 🇺🇸 America |
| 68 | Morgan Stanley | $154 billion | financial | 🇺🇸 America |
| 69 | China Construction Bank | $152 billion | financial | 🇨🇳 China |
| 70 | total energy | $152 billion | Energy | 🇫🇷 France |
| 71 | Charles Schwab | $150B | financial | 🇺🇸 America |
| 72 | Amgen | $148 billion | Health care | 🇺🇸 America |
| 73 | Raytheon Technology | $146 billion | Industrial | 🇺🇸 America |
| 74 | Tata Consultancy | $146 billion | Technology | 🇮🇳 India |
| 75 | CATL | $145 billion | Consumer discretion | 🇨🇳 China |
| 76 | China Mobile | $145 billion | Telecommunication | 🇨🇳 China |
| 77 | Honeywell | $144 billion | Industrial | 🇺🇸 America |
| 78 | Agricultural Bank of China | $141 billion | financial | 🇨🇳 China |
| 79 | Netflix | $140B | Consumer discretion | 🇺🇸 America |
| 80 | Meituan | $140B | Technology | 🇨🇳 China |
| 81 | Conoco Philips | $139 billion | Energy | 🇺🇸 America |
| 82 | AT&T | $138 billion | financial | 🇺🇸 America |
| 83 | CVS Health | $136 billion | Health care | 🇺🇸 America |
| 84 | Dyer | $136 billion | Consumer discretion | 🇫🇷 France |
| 85 | Qualcomm | $136 billion | Technology | 🇺🇸 America |
| 86 | Process | $135 billion | Technology | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
| 87 | RBC | $135 billion | financial | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| 88 | IBM | $134 billion | Technology | 🇺🇸 America |
| 89 | Salesforce | $133 billion | Technology | 🇺🇸 America |
| 90 | Union Pacific | $133 billion | Industrial | 🇺🇸 America |
| 91 | Deere & Company | $132 billion | Industrial | 🇺🇸 America |
| 92 | Unilever | $130B | Consumer staples | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| 93 | CM Bank | $130B | financial | 🇨🇳 China |
| 94 | HDFC Bank | $129B | financial | 🇮🇳 India |
| 95 | Advance health | $128B | Health care | 🇺🇸 America |
| 96 | AIA | $128B | financial | Hong Kong |
| 97 | Lockheed Martin | $127 billion | Industrial | 🇺🇸 America |
| 98 | Petro China | $127 billion | Energy | 🇨🇳 China |
| 99 | SAP | $127 billion | Technology | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| 100 | Lowe’s | $124 billion | Consumer discretion | 🇺🇸 America |
*As of December 12, 2022.
Oil company Saudi Aram is the world’s third largest publicly traded company $1.8 trillion. It is also the only non-US company in the top 10.
In May, the state-run company briefly became the most valuable company on the planet as energy prices continued to rise. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest exporter of oil, and the country’s economy is projected to grow 7.6% in 2022 — one of the fastest globally.
Overall, 62 of the 100 largest companies are headquartered in the US, 11 are based in China, and five are located in France.
Top 10 performances in 2022
For many of the world’s largest companies, 2022 was a brutal year for performance.
As the above graphic shows, most of the titans of the world saw their market value fall. Half of these companies saw double-digit declines.
Tesla is almost a witness 70% Its market cap has been wiped out this year. There are two main factors behind this decline: falling demand, especially in China, and CEO Elon Musk’s volatile and risky acquisition of Twitter.
On the other hand, UnitedHealth Group saw the strongest performance among the top 10.
The company, which derives the bulk of its revenue from employer-sponsored insurance plans, said the effects of the recession have yet to materialize in 2022.
The largest companies in the world, by region
Even as market values plunge across the sector in 2022, tech remains dominant.
Of the world’s largest companies, 20 are in the technology sector, with a combined market value spread. $9.2 trillion. For perspective, that’s about 31% of the market value of the 100 largest companies.
| category | area | Combined market value | Number of companies | The largest company in the field |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 👩💻 technology | $9.2T | 20 | apple |
| 2 | 🚗 Consumer discretion | $4.7T | 17 | Amazon |
| 3 | 🩺 Health care | $4.3T | 17 | United Health Group |
| 4 | 🛢️ Energy | $3.4T | 8 | Saudi Arabia |
| 5 | 💵 Financial | $3.0T | 14 | Berkshire Hathaway |
| 6 | 🏭 Industrial | $1.8T | 9 | Visa |
| 7 | 🥫 Consumer Staples | $1.8T | 7 | Proctor and gambling |
| 8 | 📞 Telecommunications | $841 billion | 5 | Cisco |
| 9 | ⛏️ Basic Materials | $326B | 2 | Linde |
| 10 | 🔌 Utilities | $127 billion | 1 | Nextera Energy |
Companies are classified according to the FTSE Russell Industry Classification benchmark. *As of December 12, 2022.
The consumer discretionary and healthcare sectors fall into line, with big players like Amazon and Johnson & Johnson falling into their ranks.
At the other end of the spectrum are utilities, the smallest sector belonging to at least the largest list of companies. NextEra Energy, the only utility company ranked, is one of the world’s largest developers of wind and solar energy. Over the next three years, it plans to invest up to $95 billion to green its power operations.
Change of fate
It is no surprise that many of the world’s largest companies are long-established players in global markets.
Yet within the rankings, some notable risers compared to 2021 are UnitedHealth Group, which launched from #19 in 2021 to #8 this year, and NVIDIA, which rose from #24 last year to become the 11th largest company globally.
Conversely, some of the biggest losers are Meta (Facebook’s parent company) and Alibaba. Meta dropped from #6 in 2021 to #26 in 2022. Meanwhile, Alibaba was once the ninth largest globally but has fallen to #36. Both companies have seen significant value eroded from their market caps — 66% and 28%, respectively — amid lagging earnings.
As the year draws to a close, it remains to be seen whether the world’s biggest companies will make a comeback in 2023 or face more challenging conditions ahead.