Forbes Global 2000
The Forbes Global 2000 is an annual ranking of the top 2,000 public companies in the world by Forbes magazine. The ranking is based on a mix of four metrics: sales, profit, assets and market value. The list has been published since 2003.
The Forbes Global 2000 is a useful indicator of which are the leading public companies in the world, but it is only an interpretation, as only public companies are listed. The results are not definitive; any change to the criteria would produce a different list.
2020 list
In 2020, the ten largest companies as calculated by this method were:| Rank | Company | Headquarters | Industry | Sales | Profits | Assets | Market Value |
| 1 | Industrial and Commercial Bank of China |  Beijing | Banking, financial Service | 177.2 | 45.3 | 4322.5 | 242.3 |
| 2 | China Construction Bank | Beijing | Banking, financial services | 162.1 | 38.9 | 3822 | 203.8 |
| 3 | JPMorgan Chase |  New York City | Banking, financial services | 142.9 | 30 | 3139.4 | 291.7 |
| 4 | Berkshire Hathaway | Omaha | Banking, financial services | 254.6 | 81.4 | 817.7 | 455.4 |
| 5 | Agricultural Bank of China | Beijing | Banking, financial services | 148.7 | 30.9 | 3697.5 | 147.2 |
| 6 | Saudi Aramco |  Dhahran | Oil and gas | 329.8 | 88.2 | 398.3 | 1684.8 |
| 7 | Ping An Insurance | Shenzhen | Financial services | 155 | 18.8 | 1218.6 | 187.2 |
| 8 | Bank Of America | Charlotte | Banking, financial services | 112.1 | 24.1 | 2620 | 208.6 |
| 9 | Apple | Cupertino | Computing | 267.7 | 57.2 | 320.4 | 1285.5 |
| 10 | Bank Of China | Beijing | Banking, financial services | 135.4 | 27.2 | 3387 | 112.8 |
2019 list
In 2019, the ten largest companies as calculated by this method were:| Rank | Company | Headquarters | Industry | Sales | Profits | Assets | Market value |
| 1 | Industrial and Commercial Bank of China |  Beijing | Banking, financial services | 175.9 | 45.2 | 4034.5 | 305.1 |
| 2 | JPMorgan Chase | New York | Banking, financial services | 132.9 | 32.7 | 2737.2 | 368.5 |
| 3 | China Construction Bank | Beijing | Banking, financial services | 150.3 | 38.8 | 3382.4 | 225 |
| 4 | Agricultural Bank of China | Beijing | Banking, financial services | 137.5 | 30.9 | 3293.1 | 197 |
| 5 | Bank of America | Charlotte | Banking, financial services | 111.9 | 28.5 | 2377.2 | 287.3 |
| 6 | Apple | Cupertino | Computing | 261.7 | 59.4 | 373.7 | 961.3 |
| 7 | Ping An Insurance Group | Shenzhen | Insurance | 151.8 | 16.3 | 1038.3 | 220.2 |
| 8 | Bank of China | Beijing | Banking, financial services | 126.7 | 27.5 | 3097.6 | 143 |
| 9 | Royal Dutch Shell |  The Hague | Oil & Gas | 382.6 | 23.3 | 399.2 | 264.9 |
| 10 | Wells Fargo | San Francisco | Banking, financial services | 101.5 | 23.1 | 1887.8 | 214.7 |
Forbes' ranking of the world's largest public companies in 2019, account for more than $40 trillion in annual revenue and upwards of $186 trillion in global assets
