30 largest and most powerful companies in the world

If you want to take a peek at China’s growing domination of global business, recently-published Forbes 2000 list is the best source.

“For the first time, China is home to the world’s three biggest public companies and five of the top 10,” states the magazine.

The magazine researched companies from world over to compile the list of largest and most powerful companies. It took into account parameters such as revenues, profits, assets and market value.

Though 54 Indian companies featured in the list, none of them were in the top 100 list. Reliance was ranked 135, followed by State Bank of India at 155 and ONGC at 176.

Let’s look at the 30 largest and most powerful companies in the world.

…

Petrobras

Rank: 30

Country: Brazil

Sales: $141.2 billion

Profits: $10.9 billion

Assets: $319.2 billion

Market Value: $86.8 billion

Petrobras is a semi-public energy corporation headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. It is the largest company in the Southern Hemisphere by market capitalisation and the largest in Latin America by revenues, according to Wikipedia.

…

Sinopec-China Petroleum

Rank: 29

Country: China

Sales: $445.3 billion

Profits: $10.9 billion

Assets: $228.4 billion

Market Value: $94.7 billion

The Chinese oil and gas company is based in Beijing and listed in Hong Kong and also trades in Shanghai and New York. Sinopec is the world's fifth biggest company by revenue, according to Wikipedia.

…

China Mobile

Rank: 28

Country: Hong Kong

Sales: $102.5 billion

Profits: $19.8 billion

Assets: $192.8 billion

Market Value: $184.6 billion

China Mobile Communications Corporation is government-owned telecommunication firm and is one of the largest mobile telecommunications companies in the world by market capitalisation. The company is listed on NYSE as well as on Hong Kong stock exchange.

…

Allianz

Rank: 27

Country: Germany

Sales: $131.4 billion

Profits: $8 billion

Assets: $963.1 billion

Market Value: $77.2 billion

Allianz is a German multinational financial services company. Based out of Munich, Allianz’s core business and focus is insurance.

As of 2013, it was the world's largest insurance company, the 11th-largest financial services group and 25th-largest company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine.

…

Verizon Communications

Rank: 26

Country: United States

Sales: $120.6 billion

Profits: $11.5 billion

Assets: $274.1 billion

Market Value: $197.7 billion

The American broadband and telecommunications company is based out of New York City.

What eventually became Verizon was founded as Bell Atlantic, which was one of the seven Baby Bells that were formed after AT&T Corporation was forced to relinquish its control of the Bell System by order of the Justice Department of the United States, according to Wikipedia.

…

Total

Rank: 25

Country: France

Sales: $227.9 billion

Profits: $11.2 billion

Assets: $239.1 billion

Market Value: $149.8 billion

Total is an integrated oil and gas company and one of the six 'supermajor' oil companies in the world.

Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and international crude oil and product trading.

…

BNP Paribas

Ranks: 24

Country: France

Sales: $123.2 billion

Profits: $6.4 billion

Assets: $2,480.5 billion

Market Value: $98.6 billion

The French financial services company is based in Paris and its global headquarters is in London.

It was formed through the merger of Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) and Paribas in 2000 and is one of the largest banks in the world.

BNP Paribas is among the five largest banks in the world by total assets.

…

AT&T

Rank: 23

Country: United States

Sales: $128.8 billion

Profits: $18.2 billion

Assets: $277.8 billion

Market Value: $182.7 billion

AT&T is the second-largest provider of mobile telephony and the largest provider of fixed telephony in the US. AT&T is also one of the largest company in the world by market value.

…

Samsung Electronics

Rank: 22

Country: South Korea

Sales: $208.9 billion

Profits: $27.2 billion

Assets: $202.8 billion

Market Value: $186.5 billion

More famous for its Galaxy smartphones, Samsung Electronics is the flagship subsidiary of the Samsung Group. It is one of the world's largest information technology companies by revenues.

Samsung is also a major manufacturer of electronic components such as lithium-ion batteries, semiconductors, chips, flash memory and hard drive devices for clients such as Apple, Sony, HTC and Nokia. And, is the world's largest maker of LCD panels.

