The largest companies by market value
The biggest companies by market value are also, quietly, the ones most people already own: a global or S&P 500 index fund holds them in proportion to their size, so the largest names make up the largest slices of millions of portfolios.
Being the biggest today is a fact, not a promise - giants can stumble, and today's leaders are not always tomorrow's. Size tells you how much of an index fund a company takes up; it does not tell you anything about what happens next.
Why should I care?
If you own almost any index fund, these giants are already your biggest holdings - so understanding them is really about understanding what you already own, not picking something new.
How this list is put together
Every company in the Almanac worth £150 billion or more if it is UK-listed, or $200 billion or more if it is US-listed, listed A to Z. Two figures rather than one because market value is quoted in each market's own currency, and comparing pounds with dollars directly would be misleading.
Of the 64 names here, 52 currently pay a dividend
81% pay one19% do not
64 names · each links to its full, plain-English explainer.