2018 list
In 2018, the ten largest companies as calculated by this method were:| Rank | Company | Headquarters | Industry | Sales | Profits | Assets | Market value |
| 1 | Industrial and Commercial Bank of China | Beijing | Banking, financial services | 165.3 | 43.7 | 4210.9 | 311 |
| 2 | China Construction Bank | Beijing | Banking, financial services | 143.2 | 37.1 | 3631.6 | 261.2 |
| 3 | JPMorgan Chase | New York | Banking, financial services | 118.2 | 26.5 | 2609.8 | 387.7 |
| 4 | Berkshire Hathaway | Omaha | Conglomerate | 235.2 | 39.7 | 702.7 | 491.9 |
| 5 | Agricultural Bank of China | Beijing | Banking, financial services | 129.3 | 29.6 | 3439.3 | 184.1 |
| 6 | Bank of America | Charlotte | Banking, financial services | 92.2 | 16.6 | 2196.8 | 231.9 |
| 7 | Wells Fargo | San Francisco | Banking, financial services | 103.0 | 21.7 | 1915.4 | 265.3 |
| 8 | Apple | Cupertino | Computing | 247.5 | 53.3 | 367.5 | 926.9 |
| 9 | Bank of China | Beijing | Banking, financial services | 118.2 | 26.4 | 3204.2 | 158.6 |
| 10 | Ping An Insurance Group | Shenzhen | Insurance | 141.6 | 13.9 | 1066.4 | 181.4 |
As a group, the Forbes Global 2000 in year 2018 accounts for $39.1 trillion in sales, $3.2 trillion in profit, $189 trillion in assets and $56.8 trillion in market value
By country
| Rank | Country | Companies |
| 1 | 505*** | |
| 2 | 315** | |
| 3 | 225** | |
| 4 | 85** | |
| 5 | 85** | |
| 6 | 85** | |
| 7 | 75** | |
| 8 | 65* | |
| 9 | 40** | |
| 10 | 25** | |
| 11 | 25** | |
| 12 | 20** | |
| 13 | 20** | |
| 14 | 20* | |
| 15 | 20** | |
| 16 | 20** | |
| 17 | 17* | |
| 18 | 16* | |
| 19 | 16* | |
| 20 | 16** | |
| 21 | 15 | |
| 22 | 15** | |
| 22 | 15** | |
| 23 | 12* | |
| 24 | 12* | |
| 25 | 12** | |
| 26 | 10' | |
| 27 | 10 | |
| 28 | 10*** | |
| 29 | 10* | |
| 30 | 10* | |
| 31 | 10* | |
| 32 | 09* | |
| 33 | 09* | |
| 34 | 07* | |
| 35 | 06* | |
| 36 | 06* | |
| 37 | 06 | |
| 38 | 06 | |
| 39 | 06 | |
| 40 | 05* | |
| 41 | 05* | |
| 42 | 05 | |
| 43 | 05* | |
| 44 | 04* | |
| 45 | 03** | |
| 46 | 03* | |
| 47 | 02 | |
| 48 | 02 | |
| 49 | 02* | |
| 50 | 02 | |
| 51 | 02** | |
| 52 | 01 | |
| 53 | 01 | |
| 54 | 01* | |
| 55 | 01 | |
| 56 | 01 |
By industry sector
The top-ranked companies in each industry sector are as follows.| Sector | Company | Headquarters | Overall rank | Sales | Profits | Assets | Market value |
| Advertising | WPP |  London | #301 | 18.7 | 1.8 | 42.4 | 30.1 |
| Aerospace & Defense | Boeing | Chicago | #76 | 96.1 | 5.2 | 94.4 | 85.3 |
| Air Courier | United Parcel Service | Sandy Springs | #146 | 58.1 | 4.8 | 38.3 | 93.3 |
| Airline | Delta Air Lines | Atlanta | #170 | 40.5 | 4.7 | 53.3 | 34.4 |
| Aluminum | Alcoa | New York | #757 | 21.7 | -0.3 | 36.1 | 13.7 |
| Apparel/Accessories | Christian Dior |  Paris | #216 | 41.6 | 1.7 | 68.1 | 31.4 |
