Market capitalization of the top 100 companies at a new all-time high

After last year's severe setback, the market capitalization of the 100 most valuable companies in the world is back on a growth trajectory. Specifically, the book value of the top 100 improved by 27% to USD 39.9 trillion as at March 31, 2024. The biggest leap in growth was mainly achieved by companies in the technology sector, whose combined market capitalization totaled USD 13.2 trillion – a good fifty percent more than in the previous year.

This was primarily due to the increased interest in artificial intelligence and the applications based on it. The communication services segment, which also includes the stock market values of Internet companies such as Alphabet and Meta, increased its volume by 34.7 percent to 4.7 trillion dollars. All these results come from management consultants PwC's latest "Global Top 100" ranking.

In contrast to previous years, the ranking of the top 5 has been shaken up considerably. The new number 1 is the US company Microsoft, whose market capitalization grew by 46 percent to 3.1 trillion dollars within a year. Apple's book value, on the other hand, remained more or less at the previous year's level at 2.65 trillion dollars, as investors are still waiting for a convincing AI strategy, according to PwC analysts. Nvidia is represented in the top 5 for the first time, with its valuation soaring by 225% to 2.25 trillion dollars.

The victim of the chip developer's rapid increase in value was Amazon: The e-business group fell out of the top 5 for the first time since 2017, although its market capitalization had increased significantly by 77 percent. Google mothership Alphabet fell from fourth to fifth place despite an equally impressive increase in value of 42% to just under 1.9 trillion dollars. Saudi Aramco was the only non-technology-oriented company to maintain a top 5 position in fourth place.

Broadcom, AMD, and SAP

Significant shifts can also be observed in the following positions on the list. The top ten growth stocks include the tech companies Broadcom with 130 percent and AMD with 85 percent. As a result, the controversial VMware owner with a valuation of 614 billion dollars moved up 21 places to 11th place. AMD climbed 33 places up the list to 36th place with a valuation of 292 billion dollars. SAP also climbed significantly: the Walldorf-based company's stock market value rose by 54 percent to 226 billion dollars. The reward was a jump of 29 places to 47th place, while competitor ServiceNow even climbed sixty places and, with 156 billion dollars (up 67 percent), made it into the top 100 for the first time in 83rd place.

As expected, companies from the US are most frequently represented in the top 100 ranking from a regional perspective. They alone account for eight of the ten most valuable companies worldwide. The US share of total market capitalization rose by five percentage points to 72% or 39.9 trillion dollars. Europe follows at a reasonable distance with a share of twelve percent (4.8 trillion dollars) and China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, with seven percent (2.7 trillion dollars). The share of companies in the other regions amounted to nine percent, or 3.7 billion dollars. China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, was the only region to record a decline in market capitalization – by 4.7 percent. In contrast, increases were recorded for all other regions. In Europe, for example, the total increase in value compared to 2023 was 14.1% and in the USA 35.8%.

In the country ranking, the USA, Saudi Arabia and China occupy the top three places. They are followed by France and the UK. Germany comes a distant 13th, having fallen five places compared to the previous year. This is because, apart from SAP, only Siemens is still listed among the 100 most valuable companies. Last year, Telekom was able to secure a place on this illustrious list.

Further details on the current ranking can be found at PwC.

(anw)