Here are the 10 largest companies in the world
US retail giant Walmart is the world’s largest company according to Fortune’s Global 500 list, taking the title for a third consecutive year.
Despite total sales falling for the first time in 2015, Walmart continues to be the world’s largest company with revenues worth US$482 billion last year. The company employs as much as 2.3 million people world wide.
The world’s 500 largest companies generated $27.6 trillion in revenues and $1.5 trillion in profits in 2015. Together, this year’s Fortune Global 500 companies employ 67 million people worldwide and are represented by 33 countries.
Companies are ranked by total revenues for their respective fiscal years ended on or before March 31, 2016.
China’s state owned energy firm State Grid Corp ranked 2nd, from 7th previously, generating revenues of $329 billion, while China National Petroleum steps up to the third from its previous position of 4th, with $299 billion in revenues for 2015.
Sinopec Group slipped to 4th spot with US$294 billion, with Royal Dutch Shell ($272.2 billion) rounding out the top five.
10 biggest companies in the world
| # | Company | Employees | Revenues |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walmart | 2.3 million | $482 billion |
| 2 | State Grid | 927,839 | $329.6 billion |
| 3 | China National petroleum | 1.6 million | $299.3 billion |
| 4 | Sinopec Group | 810,538 | $294.3 billion |
| 5 | Royal Dutch Shell | 90,000 | $272.2 billion |
| 6 | Exxon Mobil | 75,600 | $246.2 billion |
| 7 | Volkwagen | 610,076 | $236.6 billion |
| 8 | Toyota Motor | 348,877 | $236.6 billion |
| 9 | Apple | 110,000 | $233.7 billion |
| 10 | BP | 79,800 | $226 billion |
See the full list here
Generating revenue of $210,821, Warren Buffett’s insurance and investing conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, is ranked just outside the top 10 (11th), and is up from 14th spot in 2015.
In May, Forbes released its annual Global 2000 list, ranking the biggest companies across the world – including those from South Africa.
In its 2016 ranking, 13 South African companies made the list.
The biggest companies in South Africa
| Rank | Company | Sales (US$bn) | Profits (US$bn) | Assets (US$bn) | Market Value (US$bn) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 317 | Standard Bank Group | 15.4 | 1.9 | 127.7 | 14.4 |
| 440 | Steinhoff International | 13.3 | 1.4 | 25.1 | 22.8 |
| 463 | Sasol | 13.3 | 1.4 | 24.4 | 20.9 |
| 502 | FirstRand | 5.8 | 1.7 | 73.5 | 18.5 |
| 523 | MTN Group | 11.5 | 1.6 | 20.3 | 18.9 |
| 680 | Naspers | 6.4 | 1.1 | 13.3 | 60.0 |
| 725 | Sanlam | 6.4 | 0.7 | 43.2 | 10.5 |
| 1062 | Bidvest Group | 15.1 | 0.5 | 6.6 | 8.4 |
| 1497 | Shoprite Holdings | 9.3 | 0.3 | 3.3 | 6.7 |
| 1529 | Remgro | 2.1 | 0.6 | 6.3 | 9.3 |
| 1590 | Aspen Pharmacare | 2.8 | 0.5 | 6.8 | 10.1 |
| 1652 | MMI Holdings | 5.3 | 0.2 | 29.0 | 2.6 |
| 1897 | RMB Holdings | 32.0 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 5.8 |
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