The fall in share prices since the start of the war in Ukraine has turned the rankings of the 100 most valuable publicly traded companies upside down. Stock market turbulence hit technology groups hard, while energy companies experienced a renaissance. Saudi oil company Saudi Aramco pushed Apple to second place in the first half of the year, according to a study by audit and consultancy firm EY.
With a market value of 2.3 trillion dollars (about 2.2 trillion euros) as of June 30, 2022, Saudi Aramco was the most expensive company in the world. Tech giant Apple, which topped the top 100 at the end of 2021, came in second with $2.2 trillion. For the first time since the EY survey began in 2006, German companies are no longer in the top 100. Austria’s ATX companies are even further removed from the global top 100.
Tech companies lost almost 30 percent in value
The fall on the world stock exchanges destroyed trillions in the first half of 2022. Market capitalization alone — that is, the value of the stocks traded on the exchange — of the 100 most expensive companies fell 17 percent, or $6.1 trillion, to about $29.8 trillion over the first six months. The stock market value of the privileged technology groups fell by 28 percent compared to the end of 2021 (reference date: 31 December 2021). Contrary to the trend, the oil and gas companies in the top 100 increased their stock market capitalization by 19 percent.
“In recent times, investors have been focusing more on profitability than on growth,” explains Henrik Ahlers, CEO of EY Germany. “Money is not so simple anymore, the demands on target companies and their financial ratios are increasing.”
US companies continue to dominate
According to the information, US companies continue to dominate the rankings. The top 10 as of reporting date included Microsoft, Google parent company Alphabet, Amazon, Tesla, investment firm Berkshire Hathaway, health insurer Unitedhealth, pharmaceutical and consumer goods group Johnson & Johnson and Facebook group Meta. The most valuable European company at the end of the first half of the year was Swiss food group Nestlé in 20th place.
Europe weakly positioned for digitization
Ahlers expects that the digitization pressure resulting from the corona pandemic will have a decisive impact on the economy and the stock markets in the coming years. Europe is weak here. Of the 23 technology companies currently in the top 100, 17 are headquartered in North America, four in Asia and only two in Europe.
In particular, the digitization trend has reportedly reduced Europe’s weight on world stock markets in recent years. Before the financial crisis at the end of 2007, 46 of the 100 most valuable companies around the world were from Europe. Now there are only 16 left.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
