The largest companies in the world are brands which are present across various sectors like oil, retail, automobile, consumer electronics etc. The biggest companies in the world have revenues and profits in billions of dollars, which are driven by millions of customers worldwide. The top companies in the world comprise of global brands like Walmart, Sinopec, Toyota, Volkswagen, Shell along with Apple, Exxon, Royal Dutch Shell etc, which have a strong global reach and presence. Here is the list of the top 10 companies in the world 2017.
Quick Glance :
Top Companies in World 2017 are
1st Place : Walmart
2nd Place : Sinopec
3rd Place : Toyota
4th Place : Volkswagen
5th Place : Royal Dutch Shell
6th Place : Berkshire Hathaway
7th Place : Apple
8th Place : Exxon Mobil
9th Place : Samsung Electronics
10th Place : Daimler
For More details about rankings and parameters, read on.
10. Daimler
Daimler is a German automotive multinational that is among the most successful global companies in its sector.
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It is a leader in the production of premium cars and commercial vehicles that is involved in the production and marketing of trucks, motorcycles, buses and cars. The major divisions of the company include Daimler Trucks, Daimler Vans, Mercedes-Benz Cars and Mercedes-Benz Vans. The company started with humble origins in 1889, when Frederick Sims noticed the market potential of railcars produced by Gottlieb Daimler. The automobiles were formally introduced into England in 1890, leading to the setting up of Daimler Motor Syndicate Limited in 1893. The following decade saw Daimler become the first automotive company to be associated with royalty, when King Edward VII bought two Daimlers and declared the company the official motor car suppliers of the royal family.
The first major strategic move made by the company happened in 1926, when Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft AG and Benz & Company merged to form Daimler-Benz AG. The firm played a major role during World War 1, during which it emerged a major manufacturer of engines, tractors and shells for the military. Daimler soon entered the business of chartering airplanes as well, leading to the formation of Daimler Air Hire in 1924 which eventually formed the core of the national airways. During World War 2 as well, Daimler played an important role by producing 2700 armored cars and 6600 scout cars. Daimler also produced components for aircrafts.
Daimler was acquired by Jaguar Cats in 1960. The following years saw the company’s ownership change rapidly as the company was acquired by BMH and British Leyland in 1966 and 1968 respectively. In 1998, Daimler merged with Chrysler to form DaimlerChrysler AG. The Chrysler Group was soon sold off to Cerberus Capital Management in 2007. Finally, Daimler was bought by the Tata Group in 2007, in whose hands the company currently lies. The company is currently headed by Dieter Zetsche, and is headquartered in Stuttgart , Germany. Daimler currently employs over 280,000 employees
Sales ($Bn): 169.5
Profits ($Bn): 9.4
9. Samsung
Samsung has the distinction of being the largest “chaebol”, that is conglomerate, in South Korea.
Image: Wikimedia
It has such a profound impact on the economic landscape of the country that it has been titled the “Miracle on the Han River”. Samsung was started on May 1st, 1938 by Leebyung Chull, originally as a grocery trading store specializing in noodles. The story of how it reached its present status is quite impressive. The grocery trading business started exporting its goods to China, and slowly expanded into other areas such as the Textile industry after the Korean War. In 1978, Samsung successfully completed the vertical integration of the textile industry, when it took control of all activities involved in its supply chain.
Subsequent years witnessed the diversification of Samsung into numerous fields. It entered the Heavy Industries, Ship Building and Aerospace sectors in the year 1978. Later, Samsung enter the Data Systems and consumer electronics market too. At present, Samsung is a global conglomerate of over 70 subsidiaries ranging from construction (the Burj Khalifa was built by Samsung) to fashion, with Samsung Electronics being the major contributor to revenues. This subsidiary is in itself subdivided into 3 distinct parts – Mobile Devices, Consumer Electronics and Electronic Components. Recently, Samsung has even ventured into the health and pharmaceutical segment.
The most popular among Samsung’s products are smartphones. Smartphones alone accounted for 76% of profits in 2015. Samsung holds a competitive edge in this business owing to vertical integration that has been implemented here. Samsung held 22% market share in the smartphone segment in 2015, with Apple coming in second with a little over 16% market share. Samsung employed 489,000 employees as on 2014, which is more than Google, Apple and Microsoft combined. It accounts for a fifth of South Korea’s total exports, and has three current CEOs.
