Largest Public Companies by Market Cap | Live Rankings

Market capitalization — calculated by multiplying a company’s share price by its number of outstanding shares — is the standard measure for ranking the world’s largest public companies. Private companies are excluded because their market value cannot be easily determined. It is worth noting that market cap reflects only the equity portion of a company’s value, not debt; enterprise value (EV) provides a more complete picture.

Tech companies dominate the upper ranks. Eight of the ten largest publicly traded companies by market cap come from the technology sector, with names like Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta Platforms — all listed on NASDAQ — consistently near the top. Outside tech, Saudi Aramco (traded on the Tadawul exchange), Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE), and TSMC (NYSE ADR and TWSE) also rank among the very largest.

The “$1 trillion club” has grown steadily since PetroChina first crossed that threshold during its 2007 IPO. Apple became the first U.S. company to reach $1 trillion in August 2018, followed by Amazon a month later. Apple later became the first company to surpass $2 trillion (August 2020) and $3 trillion (June 2023). Berkshire Hathaway was the first U.S. company outside tech to reach a $1 trillion market cap.

Stocks are commonly grouped into size categories: mega-cap ($100 billion+), large-cap ($10–100 billion), mid-cap ($2–10 billion), small-cap ($300 million–$2 billion), and micro-cap (under $300 million). Many indexes use a free-float method that excludes shares not freely traded on the open market, such as those held by executives or trusts.

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U.S. and Chinese companies frequently lead market cap rankings thanks to large domestic markets and strength in technology, healthcare, and financial services. European and Middle Eastern companies maintain a strong presence as well, particularly in energy and consumer goods. You can explore country-specific rankings through our pages on U.S. companies and Chinese companies.

The live table below ranks the largest public companies by market capitalization, updated with current share prices.