The biggest companies in the world in 2022
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This year has been shaped by uncomfortable macroeconomic headwinds.
Trillions of dollars have been wiped out in market capitalizations of publicly traded companies, investor confidence has waned, and cost pressures have squeezed consumers’ pockets.
Together, many of the world’s largest companies have experienced steep declines in market share. Still, some companies in key sectors saw positive growth over the year.
As 2022 draws to a close, the infographic above shows the world’s biggest companies, using data from Companiesmarketcap.com.
The world’s largest public companies in 2022
Today, Apple is the most valuable company in the world, rising to a $2.3 trillion evaluation.
Despite the tech slump of 2022 — driven by rising interest rates and slower sales — Apple retained its top spot. This is largely due to record revenues and healthy consumer demand for iPhones, which make up about half of its total revenue.
After Apple is Microsoft. Unlike Apple, Microsoft faced slower gains over the year due to lower demand for personal computers and the strong impact of the US dollar. In all, around 50% of the company’s sales are abroad.
As we show below, there are now just four companies left in the trillion dollar market capitalization club.
| Classification 2022 | Company | market capitalization | Sector | Localization |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Litter | $2.3T | Technology | 🇺🇸 USA |
| two | Microsoft | $1.9T | Technology | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 3 | Saudi Aramco | US$ 1.8T | Energy | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia |
| 4 | Alphabet | $1.2T | Technology | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 5 | amazon | $924 billion | discretionary consumer | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 6 | Berkshire Hathaway | $686 billion | finance | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 7 | tesla | $522 billion | discretionary consumer | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 8 | UnitedHealth Group | $510 billion | Health care | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 9 | Johnson & Johnson | $465 billion | Health care | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 10 | Visa | $454 billion | industrial | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 11 | nvidia | $437 billion | Technology | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 12 | Exxon Mobil | $437 billion | Energy | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 13 | TSMC | $417 billion | Technology | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
| 14 | walmart | $399 billion | discretionary consumer | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 15 | tencent | $397 billion | Technology | 🇨🇳 China |
| 16 | JPMorgan Chase | $394 billion | finance | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 17 | LVMH | $377 billion | discretionary consumer | 🇫🇷 France |
| 18 | Procter & Gamble | $361 billion | Consumer goods | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 19 | Eli Lilly | $349 billion | Health care | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 20 | MasterCard | $344 billion | industrial | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 21 | Home Depot | $334 billion | discretionary consumer | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 22 | chevron | $328 billion | Energy | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 23 | Nestlé | $322 billion | Consumer goods | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
| 24 | Kweichow Moutai | $313 billion | Consumer goods | 🇨🇳 China |
| 25 | samsung | $306 billion | Technology | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
| 26 | Goal (Facebook) | $304 billion | Technology | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 27 | pfizer | $293 billion | Health care | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 28 | AbVie | $292 billion | Health care | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 29 | Novo Nordisk | $292 billion | Health care | 🇩🇰 Denmark |
| 30 | Coke | $277 billion | Consumer goods | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 31 | Merck | $276 billion | Health care | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 32 | rock | $267 billion | Health care | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
| 33 | Bank of America | $263 billion | finance | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 34 | pepsico | $253 billion | Consumer goods | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 35 | ASML | $247 billion | Technology | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
| 36 | alibaba | $245 billion | discretionary consumer | 🇨🇳 China |
| 37 | Broadcom | $225 billion | Technology | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 38 | Thermo Fisher Scientific | $223 billion | Health care | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 39 | Oracle | $219 billion | Technology | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 40 | costco | $216 billion | discretionary consumer | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 41 | astrazeneca | $215 billion | Health care | 🇵🇹 United Kingdom |
| 42 | trust industries | $214 billion | Energy | 🇮🇳 India |
| 43 | ICBC | $208 billion | finance | 🇨🇳 China |
| 44 | McDonalds | $203 billion | discretionary consumer | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 45 | cisco | $203 billion | telecommunications | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 46 | Shell | $201 billion | Energy | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
| 47 | Danaher | $199 billion | Health care | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 48 | L’Oréal | $197 billion | discretionary consumer | 🇫🇷 France |
| 49 | toyota | $197 billion | discretionary consumer | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| 50 | novartis | $196 billion | Health care | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
| 51 | Abbott Laboratories | $109 billion | Health care | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 52 | Accenture | $184 billion | industrial | 🇮🇪 Ireland |
| 53 | mobile tee | $177 billion | telecommunications | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 54 | Nike | $175 billion | discretionary consumer | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 55 | walt disney | $173 billion | discretionary consumer | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 56 | Nextera Energy | $172 billion | public utility services | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 57 | Hermes | $169 billion | discretionary consumer | 🇫🇷 France |
| 58 | Bristol-Myers Squibb | $168 billion | Health care | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 59 | Linde | $166 billion | Basic materials | 🇵🇹 United Kingdom |