Sales ($Bn): 174
Profits ($Bn): 19.3
8. Exxon Mobil
Exxon Mobil is an American oil and gas giant, which was formed as a result of the merger of two companies, Exxon and Mobil.
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Today, it is among the largest oil refineries in the world, producing around 6.3 million barrels per day. The firm operates under three brand names worldwide – Exxon, Esso and Mobil and Exxon Mobil also has several subsidiaries that are involved in shipping of petroleum, for example, Sea River Maritime and Imperial Oil Limited of Canada. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has the following three distinct operating categories, the upstream, downstream and chemical divisions. The upstream division is involved in exploration, extraction and shipping of oil; and the downstream division specializes in marketing and retailing operations.
The company was formed as a result of a merger between the largest oil company in the world, Exxon, and the 2nd largest oil company in the USA, Mobil, in 1999. Incidentally, both of these companies are successors of Standard Oil, which was established in 1870 by John Rockefeller. In 1911, Standard Oil was split into 34 distinct companies, among which were Jersey Standard and Standard Oil Co. of New York, which subsequently became Exxon and Mobil respectively.
The company has faced criticism from environmental activists, including Greenpeace, on account of pollution and alleged lethargy in responding to disasters. In 2005, it was the 6th largest contributor to airborne pollutants, and dedicated less than 1% of net profits to development of alternate energy. Exxon Mobil has also faced the heat for its involvement in environmental disasters such as the Yellowstone River oil spill, Exxon Valdez oil spill, Baton Rouge Refinery pipeline oil spill etc. In 2005, the company overtook Walmart to become the largest publicly held corporation by revenue in the world. The two firms have been closely competing for the top spot ever since. The current CEO of the company is Darren Woods, and it employs over 73,000 employees.
Sales ($Bn): 197.5
Profits ($Bn): 7.8
7. Apple
Apple is synonymous with design and simplicity and is a global electronics brand.
Image: pixabay
Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniack and Ronald Wayne founded the giant we know today in their garage on April 1st, 1976. Wozniack and Jobs were directly involved in the day to day affairs, while Ronald Wayne was more of an investor who eventually sold his shares of the company for just $500, 12 days after the company was founded. Apple was started to bring computers that were generally available only for professional use into the homes of people. They were, in a way the pioneers of Personal Computing. The Apple 1, The first product developed by Apple, was introduced in the market in 1976. Priced at $666, only 200 of these were produced over 1.5 years. Today, they have become highly collectible items. The Apple II was also released soon. This product was not a success, as customers thought that the pricing of the product, at $1300 per PC was too high for them to see any utility in the product.
Subsequent products tasted success again, for example such as the Mouse, the Macintosh etc. More recent products introduced into the market by Apple include the iPod, iPad, iOS, Apple TV etc. The iPhone was the most revolutionary product introduced by Apple in recent times. After the first version was released in 2007, total sales of iPhones hit 1 billion In July 2016. In 2013, Apple earned upto 70% of its total profits from the iPhone alone. Apple also enjoys a continuous source of revenue from its advent into digital content, with services such as iTunes and AppStore etc.
The major markets captured by Apple include North and South America, Europe, Australia and most of Asia. The current CEO is Timothy Cook, and Apple is the world’s most valuable brand according to Forbes list.
Sales ($Bn): 217.5
Profits ($Bn): 45.2
6. Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway is an American MNC conglomerate holding company, which was originally named the Valley Falls Company.
Image: company website
The organization was started in 1839 by Oliver Chance, and the company is currently headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska and is headed by the illustrious Warren Buffet. The company we know today as Berkshire Hathaway was formed by a series of mergers and acquisitions, the earliest among which was the merger of Valley Falls with Berkshire Cotton Manufacturing Company. The firm thus created was named Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates. In 1955, the company merged with Hathaway Manufacturing Company, to form Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Following World War 1, the textile industry suffered a hit, and Berkshire Hathaway was also among the companies in trouble. Warren Buffet came to the firm’s rescue, and bought shares of the company. After a series of events, Warren Buffet ended up as the majority shareholder of the company, and thus gained control over the firm. In spite of the tough market scenario, efforts were made to maintain the core competence of the company in the textile industry, however, the company soon diversified into other verticals very soon, beginning with the investment and insurance fields.
In 1977, the organization acquired Buffalo Evening News, its first media firm, and by 1985 it completely shut down its operations in the textile industry. The following years saw the company grow in stature, following a series of corporate mergers. In 1996, the company acquired GEICO and FlighSafety International; while in 1998 it acquired General Re. 2007 saw the firm acquire the Nederlandse Reassurantie Groep to form the Berkshire Hathaway Assurance and enter the health, casualty and life insurance markets.
