Countries standing out in terms of growth across all four metrics are Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. Belgium, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates saw the biggest increase in company market values, all with double-digit growth from a year ago. The current economic crisis in Spain and Greece took its toll on their firms’ profits with each showing a country showing a combined deficit this year. You can also throw Italy in the mix as their firms show a decline in all four metrics this year.
In our tenth annual ranking, government-controlled Chinese bank ICBC unseats Exxon Mobil as the world’s biggest company this year and takes the number one spot for the first time. Another Chinese bank, China Construction Bank, moves up 11 spots to No. 2 on the list. Each company’s bump up in our ranks stem from double-digit growth in both sales and profits in 2012. Although profits are still growing for both banks, 2012 was their slowest annual growth rate since each went public. Most analysts don’t expect a banking crisis in China, but rising defaults and shrinking loan profitability are serious threats to the country’s banking system. JPMorgan Chase, the world’s biggest company in 2011, moves down one spot from last year to No. 3, with a small decline in sales. Also moving down a spot this year is conglomerate GE, the No.4 company overall. Rounding out the top five is last year’s biggest company, Exxon Mobil. Despite being the world’s most profitable company for the second year in a row, the oil & gas giant was knocked off its No.1 perch after a one-year reign.
Apple (tied at No. 15) is again the world’s most valuable company, even after it took a 24% haircut in market value since last March. Wal-Mart Stores (tied at No.15) returns as the word’s sales leader with 5% growth, reclaiming the top spot from Royal Dutch Shell. Germany’s Allianz, Korea’s Samsung Electronics, and U.S.based AT&T broke into the elite 25 this year, with Allianz gaining the most ground, up from No. 50 a year ago to No. 25.
If you are looking for big jumps in rank on this year’s list, you can start with German utility firm E.ON (No.99 vs. No. 409 in 2012), which returned to profitability in 2012 assisted by several factors, including the successful renegotiation of gas-supply contracts from Russia and Norway, a lack of previous negative one-off effects and Germany’s decision to phase out nuclear power. U.S.-based health care company, Express Scripts (No.170 vs. No.381 in 2012) jumped 211 spots with its $29.1 billion acquisition of rival Medco Health Solutions. Japanese beverage company Kirin Holdings (No. 467, vs. No. 733 in 2012) saw a big increase in profits and a 31% gain in market value.
Looking at big drops in rank, these firms are showing declines in all four metrics from a year ago. There is U.S.-based PC giant Hewlett Packard (No. 438, vs. No. 67 in 2012), which wrote down $8.8 billion of the value of U.K. software firm Autonomy, a year after its disastrous $11.1 billion acquisition. Mining giant Rio Tinto (No. 435, vs.m No. 69 in 2012) recorded a net loss after impairments of $14 billion, primarily relating to aluminum businesses as well as coal assets in Mozambique. Another company’s fall from grace is Brazil’s energy giant, Eletrobrás (No. 935, vs. No. 320 in 2012), posted a net loss in 2012, due to the impacts of a government order to cut energy electric rates.
There are 162 newcomers to this year’s Global 2000. The biggest newcomers immediately land on the list by way of initial public offerings or spin-offs of major subsidiaries of their former parent companies, who are also on our list. Phillips 66 (No. 130), was spun-off from ConocoPhillips (no. 73) in May of last year. AbbVie (No. 257) is the research-based pharmaceuticals business of Abbott Labs (No. 123) that started to publicly trade as an independent company in January of this year when the company officially separated into two public companies. At press time, Abbott Labs did not release 2012 historical figures as a new stand-alone company, so its sales, profit and asset figures and ranks are based on consolidated figures prior to the separation. Kraft Foods Group (No. 360), the North American grocery business was spun-off in October of last year by Mondelez International (No. 182). Chinese insurer People’s Insurance Company of China (PICC- No. 226) went public in a $3.1 billion November 2012 IPO. German insurance firm, Talanx, the majority owner of Hannover Re, pulled its IPO plans in mid-September 2012, but then went ahead with a $602 million IPO in October 2012.
