62 US companies meet only two German ones
Tech companies in particular are driving the record hunt on the stock markets in 2023. Most of them are based in the USA, which once again dominates the list of the most valuable companies. Only the Saudi oil giant Aramco can break through the American phalanx, but Europe is also gaining some weight.
Two German companies have made it into the top 100 most valuable listed companies in the world this year: software manufacturer SAP - in 106th place last year - was ranked 61st with a valuation of just over 181 billion dollars (around 162.6 billion euros) as at 27 December, according to calculations by management consultants and auditors EY. Siemens climbed from 115th to 88th place within a year with a market capitalization of just under 148 billion dollars. At the end of 2022, no German company was among the top 100.
At the top of the list, the boom in artificial intelligence is consolidating: large technology companies from the USA dominate the global stock markets at the end of this year like never before. With a market capitalization of 3 trillion dollars, Apple remains the undisputed number one. With a valuation of 2.78 trillion dollars, Microsoft moves past Saudi Aramco (2.14 trillion dollars) into second place. The Saudi Arabian oil giant is the only one of the twelve most valuable companies that is not from the USA.
American technology dominance extends across the entire list: 62 of the 100 most valuable companies in the world are based in the USA, up from 61 last year. The most valuable European company is the Danish pharmaceutical group Novo Nordisk in 16th place with a valuation of 460 billion dollars.
Europe gains (very) slightly
Overall, the stock market value of the 100 most valuable listed companies in the world has increased by 29% since the turn of the year, reaching a new high of a good 36.5 trillion dollars. "This year, the topic of artificial intelligence in particular has fired investors' imaginations and thus stock market prices," says Henrik Ahlers, Chairman of the EY Management Board, commenting on the results. "Companies that are active in this area have become investors' favorites."
According to the analysis, Europe's importance on the world's stock markets increased at a low level in the year under review: 19 European companies are among the top 100, three more than a year earlier. However, in 2007 - before the global financial crisis - 46 of the 100 most valuable companies in the world were still based in Europe and only 32 in the USA.
"Over the past two decades, we have seen a dramatic decline in Europe's importance, while the USA has overtaken Europe," says EY Managing Director Ahlers. The European capital market is currently "far too fragmented" and the barriers to raising capital via the stock market are too high, especially for young, emerging companies.
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Source: www.ntv.de
