Top 10 Richest Companies in the World in 2018 by Revenue

What is the richest company in the world? If you think tech companies dominate the list you thought wrong. Good ol’ Walmart tops the list with a value more than twice of Apple’s, the richest company to come out of Silicon Valley. Here’s an updated 2018 list of the richest companies in the world for 2018.

Walmart – $485.9 billion revenue in 2017
State Grid Corporation of China – $315.2 billion revenue in 2017
Sinopec Group – $267.5 billion revenue in 2017
China National Petroleum Corporation – $262.6 billion revenue in 2017
Toyota Motor – $254.7 billion revenue in 2017
Volkswagen – $240.3 billion revenue in 2017
Royal Dutch Shell – $240 billion revenue in 2017
Berkshire Hathway – $223.7 billion revenue in 2017
Apple Inc. – $215.6 billion revenue in 2017
Exxon Mobil – $205 billion revenue in 2017

There are several parameters by which the richest companies in the world are ranked. These include market cap, revenue, profits, and brand value. For instance, Statista.com lists the top 10 largest companies in the world by market value. The list includes leading companies that have made it big in the stock market in recent times such as Facebook, Amazon, and Alphabet. The topper is Apple whose market cap is a whopping $913.17 billion in March 2018.

In this article, we have selected the top 10 richest companies in the world based on their fiscal 2017 revenue. China’s growing financial muscle can be gauged by the fact that three companies from the country find a place in the list which is dominated by players in the oil and gas industry. The topper is Walmart which has added online retail to its huge number of brick-and-mortar hypermarkets in multiple nations. Without much ado, let’s get down to the brass tacks and learn more details about the top 10 richest companies in the world by revenue.

10. Exxon Mobil – $205 billion revenue in 2017

Exxon Mobile is the largest publicly traded oil and gas enterprise in the world by market value. In 2017, it coped well with the drop in crude prices because of its vertically-integrated model. This company leads the industry when it comes to safety standards and profitability, but faces the challenge of tackling the issue of climate change. It has greater than 29,000 net wells and 35,000 gross operated wells

ExxonMobile is based in Irving, Texas and was founded in 1870. Its present avatar came about as a result of a merger between Exxon and Mobil in 1999. The company’s subsidiaries include Mobil, Imperial Oil, Exxon Neftegas, Exxon, Exxo Australia, and Aera Energy. It employs more than 77,000 people globally and its current CEO and Chairman is Darren Woods.

9. Apple Inc. – $215.6 billion revenue in 2017

Apple is currently the world’s most profitable publicly traded company. In the past decade, its sales have been driven by the popular iPod music player and the iPhone. However, of late, sales of the Apple Watch and iPad have gone down and the company relies heavily on upgraded phone models. It is exploring new opportunities in software and automobiles. Apple is based in Cupertino, California and was founded in 1977 by Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne, and Steve Wozniak.

Apple operates about 478 stores in 17 nations. Its popular products include Mac, Apple TV, Watch OS, and iOS. Apple is the world’s biggest technology enterprise by revenue and assets. It employs more than 110,000 people and is the second largest maker of mobile phones following Samsung. For the future, Apple has planned to focus on boosting its operations in India and entering the automobile sector with an electric model.

8. Berkshire Hathway – $223.7 billion revenue in 2017

Berkshire Hathway has gone beyond depending on Warren Buffett’s financial acumen to make profits. Today, about 75% of its revenue comes from its non-financial businesses and the enterprise has become a conglomerate of numerous companies including railroad behemoth Burlington Northern, underwear manufacturer Fruit of the Loom, and car insurance firm Geico. Berkshire Hathway has its headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska and was founded in 1889.

In 2017, Berkshire Hathway’s market cap of about $488 billion placed it among the top five biggest publicly traded companies in the world. Its main subsidiaries include NetJets, Pampered Chef, FlightSafety International, Long & Foster, Helzberg Diamonds, Lubrizol, BNSF Railway, and Dairy Queen. In addition, the company holds a 2.5% stake in Apple, 9.4% stake in Coca-Cola, 17% stake in American Express, 26.7% in Kraft Heinz, and 38.6% stake in Pilot Flying.

7. Royal Dutch Shell – $240 billion revenue in 2017

Royal Dutch Shell, widely referred to as Shell, is among the six “supermajors” in the oil and gas industry. This company is involved in exploration, production, refining, marketing, distribution, power general, petrochemicals, and trading as well as in renewable energy fields like wind and biofuels. Shell produces around 3.7 million barrels of oil per day and runs business in more than 70 nations. It currently has the highest market cap on the London Stock Exchange and is also traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Shell was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. It employs about 90,000 employees globally. The company’s current CEO is Ben van Beurden. In 2016, Shell spent $53 billion to acquire the BG group to become the world’s largest liquefied natural gas company. The acquisition gave Shell a dominant position in drilling in the prize location of offshore Brazil.