…

Gazprom

Rank: 21

Country: Russia

Sales: $164.6 billion

Profits: $39 billion

Assets: $397.2 billion

Market Value: $88.8 billion

Gazprom is the largest extractor of natural gas. Gazprom was created in 1989 when the Ministry of Gas Industry of the Soviet Union transformed itself into a corporation, keeping all its assets intact.

The company was later privatised in part, but currently the Russian government holds a majority stake, according to Wikipedia.

…

Wal-Mart Stores

Rank: 20

Country: United States

Sales: $476.5 billion

Profits: $16 billion

Assets: $204.8 billion

Market Value: $247.9 billion

WalMart is the world's largest public corporation, according to the Fortune Global 500 list in 2014, the biggest private employer in the world with over two million employees, and the largest retailer in the world.

Walmart is a family-owned business controlled by the Walton family. They own over 50 per cent of the company.

…

Volkswagen Group

Rank: 19

Country: Germany

Sales: $261.5 billion

Profits: $12 billion

Assets: $446.9 billion

Market Value: $119 billion

The well-known car maker is the largest auto manufacturer in Europe by market share and produces the third-largest number of motor vehicles in the world.

The company sells auto under the brand names such as Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT, Skoda and Volkswagen.

…

Chevron

Rank: 18

Country: United States

Sales: $211.8 billion

Profits: $21.4 billion

Assets: $253.8 billion

Market Value: $227.2 billion

The energy company is headquartered in San Ramon, California, and active in more than 180 countries.

It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production.

…

BP

Rank: 17

Country: United Kingdom

Sales: $379.2 billion

Profits: $23.6 billion

Assets: $305.7 billion

Market Value: $148.8 billion

BP is a multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London. BP is vertically integrated and operates in all areas of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading. It also has renewable energy activities in biofuels and wind power.

…

Citigroup

Rank: 16

Country: United States

Sales: $94.1 billion

Profits: $13.4 billion

Assets: $1,883.4 billion

Market Value: $145.1 billion

Citigroup is a financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company started as Citicorp, which has been in existence for over 200 years. The new name, Citigroup, came into existence in 1998 when Citicorp and Travelers Group merged.

Citigroup has the world's largest financial services network, spanning 140 countries with approximately 16,000 offices worldwide.

…

Apple

Rank: 15

Country: United States

Sales: $173.8 billion

Profits: $37 billion

Assets: $225.2 billion

Market Value: $483.1 billion

Based in Cupertino, Apple is one of the most respected technology company in the world. It has revolutionised mobile phones, computers and music devices with its iPhone, iPad and Mac, and iPod respectively.

Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne on April 1, 1976 to develop and sell personal computers.

…

HSBC Holdings

Rank: 14

Country: United Kingdom

Sales: $79.6 billion

Profits: $16.3 billion

Assets: $2,671.3 billion

Market Value: $192.6 billion

It is one of the world’s largest banks. The British banking and financial services giant is headquartered in London. The HSBC name is derived from the initials of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.

HSBC has around 7,200 offices in 85 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America, and around 89 million customers, according to the company’s website.

…

Bank of America

Rank: 13

Country: United States

Sales: $101.5 billion

Profits: $11.4 billion

Assets: $2,113.8 billion

Market Value: $183.3 billion

Bank of America is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets.

The company held 12.2 per cent of all bank deposits in the United States in August 2009, and is one of the Big Four banks in the United States, along with Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo - its main competitors, according to Wikipedia.

…

Toyota Motor

Rank: 12

Country: Japan

Sales: $255.6 billion

Profits: $18.8 billion

Assets: $385.5 billion

Market Value: $193.5 billion

Headquartered in Aichi, Toyota Motor has been ranked as the largest automobile manufacturer several times. In fact, Toyota is the world's first auto company to produce more than 10 million vehicles per year.

The company was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda in 1937 as a spinoff from his father's company Toyota Industries to create automobiles.

