It’s not secret that tech companies are among the most valuable in the world. With smartphones and laptops becoming necessary tools for work, school, and social planning, firms like Apple, Microsoft, and Alphabet have seen their worth skyrocket.
But, which one is worth the most? That depends on how you measure it.
Many investors and financial experts rely on a company’s market capitalization (market cap)–the total dollar value of its outstanding shares–to figure out what it is worth. As noted by Investopedia, market cap is “calculated by multiplying a company’s shares outstanding by the current market price of one share.” It’s a way to measure size instead of relying on sales or total assets.
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To determine what tech companies stand out in terms of market cap, GlobalData compiled a list of the leading firms as of Q1 2018. Here are the top 25 global technology companies by market cap:
- Apple
- Alphabet
- Microsoft
- Tencent
- Samsung
- Intel
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
- Cisco
- Oracle
- IBM
- NVIDIA
- SAP
- Adobe
- Texas Instruments
- Broadcom
- Accenture
- Tata Consultancy Services
- Salesforce
- Qualcomm
- ASML
- Sony
- Micron Technology
- Applied Materials
- Nintendo
From the last day of Q4 2017 through the end of Q1 2018, no new companies made it into the the top 10, a press release noted. And the top six companies maintained their spots in the same order as well.
Overall, these companies were valued at a total of roughly $5.7 trillion at the time of the press release, which marks a 4% decline from the previous measurement. Some 56% of these top 25 companies saw a market cap decline, including Facebook, SAP, Qualcomm, and more.
Nine companies saw growth, but Micron Technology, Intel, and Adobe recorded at least 10% growth and moved up in the list in Q1 2018, the release said. Geographic concentration of these companies remained unchanged from last year.
The big takeaways for tech leaders:
- Apple, Alphabet, and Microsoft are the three most valuable companies in terms of market cap.
- 56% of the top 25 tech companies in the world saw a market cap decline over the past year, according to GlobalData research.