Banks and diversified financials still dominate the list, with a combined 469 (down 9 from last year) companies, thanks in large measure to their sales and asset totals. The next three biggest industries by membership are oil & gas (124 firms), materials (122 firms) and insurance (109 firms). The industry growth leaders over the past year for each metric: health care companies, primarily services, lead all sectors in sales (up 15%); household products and services lead in profits (up 22%); Semiconductors lead in asset growth (up 24%); and media, getting a big boost by broadcasting and cable companies, lead all sectors in market value growth (up 20%). The materials sector, including metal and mining companies, lagged all industries with a 55% drop in profits and 19% decline in market value.
| Rank | Company | Country | Sales | Profits | Assets | Market Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  ICBC | China | $134.8 B | $37.8 B | $2,813.5 B | $237.3 B |
| 2 | China Construction Bank | China | $113.1 B | $30.6 B | $2,241 B | $202 B |
| 3 | JPMorgan Chase | United States | $108.2 B | $21.3 B | $2,359.1 B | $191.4 B |
| 4 | General Electric | United States | $147.4 B | $13.6 B | $685.3 B | $243.7 B |
| 5 | Exxon Mobil | United States | $420.7 B | $44.9 B | $333.8 B | $400.4 B |
| 6 | HSBC Holdings | United Kingdom | $104.9 B | $14.3 B | $2,684.1 B | $201.3 B |
| 7 | Royal Dutch Shell | Netherlands | $467.2 B | $26.6 B | $360.3 B | $213.1 B |
| 8 | Agricultural Bank of China | China | $103 B | $23 B | $2,124.2 B | $150.8 B |
| 9 | Berkshire Hathaway | United States | $162.5 B | $14.8 B | $427.5 B | $252.8 B |
| 9 | PetroChina | China | $308.9 B | $18.3 B | $347.8 B | $261.2 B |
| 11 | Bank of China | China | $98.1 B | $22.1 B | $2,033.8 B | $131.7 B |
| 12 | Wells Fargo | United States | $91.2 B | $18.9 B | $1,423 B | $201.3 B |
| 13 | Chevron | United States | $222.6 B | $26.2 B | $233 B | $232.5 B |
| 14 | Volkswagen Group | Germany | $254 B | $28.6 B | $408.2 B | $94.4 B |
| 15 | Apple | United States | $164.7 B | $41.7 B | $196.1 B | $416.6 B |
| 15 | Wal-Mart Stores | United States | $469.2 B | $17 B | $203.1 B | $242.5 B |
| 17 | Gazprom | Russia | $144 B | $40.6 B | $339.3 B | $111.4 B |
| 18 | BP | United Kingdom | $370.9 B | $11.6 B | $301 B | $130.4 B |
| 19 | Citigroup | United States | $90.7 B | $7.5 B | $1,864.7 B | $143.6 B |
| 20 | Petrobras | Brazil | $144.1 B | $11 B | $331.6 B | $120.7 B |
| 20 | Samsung Electronics | South Korea | $187.8 B | $21.7 B | $196.3 B | $174.4 B |
| 22 | BNP Paribas | France | $126.2 B | $8.6 B | $2,504.2 B | $71.3 B |
| 23 | Total | France | $240.5 B | $14.1 B | $224.1 B | $115.5 B |
| 24 | AT&T | United States | $127.4 B | $7.3 B | $272.3 B | $200.1 B |
| 25 | Allianz | Germany | $140.3 B | $6.8 B | $915.8 B | $66.4 B |