Of late, the firm has further diversified into a wide range of verticals, with the acquisitions of ACME Building Brands and Ben Bridge Jewelers in 2000, and the Business Wire in 2006. Currently, the firm has entered the markets of over 13 unique product categories, and employs more than 331,000 employees.
Sales ($Bn): 222.9
Profits ($Bn): 24.1
5. Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell, which is also commonly known as Shell, is a 108 year old oil and gas corporation.
Image: Wikimedia
The company is headquartered in Netherlands, and was incorporated in the UK in 1907, and currently, Royal Dutch Shell operates in more than 70 countries worldwide. The organization was formed as a result of a merger between Royal Dutch Petroleum and Shell Transport & Trading, based in UK. Soon after inception, production and manufacturing operations were looked after by the Dutch firm, Koninklijke Nederlandsche Petroleum Maatschappij, at Hague. Shell soon acquired the Mexican Eagle Petroleum Company in 1919, and just three years later, formed Shell Mex, which took care of all marketing operations of Shell worldwide. The company set up Shell Chemicals Ltd., which offers a diverse product portfolio including acetone, aromatics, phenol, alcohols and many more, in 1929. The Shell Mex House was completed in 1931, and the facility became the global head office for marketing operations in 1931. The head office was however shifted to Curacao in 1940.
In 1952, Shell became the first company to use computers for operation in the Netherlands. The iconic shell logo was designed by Raymond Loewy, who also designed the logos of BP and Exxon, in 1971. In 2004, the whole of Shell group moved to a single parent company, the Royal Dutch Shell. The company entered a joint venture with Cosan in 2010, resulting in the creation of Raizen. Royal Dutch Shell later acquired East Resources in the same year.
Shell is a vertically integrated organization, which deals with operations including exploration, production, refining, distribution, power generation, and petrochemicals, marketing and trading. The company currently employs over 93,000 employees, and the current CEO is Ben van Beurden.
Sales ($Bn): 234.8
Profits ($Bn): 4.7
4. Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German Automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg.
Image: Wikimedia
The company was founded by the Deutsche Arbetsfront (German Labour Front) in 1937, under Adolf Hitler. The company was originally named “Gesellschaft Zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagen”, and focuses on two significant verticals – Commercial Vehicles and Passenger Vehicles. Some of the notable brands under passenger vehicles include Scania, Man, Neoplan and Volkswagen. Brands falling under the commercial vehicles vertical include Audi, Skoda, Bentley, Porsche, Lamborghini and Volkswagen. In 1938, the company was officially renamed as Volkswagenwerk, and production of the KDF Wagen was started. This car was later rechristened as the “Beetle”, by advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach, so as to improve sales in the USA. The company was into the production of military vehilces such as the Kübelwagen, and Schwimmwagen for the following decade. In 1949, ownership of the company was transferred to the Government of Germany, and the first Beetle was sold in USA. The company went global in 1953, with the establishment of a factory in Toronto. The upcoming years saw rapid expansion, with manufacturing facilities being established in Brazil and America.
The firm entered into a joint venture with SEAT in 1960, and soon acquired the company, making it the first non-German subsidiary of Volkswagen. Disney, in 1968, came up with the movie Herbie, which was centered on a talking Beetle. Following this, sales soon crossed 15 million vehicles, surpassing the recors set by Ford’s Model T. The Beetle became the world’s most produced vehicle. In 1969, Auto Union and NSU Motorenwerke, subsidiaries of Volkswagen, were merged to create Audi.
The following years saw the company introducing the Golf MK3 and the Jetta in USA. Volkswagen acquired Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini in 1998. The Phaeton line was announced soon and an assembly plant was setup in Tennessee. Recent years saw the company being rocked by scandal; however, the company has done well to emerge from the ashes. The current CEO of the company is Matthias Müller, who took over the position in September 2015.
Sales ($Bn): 240.3
Profits ($Bn): 5.7
3. Toyota
Toyota is a Japanese multinational company specializing in the production of cars and trucks.
Image: Wikimedia
The organization was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda, in the year 1933 as a part of the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works. The company was officially renamed as the Toyota Motor Company in the year 1937. The company has been at the forefront of technology and innovation, with the company coming up with a prototype for small car, a segment largely ignored by American car makers, in the year 1947. The model was officially released in the year 1949, and was quite a success in the market. The car was capable of running at a top speed of 54 miles per hour.