| Apparel/Footwear Retail | Inditex |  A Coruña | #310 | 23.1 | 3.2 | 18.8 | 103.2 |
| Auto & Truck Manufacturers | Toyota Motor |  Toyota | #10 | 235.8 | 19.3 | 406.7 | 177.0 |
| Auto & Truck Parts | Continental |  Hanover | #209 | 43.5 | 3.0 | 36.7 | 43.7 |
| Beverages | Anheuser-Busch InBev |  Leuven | #56 | 43.6 | 8.3 | 136.5 | 204.6 |
| Biotechs | Gilead Sciences | Foster City | #118 | 32.2 | 18.1 | 51.8 | 138.1 |
| Broadcasting & Cable | Comcast | Philadelphia | #35 | 74.5 | 8.2 | 166.6 | 148.2 |
| Business & Personal Services | Alibaba | Hangzhou | #174 | 15.0 | 11.0 | 56.2 | 200.7 |
| Business Products & Supplies | Canon | Tokyo | #254 | 31.4 | 1.8 | 36.8 | 40.4 |
| Casinos & Gaming | Las Vegas Sands | Paradise | #301 | 11.4 | 1.8 | 21.0 | 37.2 |
| Communications Equipment | Cisco Systems | San Jose | #63 | 49.6 | 10.3 | 112.6 | 141.7 |
| Computer & Electronics Retail | Best Buy | Richfield | #637 | 39.5 | 0.9 | 13.5 | 10.7 |
| Computer Hardware | Apple | Cupertino | #8 | 233.3 | 53.7 | 293.3 | 586.0 |
| Computer Services | Alphabet | Mountain View | #27 | 77.2 | 17.0 | 149.7 | 500.1 |
| Computer Storage Devices | EMC | Hopkinton | #231 | 24.6 | 2.0 | 45.7 | 51.9 |
| Conglomerates | Siemens | Munich | #51 | 85.5 | 6.5 | 133.9 | 91.8 |
| Construction Materials | Saint-Gobain | Courbevoie | #256 | 43.9 | 1.4 | 48.7 | 25.6 |
| Construction Services | China State Construction Engineering | Beijing | #114 | 135.0 | 4.1 | 165.6 | 25.6 |
| Consumer Electronics | Sony | Tokyo | #192 | 67.9 | 1.1 | 142.2 | 34.1 |
| Consumer Financial Services | American Express | New York | #95 | 34.6 | 5.0 | 159.0 | 63.2 |
| Containers & Packaging | Amcor |  Hawthorn | #966 | 9.3 | 0.7 | 8.2 | 13.6 |
| Department Stores | Macy's | New York | #515 | 27.1 | 1.1 | 20.6 | 12.8 |
| Discount Stores | Wal-Mart Stores | Bentonville | #15 | 482.1 | 14.7 | 199.6 | 215.7 |
| Diversified Chemicals | BASF | Ludwigshafen | #94 | 78.1 | 4.4 | 80.1 | 73.2 |
| Diversified Insurance | Ping An Insurance Group | Shenzhen | #20 | 98.7 | 8.7 | 732.3 | 90.0 |
| Diversified Metals & Mining | China Shenhua Energy | Beijing | #167 | 27.3 | 2.6 | 85.3 | 43.1 |
| Diversified Utilities | Veolia Environnement | Paris | #526 | 27.7 | 0.5 | 39.0 | 13.3 |
| Drug Retail | CVS Health | Woonsocket | #62 | 153.3 | 5.2 | 93.7 | 110.8 |
| Electric Utilities | Korea Electric Power |  Seoul | #97 | 52.1 | 11.7 | 149.5 | 33.1 |
| Electrical Equipment | Schneider Electric | Rueil-Malmaison | #117 | 29.5 | 1.6 | 46.3 | 39.3 |
| Electronics | Hon Hai Precision |  New Taipei City | #117 | 141.2 | 4.6 | 70.3 | 39.2 |
| Environmental & Waste | Waste Management | Houston | #549 | 13.0 | 0.8 | 20.9 | 25.1 |
| Food Processing | Nestlé |  Vevey | #33 | 92.2 | 9.4 | 123.9 | 235.7 |
| Food Retail | Kroger | Cincinnati | #223 | 109.8 | 2.0 | 34.9 | 34.2 |
