World's Largest Companies

Forbes recently came out with a list of the 25 largest companies in the world. These are all large, multinational corporations that have an extreme impact on the global economy. Each and every one of these companies can affect many different economies and markets. Below is a brief summary of each of the top 10 companies:

1. J.P. Morgan Chase
Double digit growth in earnings helped JPM to maintain the title as worlds largest company. Also added over 16,000 employees in the past year.
2. HSBC Holdings
U.K. based HSBC has a presence in nearly 90 countries around the world.
3. General Electric
Extremely diversified company with presence in the infrastructure, media, and finance industries.
4. Exxon Mobile
Oil giant is world’s most valuable company.
5. Royal Dutch Shell
The Netherlands based company’s earnings were up 59% vs a year ago.
6. PetroChina
Chinese PetroChina is a giant in the energy industry.
7. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
CBC is China’s premier bank. One of six Chinese companies making the top 25 list.
8. Birkshire Hathaway
The diversified financial company moves up on the list from 15th in 2010.
9. Petrobras-Petroleo Brasil
Brazil’s largest company is one of nine oil and gas companies in the top 25.
10. Citigroup
Returned to being a profitable company after two years of posting losses.

Hopefully understanding more about these large international corporations will help you appreciate the diverse makeup of the global economy. For the full list, go here.