10 Largest Companies In The World Ranked By Market Cap

These are the 10 largest publicly traded companies in the world by market capitalisation as of 3 June 2022 in U.S. dollars (USD).^[1] Market cap is calculated by multiplying the number of the company's common shares outstanding by the market value of each share.

1. Saudi Aramco

Saudi Aramco, or Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is the largest company in the world by market capitalization at US$8.9 trillion, although its publicly traded shares are worth US$2.36 trillion, just ahead of Apple. The company is the world's largest integrated oil and gas company. It is based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia and operates worldwide, employing more than 70,000 people.^[2]

The company went public in December 2019 when it sold US$1.88 trillion of stock, the largest initial public offering in history.

2. Apple

Apple Inc. ranks number two in terms of market cap, at US$2.35 trillion as of 3 June 2022.^[1] Based in Cupertino, California, Apple was founded in 1977 by high school classmates Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak, who created the first personal computer.^[4]

The company has since grown to 154,000 employees and designs and produces dozens of hardware and software products. They include Mac desktops and laptops, iPads, iPhones, Apple Watches and Apple TVs.^[5] It also operates a global chain of physical retail stores and the online App Store, where people can download and stream mobile phone apps, music, movies and other entertainments. It operates Apple Pay, too, an electronic payments system.^[5]

3. Microsoft

Microsoft is the third-most valuable company, with a market cap of about US$2.02 trillion as of 3 June 2022.^[1]

Based in Redmond, Washington, Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates, currently the third-richest person in the world, according to Forbes magazine, with a net worth of US$129 billion as of April 2022. Steve Ballmer, Gates' successor as CEO from 2000 to 2014, is the ninth-richest, at US$91.4 billion.^[3]

The company builds and sells both computer hardware and software products and services. Its main software products include the Windows operating system, the Office suite of digital programs, Outlook email, Skype, and OneDrive. Its hardware offerings include Surface tablet computers and Xbox game consoles. It also owns the LinkedIn professional networking website and operates the Bing search engine, the MSN news website, and the Edge web browser. It's also a big player in cloud computing services.^[6]

4. Alphabet (Google)

Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin as an online computer search engine that has grown into one of the largest companies in the world, now employing nearly 119,000 people. It offers more than 50 products and services, including the Android operating system and dozens of popular apps, including Google Maps and Google Play. It also owns the YouTube video platform. Google makes most of its revenue from online advertising.^[7]

Google parent Alphabet Inc. had a market cap of US$1.505 trillion as of 3 June 2022.^[1]
The company is based in Mountain View, California.^[8] Page and Brin are, respectively, the sixth and seventh wealthiest people in the world, with net worths of US$111 billion and US$107 billion.^[3]

5. Amazon.com

Amazon.com, the largest online retailer as well as a major cloud services provider, is the fifth-biggest company by market cap, at US$1.238 trillion.^[1] The company was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, who ranked as the world's second-richest person in April 2022 with a net worth of US$171 billion.^[3]

The Seattle-based company started out selling books, CDs and movies on the internet but now sells just about everything either directly or through its marketplace. It also builds and sells Kindle and Fire tablets, Fire TVs and Echo virtual personal assistants. Its Amazon Web Services (AWS) unit is the largest provider of cloud storage and software to corporations.^[9]
The company also owns the Whole Foods grocery chain and Ring, a home security product.^[9]

Amazon employs more than 1.5 million employees, including warehouse, transport and delivery workers.^[10]

6. Tesla

Tesla was the sixth-most valuable company in the world as of 3 June 2022 with a market cap of US$730.52 billion.^[1]

The tech company was founded in 2003 and is based in Austin, Texas. It's mainly known for its electric automotives, but it also makes clean energy generation and storage products, such as solar roof panels.^[11]

Tesla is headed by CEO Elon Musk, who was one of its earliest investors. He also co-founded PayPal and founded SpaceX.^[12] According to Forbes, he was the world's richest man as of April 2022, with a net worth of US$219 billion. ^[3]

7. Berkshire Hathaway

Berkshire Hathaway is the seventh-biggest company based on market cap, which totaled US$688.3 billion as of 3 June 2022.^[1]

The company is headed by Warren Buffett, its founder and CEO, who ranked fifth in Forbes' list of the world's richest people at US$118 billion. He is considered to be one of the most successful investors of all time.^[3]

Berkshire is made up of dozens of companies, ranging from insurance, real estate, and railroads to furniture, food, and shoes.^[13] Berkshire is also one of the largest investors in several well-known companies, including Apple, Bank of America, American Express, Chevron, and Coca-Cola.^[14]

8. Meta Platforms (Facebook)

Facebook parent Meta Platforms is the eighth-largest company in the world by market cap, at US$547.69 billion as of 3 June 2022.^[1] Although its flagship social media platform is still called Facebook, the company changed its name to Meta Platforms in October 2021.

The company was founded in 2004 by CEO Mark Zuckerberg.^[9] He is the world's 15th-richest person, worth US$67.3 billion according to Forbes, as of April 2022.
^[3]

Based in Menlo Park, California, the company employs nearly 45,000 people. In addition to its flagship social network, the company also owns the Facebook Messenger messaging app; Instagram, a photo and video sharing platform; and WhatsApp, a private messaging app.

9. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)

TSMC ranks ninth in the world by market cap, at US$494.3 billion as of 3 June 2022^[1]

Founded in 1987, TSMC is the world's largest producer of semiconductors. Based in Hsinchu, Taiwan, the company also has operations throughout Asia, Europe, and North America.

The company's stock price has benefited from the global supply chain shortage of computer chips, which began close to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. TSMC makes processors for some of the leading tech companies and computer manufacturers, including Apple, AMD, Qualcomm, and others. In August 2021 it announced it was raising prices by about 10% on its most sophisticated chips and about 20% on others as demand increased.

10. NVIDIA

NVIDIA was the 10th largest company, based on market cap of US$469.16 billion as of 3 June 2022.^[1]

Based in Santa Clara, California, NVIDIA provides computer graphics, gaming software, artificial intelligence, networking, and a host of other high-tech solutions.((Retrieved 8 June 2022

Summary

Outside of Saudi Aramco and Berkshire Hathaway, the world's largest companies are dominated by technology companies, either software, hardware, or social media. The list is also dominated by American organizations, with only Saudi Aramco and TSMC located outside the U.S.