| 26 | Sinopec-China Petroleum | China | $411.7 B | $10.1 B | $200 B | $106.9 B |
| 27 | Mitsubishi UFJ Financial | Japan | $59 B | $11.9 B | $2,653.1 B | $85.7 B |
| 28 | Bank of America | United States | $100.1 B | $4.2 B | $2,210 B | $135.5 B |
| 29 | China Mobile | Hong Kong-China | $88.8 B | $20.5 B | $168.7 B | $213.8 B |
| 30 | ENI | Italy | $163.7 B | $10 B | $185.2 B | $86.3 B |
| 31 | Toyota Motor | Japan | $224.5 B | $3.4 B | $371.3 B | $167.2 B |
| 32 | Nestlé | Switzerland | $100.6 B | $11.6 B | $134.7 B | $233.5 B |
| 33 | Vodafone | United Kingdom | $74.4 B | $11.1 B | $219.9 B | $135.7 B |
| 34 | IBM | United States | $104.5 B | $16.6 B | $119.2 B | $239.5 B |
| 35 | Procter & Gamble | United States | $83.3 B | $12.9 B | $139.9 B | $208.5 B |
| 36 | Daimler | Germany | $150.8 B | $8 B | $211.9 B | $64.1 B |
| 37 | Pfizer | United States | $59 B | $14.6 B | $185.8 B | $201.4 B |
| 38 | Statoil | Norway | $126.8 B | $12.4 B | $140.2 B | $78.1 B |
| 39 | AXA Group | France | $147.5 B | $5.3 B | $1,005.4 B | $45.3 B |
| 40 | Commonwealth Bank | Australia | $47.8 B | $7.3 B | $735.2 B | $117.5 B |
| 41 | Microsoft | United States | $72.9 B | $15.5 B | $128.7 B | $234.8 B |
| 42 | Itaú Unibanco Holding | Brazil | $70.5 B | $6.2 B | $453.6 B | $82 B |
| 43 | Banco Santander | Spain | $108.8 B | $2.9 B | $1,647.8 B | $82.1 B |
| 44 | BHP Billiton | Australia | $72.2 B | $15.4 B | $129.3 B | $184.7 B |
| 45 | Banco Bradesco | Brazil | $78.3 B | $5.6 B | $417.5 B | $71.6 B |
| 46 | Johnson & Johnson | United States | $67.2 B | $10.9 B | $121.3 B | $221.4 B |
| 46 | Nippon Telegraph & Tel | Japan | $126.9 B | $5.6 B | $226 B | $58.2 B |
| 48 | Westpac Banking Group | Australia | $43.9 B | $6.2 B | $699.6 B | $98.9 B |
| 49 | Goldman Sachs Group | United States | $41.7 B | $7.5 B | $938.6 B | $74.5 B |
| 50 | Royal Bank of Canada | Canada | $38.3 B | $7.7 B | $838.5 B | $87.2 B |
| 51 | Siemens | Germany | $100.6 B | $5.7 B | $134.4 B | $91.9 B |
| 51 | Sumitomo Mitsui Financial | Japan | $47.3 B | $6.3 B | $1,733.2 B | $57.6 B |
| 53 | Ford Motor | United States | $134.3 B | $5.7 B | $190.6 B | $51.8 B |
| 54 | Bank of Communications | China | $43.5 B | $9.4 B | $846.4 B | $56.7 B |
| 55 | BMW Group | Germany | $98.8 B | $6.6 B | $165.5 B | $60 B |
| 56 | Comcast | United States | $62.6 B | $6.2 B | $165 B | $106.3 B |
| 57 | Novartis | Switzerland | $56.7 B | $9.5 B | $124.2 B | $169.3 B |
| 58 | National Australia Bank | Australia | $49.2 B | $4.2 B | $791.3 B | $76.3 B |
| 59 | Rosneft | Russia | $68.8 B | $11.2 B | $126.3 B | $73.2 B |
| 60 | ING Group | Netherlands | $130 B | $5.1 B | $1,533.7 B | $31.9 B |
| 61 | Sberbank | Russia | $36.1 B | $10.8 B | $441.1 B | $73.3 B |
| 62 | American International Group | United States | $65.7 B | $3.4 B | $548.6 B | $57.5 B |