| Forest Products | Empresas CMPC |  Santiago | #1943 | 4.8 | 0.3 | 14.8 | 5.4 |
| Furniture & Fixtures | Steinhoff International |  Stellenbosch | #440 | 13.3 | 1.4 | 25.1 | 22.8 |
| Healthcare Services | Express Scripts | St. Louis | #145 | 101.8 | 2.5 | 54.0 | 46.5 |
| Heavy Equipment | Caterpillar | Peoria | #155 | 47.0 | 2.1 | 78.5 | 45.6 |
| Home Improvement Retail | Home Depot | Atlanta | #112 | 88.5 | 7.0 | 42.5 | 169.8 |
| Hotels/Motels | Carnival | Miami | #311 | 15.8 | 1.9 | 38.4 | 37.8 |
| Household Appliances | Midea Group | Foshan | #402 | 22.0 | 2.0 | 19.8 | 20.2 |
| Household/Personal Care | Procter & Gamble | Cincinnati | #39 | 69.4 | 8.4 | 129.1 | 218.9 |
| Insurance Brokers | Aon | London | #420 | 11.7 | 1.4 | 27.2 | 27.9 |
| Internet & Catalog Retail | Amazon.com | Seattle | #237 | 107.0 | 0.6 | 67.7 | 292.6 |
| Investment Services | Berkshire Hathaway | Omaha | #4 | 210.8 | 24.1 | 561.1 | 360.1 |
| Iron & Steel | Citic Pacific |  Hong Kong | #61 | 53.8 | 5.4 | 877.8 | 45.4 |
| Life & Health Insurance | Japan Post Holdings | Tokyo | #29 | 129.8 | 4.4 | 2,450.7 | 62.6 |
| Major Banks | ICBC | Beijing | #1 | 171.1 | 44.2 | 3,420.3 | 198.0 |
| Managed Health Care | UnitedHealth Group | Minnetonka | #41 | 165.9 | 6.0 | 117.9 | 127.5 |
| Medical Equipment & Supplies | Johnson & Johnson | New Brunswick | #32 | 70.2 | 15.4 | 133.4 | 312.6 |
| Natural Gas Utilities | Gas Natural Fenosa | Barcelona | #287 | 28.8 | 1.7 | 52.3 | 20.6 |
| Oil & Gas Operations | ExxonMobil | Irving | #9 | 236.8 | 16.2 | 336.8 | 363.3 |
| Oil Services & Equipment | Schlumberger | Houston | #176 | 31.7 | 1.6 | 69.1 | 111.1 |
| Other Industrial Equipment | Eaton |  Dublin | #315 | 20.9 | 2.0 | 31.0 | 28.9 |
| Other Transportation | Møller-Maersk |  Copenhagen | #306 | 40.3 | 0.7 | 64.1 | 30.7 |
| Paper & Paper Products | International Paper | Memphis | #426 | 22.4 | 0.9 | 30.6 | 17.8 |
| Pharmaceuticals | Pfizer | New York | #46 | 48.9 | 7.7 | 167.5 | 205.7 |
| Precision Healthcare Equipment | Thermo Fisher Scientific | Waltham | #267 | 17.0 | 2.0 | 40.9 | 57.8 |
| Printing & Publishing | Thomson Reuters | New York | #405 | 12.2 | 1.3 | 29.1 | 30.9 |
| Property & Casualty Insurance | Travelers | New York | #165 | 26.9 | 3.4 | 102.0 | 32.4 |
| Railroads | Union Pacific | Omaha | #172 | 21.0 | 4.6 | 55.8 | 75.4 |
| Real Estate | China Vanke | Shenzhen | #185 | 31.1 | 2.9 | 94.1 | 27.7 |
| Recreational Products | Activision Blizzard | Santa Monica | #842 | 4.6 | 0.9 | 15.3 | 25.5 |
| Regional Banks | China Construction Bank | Beijing | #2 | 146.8 | 36.4 | 2,826.0 | 162.8 |
| Rental & Leasing | Mitsubishi UFJ Lease | Tokyo | #1075 | 6.7 | 0.5 | 42.3 | 4.2 |
| Restaurants | McDonald's | Oak Brook | #189 | 25.4 | 4.8 | 37.9 | 110.1 |
| Security Systems | Secom | Tokyo | #854 | 7.1 | 0.6 | 13.2 | 18.1 |
| Semiconductors | Samsung Electronics | Seoul | #18 | 177.3 | 16.5 | 206.5 | 161.6 |