6. Volkswagen – $240.3 billion revenue in 2017

Volkswagen is German for “people’s car”. The company was founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under Adolf Hitler to make an affordable car for the masses, unlike luxury vehicles. Today, the company’s main markets are Germany and China. The Volkswagen Group is currently the world’s biggest automaker and controls top brands such as Skoda, MAN, Scania, Bugatti, Bentley, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Audi.

Volkwagen is headquartered in Wolfsburg in Germany’s Lower Saxony region. The company makes buses, trucks, and cars, and employs more than 600,000 workers in its factories. Its current CEO is Matthias Muller. In 2015, a diesel scandal affected Volkswagen and the company lost revenue as it had to recall half a million cars. Volkswagen has to shell out $15.3 billion as compensation to purchasers of its impacted diesel cars in the US and in penalties to regulators.

5. Toyota Motor – $254.7 billion revenue in 2017

Toyota Motor is the world’s largest automotive maker and a leader in the hybrid electric car sector. It had sold more than 6 million units of its widely used Prius car by January 2017. Besides Toyota, other brands in the stable include Daihatsu, Ranz, Hino, and Lexus.

Toyota was founded in 1937 and is headquartered in the city of Toyota in Japan’s Aichi region. The company employs more than 348,000 workers. Its current CEO is Akio Toyoda. Toyota is the first automobile company to make more than 12 million units in a year which it has accomplished since 2012. However, recently, it had to recall millions of vehicles twice due to faulty airbags. The company’s future plans include making driverless cars and expanding its presence in the hybrid electric vehicles market.

4. China National Petroleum Corporation – $262.6 billion revenue in 2017

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State-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is the nation’s biggest integrated energy enterprise. Besides oil and gas, the company plans to involve itself more deeply in the renewable energy sector to tackle the issue of environmental protection and to meet China’s growing needs as a leading member of the Paris Climate Accord.

CNPC was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Beijing. The company’s current general manager is Zhang Jianhua and it employs more than 1.7 million workers. In 2005, CNPC bought Petrol Kazakhstan for $4.18 billion. It currently has oil reserves to produce 3.7 billion barrels. CNPC runs exploration and production ventures in countries such as Venezuela, Iran, Thailand, and Canada.

3. Sinopec Group – $267.5 billion revenue in 2017

Sinopec Group is involved in multiple energy-related sectors such as oil, coal, steam, and electricity. This growing company recently secured an EPC contract in Russia and other contracts with the Mongolian company Petro Matad. It was hit by a scandal recently when its former president Wang Tianpu was jailed for embezzling state properties and accepting bribes during his tenure.

Sinopec Group was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Beijing. Apart from exploration and production, they produce lubricants, fuels, and petrochemicals for the Chinese market. The company’s current chair is Su Shulin and CEO Wang Yupu. It employs more than 810,000 workers. Sinopec Group’s main subsidiary China Petroleum and Chemicals Corporation Limited (Sinopec Limited) trades in the Shanghai, London, New York, and Hong Kong stock markets. Together with CNPC, Sinopec Group spent $120 billion in acquisitions between 2009 and 2013.

2. State Grid Corporation of China – $315.2 billion revenue in 2017

State Grid owns a monopoly in China which has made it the world’s biggest electric utility enterprise. It constructs and operates power grids, and manages 24 electric power firms and five regional power grid enterprises. Notably, this company recently ran a trial in which it managed the Qinghai province entirely on renewable energy.

State Grid was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Xicheng District in Beijing. It employs more than 1.9 million workers and services over 1.1 billion customers. The firm exports its products to Italy, the Philippines, Australia, and Brazil. This company also recently faced a scandal as a few senior officials were alleged to have taken graft. As part of its future plans, State Grid plans to invest $11 billion dollars in Sarawak, Malaysia.

1. Walmart – $485.9 billion revenue in 2017

Walmart has added e-commerce business to its thriving physical hypermarkets to top our list as the world’s richest company in terms of revenue. Its sheer size and deep pockets enable it to cut prices to attract more customers and take away market share from its main rivals Amazon and Target. Walmart operates e-commerce sites in 11 nations and 11,000 brick-and-mortar stores in 28 nations. Its headquarters is in Bentonville, Arkansas and the enterprise was founded in 1945.

Walmart also owns Asda in the UK and employs more than 2.3 million workers globally including 1.5 million in the U S. Recently, the enterprise rewarded more than 200,000 employees with promotions and higher pay. It plans to invest more than $2.3 billion in better wages, education, and training to provide greater opportunities and rewards to its employees. Walmar is currently headed by CEO Doug McMillon.