…

Royal Dutch Shell

Rank: 11

Country: Netherlands

Sales: $451.4 billion

Profits: $16.4 billion

Assets: $357.5 billion

Market Value: $234.1 billion

The oil and gas giant is headquartered in the Netherlands and incorporated in the United Kingdom.

Created by the merger of Royal Dutch Petroleum and UK-based Shell Transport & Trading, it is the largest company in the world, in terms of revenue, and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors", according to Wikipedia.

…

PetroChina

Rank: 10

Country: China

Sales: $328.5 billion

Profits: $21.1 billion

Assets: $386.9 billion

Market Value: $202 billion

The oil and gas corporation is the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). It is China's biggest oil producer.

…

Bank of China

Rank: 9

Country: China

Sales: $105.1 billion

Profits: $25.5 billion

Assets: $2,291.8 billion

Market Value: $124.2 billion

Bank of China is one of the big four state-owned commercial banks of the People's Republic of China.

It was founded in 1912 by the Republican government to replace the Imperial Bank of China. It is the oldest bank in China still in existence.

…

Wells Fargo

Rank: 8

Country: United States

Sales: $88.7 billion

Profits: $21.9 billion

Assets: $1,543 billion

Market Value: $261.4 billion

Wells Fargo & Company is a banking and financial services company headquartered in San Francisco

It is the fourth largest bank in the US by assets and the largest bank by market capitalisation.

…

General Electric

Rank: 7

Country: United States

Sales: $143.3 billion

Profits: $14.8 billion

Assets: $656.6 billion

Market Value: $259.6 billion

General Electric, also commonly known as GE, operates through different segments including energy, technology infrastructure, capital finance as well as consumer and industrial.

…

Exxon Mobil

Rank: 6

Country: United States

Sales: $394 billion

Profits: $32.6 billion

Assets: $346.8 billion

Market Value: $422.3 billion

The oil and gas giant is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company, and was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil (formerly Standard Oil of New Jersey and Standard Oil of New York).

The world's third largest company by revenue, ExxonMobil is also the second largest publicly traded company by market capitalisation, according to Wikipedia.

…

Berkshire Hathaway

Rank: 5

Country: United States

Sales: $178.8 billion

Profits: $19.5 billion

Assets: $493.4 billion

Market Value: $309.1 billion

Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company that oversees and manages a number of subsidiary companies. The company wholly owns GEICO, BNSF, Lubrizol, Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom, Helzberg Diamonds, FlightSafety International, and NetJets, owns half of Heinz and an undisclosed percentage of Mars, Incorporated, and has significant minority holdings in American Express, The Coca-Cola Company, Wells Fargo, and IBM, according to Wikipedia.

…

Rank: 4

Country: United States

Sales: $105.7 billion

Profits: $17.3 billion

Assets: $2,435.3 billion

Market Value: $229.7 billion

JPMorgan Chase & Co is the largest bank in the United States, with total assets of over $2.415 trillion. It is a major provider of financial services.

The company was formed in 2000, when Chase Manhattan Corporation merged with J.P. Morgan & Co.

…

Agricultural Bank of China

Rank: 3

Country: China

Sales: $136.4 billion

Profits: $27 billion

Assets: $2,405.4 billion

Market Value: $141.1 billion

Agricultural Bank of China is one of the ‘Big Four’ banks in the People's Republic of China. It was founded in 1951, and has its headquarters in Dongcheng District, Beijing.

…

China Construction Bank

Rank: 2

Country: China

Sales: $121.3 billion

Profits: $34.2 billion

Assets: $2,449.5 billion

Market Value: $174.4 billion

China Construction Bank is the second largest bank in the world by market capitalisation and 13th largest company in the world, according to Wikipedia.

…

ICBC

Rank: 1

Country: China

Sales: $148.7 billion

Profits: $42.7 billion

Assets: $3,124.9 billion

Market Value: $3,124.9 billion

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is the largest bank in the world by total assets and market capitalisation.

It was founded as a limited company on January 1, 1984.