| 62 | Telefónica | Spain | $82.3 B | $5.2 B | $161.5 B | $67.1 B |
| 64 | Lukoil | Russia | $116.3 B | $11 B | $99 B | $55.4 B |
| 65 | Prudential | United Kingdom | $90.2 B | $3.6 B | $489.4 B | $44.7 B |
| 66 | ANZ | Australia | $37.5 B | $5.9 B | $666.9 B | $81.2 B |
| 67 | Banco do Brasil | Brazil | $69 B | $6 B | $552.2 B | $37.9 B |
| 68 | | United States | $50.2 B | $10.7 B | $93.8 B | $268.4 B |
| 69 | BASF | Germany | $103.9 B | $6.4 B | $83.5 B | $90.1 B |
| 70 | General Motors | United States | $152.3 B | $6.2 B | $149.4 B | $38.5 B |
| 71 | TD Bank Group | Canada | $30.6 B | $6.7 B | $819.4 B | $76.9 B |
| 72 | Sanofi | France | $46.1 B | $6.6 B | $132.4 B | $131.6 B |
| 73 | ConocoPhillips | United States | $58.4 B | $8.4 B | $117.1 B | $72.1 B |
| 74 | EDF | France | $95.9 B | $4.4 B | $325.2 B | $35.3 B |
| 75 | Zurich Insurance Group | Switzerland | $70.4 B | $3.9 B | $409.3 B | $41.8 B |
| 76 | Anheuser-Busch InBev | Belgium | $39.8 B | $7.2 B | $122.6 B | $153.5 B |
| 77 | Intel | United States | $53.3 B | $11 B | $84.4 B | $105.7 B |
| 78 | Mizuho Financial | Japan | $32.8 B | $5.9 B | $2,005 B | $53.7 B |
| 79 | Coca-Cola | United States | $48 B | $9 B | $86.2 B | $173.1 B |
| 80 | Cisco Systems | United States | $47.3 B | $9.3 B | $96.4 B | $116.9 B |
| 81 | Munich Re | Germany | $88 B | $4.2 B | $340.6 B | $34.9 B |
| 82 | Merck & Co | United States | $47.3 B | $6.2 B | $106.1 B | $133.3 B |
| 83 | Ping An Insurance Group | China | $51.1 B | $3.2 B | $456.2 B | $57 B |
| 84 | Bank of Nova Scotia | Canada | $27.6 B | $6.4 B | $737.2 B | $70.6 B |
| 85 | Nissan Motor | Japan | $113.7 B | $4.1 B | $133.4 B | $43.4 B |
| 86 | Honda Motor | Japan | $96 B | $2.6 B | $140.9 B | $72.4 B |
| 87 | Vale | Brazil | $45.7 B | $4.8 B | $130.4 B | $92.7 B |
| 88 | PepsiCo | United States | $65.5 B | $6.2 B | $74.6 B | $118.9 B |
| 89 | Hyundai Motor | South Korea | $75 B | $7.6 B | $114.3 B | $41.5 B |
| 90 | UnitedHealth Group | United States | $110.6 B | $5.5 B | $80.9 B | $56.1 B |
| 91 | BBVA-Banco Bilbao Vizcaya | Spain | $52.1 B | $2.2 B | $840.8 B | $54.7 B |
| 92 | United Technologies | United States | $57.7 B | $5.1 B | $89.4 B | $85.5 B |
| 93 | Roche Holding | Switzerland | $49.7 B | $10.4 B | $65.5 B | $198.9 B |
| 94 | Saudi Basic Industries | Saudi Arabia | $50.4 B | $6.6 B | $90.2 B | $74.8 B |
| 95 | GDF Suez | France | $128 B | $2 B | $268.9 B | $45 B |
| 96 | Boeing | United States | $81.7 B | $3.9 B | $88.9 B | $65.4 B |
| 97 | Caterpillar | United States | $65.9 B | $5.7 B | $89.4 B | $58.2 B |
| 98 | Standard Chartered | United Kingdom | $26.9 B | $4.9 B | $636.5 B | $64.4 B |
| 99 | E.ON | Germany | $174.2 B | $2.9 B | $184.9 B | $32.5 B |
| 100 | América Móvil | Mexico | $60.2 B | $7.1 B | $74.6 B | $70.7 B |
联系客服
