In recent years, Meta has focused on AI-powered content recommendations and has improved ad revenue with better targeting. In addition, Meta’s investments in its metaverse struggled at first, but its AR/VR technology, including the Quest headset, is slowly catching on. The recent debacles surrounding tariffs on Apple’s Chinese-imported products in the US has played a major role in the ups and downs of the company’s market cap. They can be highly profitable as well; 15 of the stocks on this list outperformed the S&P 500 over the past five years. They make up the top five — and eight of the top largest companies by market cap.
- The conglomerate has its roots in multiple avenues including insurance, freight rail transportation, and utility, with the insurance business being its capital source.
- PLTR – Palantir Technologies, a data analytics giant with a 19% surge in April 2025.
- As market cap is calculated by multiplying the total number of a company’s outstanding shares and the price per share, two factors can alter the figure.
- Alphabet Inc is a holding company created in October 2015 to restructure Google by moving subsidiaries from Google to Alphabet, thereby narrowing the search engine’s scope.
- Meta is a leading social media company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Berkshire Hathaway ($1.018T)
Chinese securities regulator last year issued a slew of measures aimed at fast-tracking approval for eligible mainland tech companies to list in Hong Berkshire Hathaway Kong. BigBear.ai (BBAI 2.25%) provides AI-powered analytics for defense and commercial customers, with revenue growing just 2% year over year to $158 million in 2024. The company’s decision-intelligence platform helps organizations make sense of complex data in real time — a critical capability as data volumes explode.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (
It first became the world’s most valuable company on Aug. 9, 2011, 15 days before Steve Jobs resigned as CEO, and has spent quite a bit of time at the top since then. It also holds the distinction of being the first company to hit market caps of $1 trillion, $2 trillion, and $3 trillion. Tesla remains one of the biggest electric vehicle (EV) makers in the world. While traditional carmakers like Ford and GM are making more EVs, Tesla still leads with its battery technology, self-driving software, and global charging network. In addition, Tesla’s stock has been volatile, but it continues to dominate the EV market.
Largest companies by market cap
Recent contract wins with the Army and Air Force validate its technology. With the obesity drug market expected to reach $130 billion by 2030, Viking’s $3.1 billion market cap looks tiny if VK2735 succeeds. The company plans to announce Phase 2 oral data later this year, a catalyst that could drive a radical revaluation of the stock. The confluence of geopolitical turmoil, high interest rates, the artificial intelligence (AI) superbuild, and valuation concerns has created dramatic volatility.
Best 5 Penny Stocks With Great Financial Health (July
- Saudi Arabian Oil, also known as Saudi Aramco, is an energy and chemicals company.
- It alleges that Visa operates an illegal monopoly over the debit card payments market.
- While the broader market obsesses over whether Nvidia is overvalued or if the AI bubble will burst, these companies are quietly building the future.
- It’s also the world’s second-largest oil company behind only Saudi Aramco.
- Founded by a chemist and Union Army veteran of the same name, Eli Lilly is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies.
Tesla is most famous for its vehicles, and it’s second only to BYD Company in terms of manufacturing. In addition to EVs, Tesla also manufactures solar roofs, solar panels, and Powerwall, an integrated battery system that stores solar energy. Google’s dominance over online searches hasn’t been without controversy, as Alphabet has been embroiled in antitrust lawsuits. In August 2024, a judge found that Google acted illegally to monopolize online search and advertising.
Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (
In any competitive arena, knowing the leaders is a very important part of being successful. In sports, you watch the top teams to understand their strategies, strengths, and weaknesses. In the stock market, leading stocks—those with the strongest price appreciation, institutional sponsorship, and growth prospects pave the market to rally.
Companies are ranked according to TradingView’s list of largest companies by market capitalization. All figures, which are also taken from TradingView, are current as of Oct. 15, 2024. As market cap is calculated by multiplying the total number of a company’s outstanding shares and the price per share, two factors can alter the figure. The problem is, investors are awfully confident about tech stocks right now. S&P 500 tech companies made up about 23% of total index profits in the first quarter, yet their shares account for 32% of the S&P 500’s value. To close that gap, tech profits would have to grow 40%, or tech stocks would have to drop 29% from their end-of-June levels.
With a $272 million contracted backlog, a strong $373 million cash position, and 2025 revenue guidance of $250 million to $300 million, the company is building the infrastructure for the emerging lunar economy. As NASA’s Artemis program accelerates and commercial lunar activities expand, Intuitive Machines is positioned as the SpaceX of moon missions. Navitas Semiconductor (NVTS 4.71%) makes gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductors that are revolutionizing everything from electric-vehicle (EV) chargers to data center power supplies. With over 250 million GaN chips shipped and industry-leading reliability, Navitas offers a speculative play on the inevitable transition from silicon to next-gen power semiconductors. Trading at 10.6 times trailing sales, versus 30-plus times for many high-profile AI stocks, BigBear offers exposure to practical AI applications at a reasonable valuation.
Owned by the Saudi Arabian government, it has the largest daily oil production and the second-largest proven crude oil reserves of all oil companies. Get step-by-step guidance on investing in Google (aka Alphabet) stock and learn the ins and outs of this behemoth tech company. Apple built its success off sales of its wildly popular products, including the iPhone, MacBook, and AirPods. It has branched out into services, including its Apple TV+ streaming service.
NVIDIA Corporation
And it’s developing Apple Intelligence, an AI technology, although the rollout of new features has been slower than anticipated. If you study history, you’ll see some of the strongest stocks in history (a.k.a. True Market Leaders) make up the vast majority of the gains on Wall Street. They tend to be the disruptors, the innovators, the pioneers, that change the way consumers behave and create massive economic shifts.
It takes years for big technological trends to take hold, and productivity usually shines through when workers feel empowered and companies feel comfortable expanding. That’s far from the case right now — business confidence is in the dumps, so we’re in the opposite scenario. Big Tech’s products have become deeply integrated into our daily lives, and that level of ubiquity has also captured Wall Street’s attention. Venture capital fundraising reached a record in the first quarter amid a huge appetite for AI investment, and S&P 500 companies mentioned AI more than tariffs on second-quarter conference calls.
Since Saudi Aramco is largely dependent on oil prices, it can go through significant ups and downs. Heavy oil demand helped it claim the top spot in terms of market cap early in May of 2022, but when demand fell, it was surpassed again. This year, a decrease in crude oil prices and demand has negatively impacted Saudi Aramco’s business, and the oil company has cut its dividend as a result. MP – MP Materials, a rare earths producer critical for tech and energy.
Its upstream segment engages in the exploration and production of crude oil, condensate, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The downstream segment is engaged in refining and petrochemical manufacturing, distribution, and power generation. The tech giant was the first Taiwanese company to be listed on the NYSE in 1997, with a fabled list of customers including Apple, AMD, Qualcomm, and NVIDIA, among others.
Given that setup, we’ve set the stage for a portfolio smackdown of the ages. Economists are worried a recession is coming, yet investors are surprisingly upbeat about AI’s prospects — so upbeat that they’ve bid S&P 500 tech stocks to nearly a record high. Sell-side analysts who evaluate company-level trends are similarly optimistic. But in the real economy, layoffs are growing, and hiring has ground to a halt. The sharply diverging views between economists and stock analysts mean someone has to be wrong. The freight train that is AI adoption — a three-year story of rapid innovation and progress — could collide with a massive wall from historic tariffs, high interest rates, and low consumer confidence.
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