The 100 most expensive companies
Most valuable stock exchange companies in the world: only three German ones
Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft: American tech companies dominate the stock markets. Three companies from Germany are among the most valuable listed companies. The crisis in the auto industry is also having an impact.
Only three German companies made it into the 100 most valuable stock exchange companies in the world in 2024. According to a study by the auditing and consulting firm EY, SAP, Siemens and Deutsche Telekom are the only German representatives in the top 100 ranking, which, as in previous years, is dominated by US tech companies.
Apple remains in first place with a market value of around $3.78 trillion as of December 31, 2024, followed by the chip company Nvidia ($3.28 trillion) and Microsoft ($3.13 trillion).
US corporations play in a league of their own
The boom in artificial intelligence (AI) is helping to ensure that the USA remains unchallenged on the stock market: 62 of the 100 most expensive companies in the world are based in the United States. They represent nine of the ten most expensive companies, including Google parent Alphabet, the shipping giant Amazon and the Internet company Meta (Facebook). Only the oil company Saudi Aramco in 6th place breaks through the phalanx of US companies.
“The topic of artificial intelligence continues to move the stock markets and drive the performance of technology companies worldwide,” said Henrik Ahlers, CEO of EY. The weak economy and the geopolitical crises seemed to fade into the background. Of the 100 most valuable stock exchange companies, 24 are technology companies, 17 of which are from the USA.
AI boom inspires SAP
The most valuable DAX company SAP is benefiting from the hype about AI, jumping to 32nd place in the ranking with a market value of $285 billion (end of 2023: 62). Siemens is in 94th place with a market value of $153 billion, Deutsche Telekom is in 98th place ($147 billion).
This shows a gentle upward trend: at the end of 2023, only two German stock exchange companies made it into the top 100 and in 2022 none at all.
However, compared to the US stock market giants, the German representatives are tiny. According to EY, Apple alone is worth almost $3.8 trillion, almost twice as much as all 40 DAX companies combined.
Tech boom versus Europe’s industry in transition
Among the 300 most valuable stock exchange companies in the world, the number of German companies has also fallen to 5 – after 11 at the end of 2023. With the crisis in the auto industry, the previous representatives Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, VW and BMW have lost a lot of value on the stock exchange.
In general, Europe – like Asia – is left behind by the USA on the stock market: of the 100 most valuable companies, only 18 have their headquarters in Europe, led by the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk (rank 14). As recently as 2007, before the global financial crisis, 46 of the 100 most valuable companies in the world were based in Europe and only 32 in the USA.
“In Europe, the traditional industrial sectors that are currently in the midst of a profound transformation and are also struggling with weak global demand are still dominant,” says Ahlers. In contrast, Europe plays a subordinate role in AI and in the digital sector in general. “And given the rapid developments in this area, there is a great danger that we will increasingly lose touch.”
dpa
Source: Stern
