Global top 100 companies by market capitalisation reach new highs

The Global top 100 companies’ market cap continue to set records despite volatility in the global economy, said PwC recently when releasing results of its analysis.

Although the growth rate for the Global top 100 companies by market capitalisation was tempered compared to the prior year, the overall total market cap of these companies still grew by 11% to reach US$35.2 trillion compared to US$31.8 trillion as of March 2021, the firm pointed out.

Analysis highlights

• At the industry level, 20 technology companies represent 34% of the Global Top 100 with a combined market cap of US$12.0 trillion. 
• The value of healthcare companies in the Global Top 100 has also shown sustained growth since 2018, increasing by 84% ($1.9 trillion) between 2018 and 2022 and comprising an average of 16 companies throughout the same period. 
• Although the market cap of financial services and energy companies in the Global Top 100 did not grow as fast as their industry-wide indices in 2022, their market cap increased by 7% and 30% respectively. 
• Representation of financial services companies on the Global Top 100 has steadily decreased over the past five years from 22% in 2018 to 11% in 2022.
• US based companies carry the majority share of market cap while other regions continue to see differing trends
• The US continues to increase its dominant representation in the Global Top 100, representing 63 companies in total and a market cap at 70% as of March 2022 - up 19% in the year to March 2022.
• In comparison, the value of the Global Top 100 companies from China and its regions - representing 13 companies in total - decreased by 23% in 2022. 
• This downward trend is a departure from previous years when changes in market capitalisation were broadly aligned with the US. This may indicate a future divergence in capital market growth as the Chinese markets deepen in liquidity and maturity.
• Growth in the market capitalisation of European companies has also been muted over the past ten years, with just a 1% CAGR and 15 companies represented in the top 100. 
• However, the four UK based companies in the top 100 notably experienced a US$477bn increase in market capitalisation from 2021 (on a like-for-like basis).
• Companies in other regions represented in the top 100 such as Saudi Arabia (1), India (2), South Korea (1), Australia (2), Canada (2) and Japan (1) have seen compelling growth in value since 2017. 
• The companies in these regions surpassed both Europe and China in 2022 with a combined total market capitalisation of US$4.0 trillion.