Vincent Chukwu

Largest Companies in The World Ever wondered what makes the largest companies large? Or are you stuck trying to find the largest companies in the world? According to Fortune Global 500, the top 10 largest companies in the world are: Walmart, Sinopec Group, Amazon, China National Petroleum, State Grid, Royal Dutch Shell, Volkswagen, BP, Toyota and Apple. But “large-ness” is a relative term. There are many ways by which we can classify the largest companies in the world. Companies are large by sales revenue, by profit, by number of employees, by market capitalization, by market share, by brand value, by continent, by number of branches, and by assets. Largest companies in the world by sales revenue Money earned from selling goods or products to customers is called revenue. Money earned from offering services to customers is also called sales revenue. How companies earn sales revenue? Companies, no matter how large, earn revenue from sales of products or sales of services. When you buy groceries at Walmart, revenue is earned by Walmart. Similarly, when you buy a new Toyota Corolla or a Macbook Pro, you boost sales revenue for Toyota Motors or Apple for the year. Subscribing to any health insurance plan from CVS Health, or visit their Minute Clinic for health and wellness services, increases CVS Health revenue for the year. Top 5 Largest Companies in the world by sales revenue Below are the top 5 largest companies in the world as at August, 2020… Source: Wikipedia Walmart: Selling More for Less Walmart, the world’s largest company by sales revenue, is a discount retail giant headquartered in the United States. Founded in 1962 by Sam Walton in Rogers Arkansas, Walmart has over 10,500 stores in 24 countries. And approximately 220 million customers visit Walmart stores and ecommerce website each week! No wonder Walmart has retained its place as the world’s largest company since 2014. Sinopec Group: A Leading Energy and Chemical Company Sinopec, the second-largest company in the world by sales revenue, is a state owned petroleum and petrochemical company. Established by the Chinese state in 1998, Sinopec Group has since diversified its portfolio into many principal businesses: from investment management and international logistics to e-commerce. Sinopec Group has its headquarters in Beijing, China. Amazon: Spend Less. Smile More Amazon is an American retail and technology company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos (the richest man in the world), Amazon’s offerings are basically in 5 areas: Amazon store, Delivery and Logistics, Devices and Services, Amazon Web Services, and Entertainment. Amazon has attained dominance in both retail and information technology by disrupting established industry practices using innovative technologies. China National Petroleum: Caring for Energy. Caring for You China National Petroleum is a state owned international energy company with interests in oil and gas operations, oilfield services, petroleum engineering and construction, equipment manufacturing, financial services and new energy development. Established by the Chinese state in 1988, China National Petroleum Corporation is a parent company to many other subsidiaries in the energy space. For example, Chinese National Petroleum has the highest controlling interest in Petrochina, an energy company listed in the New York Stock Exchange, Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange. State Grid: Power Your Beautiful Life State Grid Corporation of China is the fifth largest company in the world by sales revenue. Established and run by the Chinese state, State Grid sells power to over 1.1 billion people in China, and has an operating backbone in over 9 countries, including Portugal, Australia and Brazil. State Grid is currently the largest utility company in the world by sales revenue and number of customers served. Largest companies in the world by profits Profit is the money earned by a business after removing cost of goods sold and other operational expenses. For example, when you buy a Macbook Pro for $1,900, Apple instantly earns $1,900 in revenue. However, the profit from this transaction is the amount left after removing manufacturing cost and other expenses, such as salaries, incurred by Apple to make the Macbook Pro available for purchase. Profits earned by companies varies by industries. Companies might earn high revenues but after removing manufacturing cost and operating expenses, the money left as profit won’t be much. Other industries might not earn as much revenue. But because manufacturing and operating expenses are quite low in their industries, they end up with much higher profits. So, while Walmart remains the largest company in the world by sales revenue, it’s not the largest company in the world by profit. Top 5 Largest Companies in the world by profit Below are the top 5 largest companies in the world by profit alone… Source: Wikipedia Apple: Make The Best Products on Earth Apple is currently the world’s largest company by profits. It reported a consolidated profit of $57.4 billion in 2020, making it the largest company in the world by profits. Founded in 1974 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne to sell personal computers, Apple has its core focus in personal computers, smartphone manufacturing, software development, and online services. Apple is currently the largest technology company in the world by sales revenue, and also the most valuable brand. Saudi Aramco: Energy and Chemical Opportunity for All Saudi Aramco is an oil and natural gas company headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco’s