The upcoming decade was a challenging period of time for the company, owing to the bad market condition in Japan. The company produced $ 3.5 billion worth of cars, but was only able to generate $ 2.5 billion in sales. The resulting losses brought the company to the brink of being dissolved; Toyota pushed through these rough times however, by making some crucial decisions such as cutting down on manpower. Toyota came up with the iconic Toyota Production System (TPS) as well, starting in this period, so as to reduce the costs of production and streamline the operations of the plant.
The company introduced the popular Land Cruiser model in 1951. Simultaneously, production rates shot back up while focus was kept on improving the quality and reducing production costs. The measures taken to revive business succeeded, and both production and profitability started rising post these reforms. In 1966, the iconic Corolla was released and in 1980, Toyota rose to become the second largest car producer after GM. In 1984, the company entered a joint venture with GM and formed the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI), and hence entered the American market. The company introduced the Lexus in 1989, and also established itself in Latin America and Southeast Asia. The Prius was released in 1997, and Toyota quickly overtook GM in the rankings in 2013. The company is headquartered in Aichi, Japan and the current President is Akio Toyoda.
Sales ($Bn): 249.9
Profits ($Bn): 17.1
2. Sinopec
China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation is a Chinese energy and chemical company established in the year 1998.
Image: Wikimedia
The scope of the company’s business covers oil and gas and a wide range of chemicals, and the company is state owned, and has a registered capital of $30 billion. The company is presently known as Sinopec Corporation, and is a listed market on both domestic and international markets. The firm went public in February 2000, when it issued $16.78 billion shares in 2000. Shares were simultaneously issued in Hong Kong, New York and London stock exchanges. At present, the company’s 76% of the ownership lies with the Sinopec Group, while international and domestic investors own 19% and 5% of the company’s ownership.
China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation is the largest supplier and producer of petrochemical products and refined oil products. The firm is China’s second largest crude oil producer. Sinopec currently has more than 100 subsidiaries, which are engaged in a wide range of activities which include oil and gas exploration, refining, production, research and marketing of petrochemical and other related chemical products. Sinopec is also involved in foreign trade. The product portfolio of Sinopec includes polymers, synthetic fibers, resins, gasoline, jet fuel, fertilizers, diesel etc. The principal market of Sinopec includes the Eastern, Southern and Central regions of China. The company’s core competence lies in the petrochemical industry, and is a fully integrated company that incorporates upstream, midstream and downstream operations as well. The current CEO of the company is Fu Chengyu and currently employs more than 350,000 employees.
Sales ($Bn): 255.7
Profits ($Bn): 7
1. Walmart
Walmart is an American multi-national company that focuses on the target market of middle class and lower middle class consumers.
Image: Wikimedia
The company believes in the philosophy of selling in high volumes, while maintaining a low profit margin, so as to pass on the benefit of the low prices to the end consumer. Founded by Sam Walton in 1962, the company is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas and currently employs over 2 million employees (associates). Post inception, the company expanded rapidly and had opened 24 stores in Arkansas by 1967. The following year saw the company opening three more stores in Oklahoma, Missouri and Clare. By 1970, Walmart had become a household name, and was listed on the NYSE when it went public in the same year. By 1974, expansion had reached top gear, with 125 stores employing over 7500 employees and generating $340 million in revenue. Close to a decade later, Walmart had expanded to 1200 stores and was generating $16 million in revenue. In 1988, Walmart opened its first superstore in Missouri.
The 1990s witnessed Walmart entering the international market, with stores being opened in Mexico (1991), Canada (1994), Argentina and Brazil (1995).The company’s revenue touched the $300 billion mark in 2005. Walmart had built up an extensive distributive network by this time, which included 2800 stores in USA, and a further 3800 stores worldwide. In fact, by this time, there were no two places in the USA without a Walmart store farther than 100kms. Today, the firm is present in 15 different countries under 55 different names., which includes over 11,000 locations including, but not limited to, Botswana, Tanzania, Kenya, China, Japan, India and Argentina. The current CEO of Walmart is Doug McMillon, and the company employs close to 2.3 million associates worldwide.
Sales ($Bn): 485.3
Profits ($Bn): 13.6
Rank Methodology
1. The top companies of the world are selected
2. Parameters like sales and profits for these companies are taken and given weightages of 0.8 and 0.2 respectively
3. A final score is calculated and the ranks are evaluated