| Software & Programming | Microsoft | Redmond | #23 | 86.6 | 10.2 | 181.9 | 407.0 |
| Specialized Chemicals | Air Liquide |  Paris | #313 | 18.2 | 1.9 | 31.4 | 40.5 |
| Specialty Stores | Richemont |  Bellevue | #416 | 12.4 | 1.7 | 21.2 | 37.6 |
| Telecommunications services | AT&T | Dallas | #12 | 146.8 | 13.2 | 402.7 | 234.2 |
| Thrifts & Mortgage Financing | Aareal Bank |  Wiesbaden | #1381 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 57.2 | 2.1 |
| Tobacco | British American Tobacco | London | #177 | 20.0 | 6.6 | 46.5 | 111.0 |
| Trading Companies | Mitsubishi Corp | Tokyo | #136 | 59.8 | 2.7 | 135.7 | 27.7 |
| Trucking | Yamato Holdings | Tokyo | #1306 | 11.7 | 0.3 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
2017 list
In 2017, the ten largest companies as calculated by this method were:| Rank | Company | Headquarters | Industry | Sales | Profits | Assets | Market value |
| 1 | ICBC | Beijing | Banking, financial services | 151.4 | 42.0 | 3473.2 | 229.8 |
| 2 | China Construction Bank | Beijing | Banking, financial services | 134.2 | 35.0 | 3016.6 | 200.5 |
| 3 | Berkshire Hathaway | Omaha | Conglomerate | 222.9 | 24.1 | 620.9 | 409.9 |
| 4 | JPMorgan Chase | New York | Banking, financial services | 102.5 | 24.2 | 2513.0 | 306.6 |
| 5 | Wells Fargo | San Francisco | Banking, financial services | 97.6 | 21.9 | 1943.4 | 274.4 |
| 6 | Agricultural Bank of China | Beijing | Banking, financial services | 115.7 | 27.8 | 2816.0 | 149.2 |
| 7 | Bank of America | Charlotte | Banking, financial services | 92.2 | 16.6 | 2196.8 | 231.9 |
| 8 | Bank of China | Beijing | Banking, financial services | 113.1 | 24.9 | 2611.5 | 141.3 |
| 9 | Apple | Cupertino | Computing | 217.5 | 45.2 | 331.1 | 752.0 |
| 10 | Toyota Motor | Toyota | Automotive | 249.9 | 17.1 | 412.5 | 171.9 |
2016 list
In 2016, the ten largest companies as calculated by this method were:| Rank | Company | Headquarters | Industry | Sales | Profits | Assets | Market value |
| 1 | ICBC | Beijing | Banking, financial services | 171.1 | 44.2 | 3,420.2 | 198 |
| 2 | China Construction Bank | Beijing | Banking, financial services | 146.8 | 36.4 | 2,826 | 162.8 |
| 3 | Agricultural Bank of China | Beijing | Banking, financial services | 131.9 | 28.8 | 2,739.8 | 152.7 |
| 4 | Berkshire Hathaway | Omaha | Conglomerate | 210.8 | 24.1 | 561.1 | 360.1 |
| 5 | JPMorgan Chase | New York | Banking, financial services | 99.9 | 23.5 | 2,423.8 | 234.2 |
| 6 | Bank of China | Beijing | Banking, financial services | 122 | 27.2 | 2,589.6 | 143 |
| 7 | Wells Fargo | San Francisco | Banking, financial services | 91.4 | 22.7 | 1,849.2 | 256 |
| 8 | Apple | Cupertino | Computing | 233.3 | 53.7 | 293.3 | 586 |
| 9 | ExxonMobil | Irving | Oil and gas | 236.8 | 16.2 | 336.8 | 363.3 |
| 10 | Toyota Motor | Toyota | Automotive | 235.8 | 19.3 | 406.7 | 177 |