| 60 | Wells Fargo | $163 billion | finance | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 61 | Texas Instruments | $161 billion | Technology | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 62 | BHP Group | $160 billion | Basic materials | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| 63 | verizon | $159 billion | telecommunications | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 64 | Philip Morris | $159 billion | Consumer goods | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 65 | comcast | $158 billion | telecommunications | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 66 | UPS | $158 billion | industrial | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 67 | Adobe | $157 billion | Technology | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 68 | morgan stanley | $154 billion | finance | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 69 | China Building Bank | $152 billion | finance | 🇨🇳 China |
| 70 | TotalEnergies | $152 billion | Energy | 🇫🇷 France |
| 71 | Charles Schwab | $150 billion | finance | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 72 | amgen | $148 billion | Health care | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 73 | Raytheon Technologies | $146 billion | industrial | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 74 | Tata Consultoria | $146 billion | Technology | 🇮🇳 India |
| 75 | CATL | $145 billion | discretionary consumer | 🇨🇳 China |
| 76 | chinese cell phone | $145 billion | telecommunications | 🇨🇳 China |
| 77 | honeywell | $144 billion | industrial | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 78 | Agricultural Bank of China | $141 billion | finance | 🇨🇳 China |
| 79 | Netflix | $140 billion | discretionary consumer | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 80 | Meituan | $140 billion | Technology | 🇨🇳 China |
| 81 | ConocoPhillips | $139 billion | Energy | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 82 | ATT | $138 billion | finance | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 83 | Health CVS | $136 billion | Health care | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 84 | dior | $136 billion | discretionary consumer | 🇫🇷 France |
| 85 | qualcomm | $136 billion | Technology | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 86 | Prosus | $135 billion | Technology | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
| 87 | red blood cells | $135 billion | finance | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| 88 | IBM | $134 billion | Technology | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 89 | Sales force | $133 billion | Technology | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 90 | union pacific | $133 billion | industrial | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 91 | deere & company | $132 billion | industrial | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 92 | Unilever | $130 billion | Consumer goods | 🇵🇹 United Kingdom |
| 93 | Bank CM | $130 billion | finance | 🇨🇳 China |
| 94 | HDFC bank | $129 billion | finance | 🇮🇳 India |
| 95 | Elevation Health | $128 billion | Health care | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 96 | EIA | $128 billion | finance | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong |
| 97 | Lockheed Martin | $127 billion | industrial | 🇺🇸 USA |
| 98 | PetroChina | $127 billion | Energy | 🇨🇳 China |
| 99 | SAP | $127 billion | Technology | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| 100 | lowe’s | $124 billion | discretionary consumer | 🇺🇸 USA |
*As of December 12, 2022.
Oil giant Saudi Aramco is the world’s third-largest publicly traded company by $1.8 trillion. It is also the only non-US company in the top 10.
In May, the state-owned company briefly became the most valuable company on the planet as rising energy prices boosted gains. Saudi Arabia is the world’s biggest oil exporter, and the country’s economy is expected to grow by 7.6% in 2022 – one of the fastest in the world.
Overall, 62 of the top 100 companies are headquartered in the US, 11 in China and five in France.
Top 10 performers in 2022
For many of the world’s biggest companies, 2022 was a brutal year for performance.
As the chart above shows, the vast majority of the world’s titans have seen their market values drop. Half of those companies saw double-digit declines.
Tesla witnessed almost 70% of its market value being erased this year. Two main factors are behind this drop: the drop in demand, especially in China, and the volatile and risky acquisition of Twitter by CEO Elon Musk.
By contrast, UnitedHealth Group was the strongest performer in the top 10.
The company, which derives much of its earnings from employer-backed insurance plans, said the impacts of the recession have not yet begun to materialize in 2022.
Largest companies in the world, by sector
Even as industry-wide market values plummet in 2022, technology remains dominant.
Among the world’s largest companies, 20 are in technology, encompassing a combined market cap of $9.2 trillion. To give you an idea, this represents about 31% of the market value of the top 100 companies.
| Classification | Sector | Combined market value | Number of companies | Largest Company in the Sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 👩💻 Technology | US$ 9.2T | 20 | Litter |
| two | 🚗 Discretionary Consumer | $4.7T | 17 | amazon |
| 3 | 🩺 Cheers | $4.3T | 17 | UnitedHealth Group |
| 4 | 🛢️Energy | $3.4 trillion | 8 | Saudi Aramco |
| 5 | 💵 Financial | US$ 3.0T | 14 | Berkshire Hathaway |
| 6 | 🏭 Industrial | US$ 1.8T | 9 | Visa |
| 7 | 🥫 Consumer Goods | US$ 1.8T | 7 | Procter & Gamble |
| 8 | 📞 Telecommunications | $841 billion | 5 | cisco |
| 9 | ⛏️ Basic Materials | $326 billion | two | Linde |
| 10 | 🔌 Utilities | $127 billion | 1 | Nextera Energy |
Companies are ranked according to the FTSE Russell Industry Classification Benchmark. *As of December 12, 2022.
The consumer discretionary and healthcare sectors are next, with big players like Amazon and Johnson & Johnson among their ranks.
At the other end of the spectrum are utilities, the smallest sector overall, at least belonging to the list of largest companies. NextEra Energy, the only utility among the rankings, is one of the world’s largest wind and solar power developers. Over the next three years, it plans to invest up to $95 billion to green its energy operations.
change of fortune
It’s no surprise that many of the world’s largest companies are long-established players in global markets.
However, within the ranking, some of the notable increases compared to 2021 are UnitedHealth Group, which launched from 19th in 2021 to 8th this year, and NVIDIA, which rose to become the 11th largest company globally, above the 24th place last year.
On the other hand, some of the biggest losers are Meta (parent company of Facebook) and Alibaba. Meta has dropped in the rankings to 26th place in 2022 from 6th in 2021. Meanwhile, Alibaba was once the ninth largest globally, but has fallen to 36th place. Both companies have seen considerable value wiped out of their market values – around 66% and 28% respectively – amid lagging earnings.
With the year drawing 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.
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