The pandemic had a significant impact on the growth (and decline) of companies and businesses globally. As people started spending more time on the internet, businesses worldwide started adapting to stay a part of the lives of their existing customers and reach new ones at the same time.

Analysis of Top 5 Companies - Table of Contents

Surprisingly, it worked for some companies well so far. That’s why Facebook, which was one of the world's top 5 companies once, isn’t on those charts anymore, at least for now.
Every company across every industry is trying to stay on top. Whether it’s Amazon making its one-day deliveries or Facebook introducing the idea of the metaverse, the plan is to maintain that top global position.

The Paradox of Reaching (and Staying) At The Top

One thing’s for certain - Making it to the list of the world's top 5 companies isn’t as difficult as maintaining that position.

Changing markets, strategies, and new business developments frequently alter the stock price of different companies. This is why when Facebook had a massive stock price drop with its introduction of the metaverse.

The stock value of companies keeps on changing with every passing day. As soon as Elon announced his takeover of Twitter, the price of every Twitter stock rose significantly.

In the same way, Game Stop witnessed a significant rise in the stock price when people on the internet decides to mass-invest in the company.

Companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon are severely competing for the growth in their stock price, which practically alters their position in the list of the world's top 5 companies every now and then.

Apple’s Strategy of Staying Ahead of Its Competition

Before we dive into our list of the world's top 5 companies, it’s important to notice one thing - Apple is always considered one of the top players in the best global companies. At least, the company is still there in the top 5 companies globally.

But how does Apple do it?

Apple is popular for its line of smart devices. From the iPhone to the HomePod, the company is massively dominant in the smart devices market. 

• However, this still didn’t seem enough, as Microsoft still managed to beat Apple somehow and kept on dethroning Apple for the number one spot back in February 2019 and in 2020 as well. 

• While Microsoft doesn’t sell a lot of physical devices, it still sells its licenses, paid apps, games and so much more.

• To curb the problem, Apple took a page from Microsoft’s books and launched a wide variety of virtual services including the Apple Arcade, its streaming services, a paid cloud storage, and even its very own credit card, making it practically unbeatable.

Ranking The World's Top 5 Companies

There are often times when political or natural reasons could plummet or grow the stock of a company. Elon Musk, who is infamously known as the boogeyman as well as the savior for stocks of companies has previously influenced the price of some stocks just because of a few tweets.

The pandemic at the same time was a natural disaster for many companies and businesses globally as well. This means that when we talk about the world top 5 companies, there are often times when these companies might be replaced by other companies.

With that being said, let’s move to explore our list of some of the top companies globally.

1. Apple Inc

Industry - Tech

Brand Value - $355 Billion

Over the last few years, Apple has made huge leaps to fit more people than ever into its ecosystem. In terms of growing and retaining its position at the top of the ladder, Apple really has made huge strides to achieve the same. That’s why Apple, right now, stands as the biggest tech organization in the world. 

With a market cap of more than $2 trillion, Apple is firmly trying to grip people from all across the world. Located primarily in California, Apple has slowly been able to spread its physical and virtual influence to even remote cities and countries.

After its introduction of the Apple TV, Apple directly began competing with some of the top streaming networks as well, while continuously improvising on its tech and physical devices at the same time.

The model of Apple is simple yet smart. They are trying to make it really easy for people to become a part of their ecosystem. Whether you want a wireless earphone or a top-performing smartphone, Apple has it all. 

This ecosystem makes it easier for people to get into and hard to come out of. With a perfect sync across all the devices and virtual solutions Apple provides, the company is doing it all to maintain its top position on the leaderboard.

2. Google

Industry - Software/Hardware solutions

Brand Value - $303 Billion

Being one of the top internet-related services in the world, Google has managed to grow a lot over the years than just being a search engine.

Along with being the world’s best search engine, Google has diversified into software, hardware, smartphones, home solutions, and so much more.

While Apple is working towards building an iOS-backed ecosystem, Google is trying to do the same with Android. Right from licensing its operating system Android, to building its very own Google Pixel devices, Google has a variety of independent sources of making money that they can completely rely upon.

Google majorly earns from its ads. By serving ads via its Google Ads platform, Google allows businesses to run advertising campaigns across platforms like YouTube and third-party websites. In the same way, services like Gmail, Google Maps, Google Meet, and everything else contribute to a very sustainable ecosystem for Google as well.

3. Amazon

Industry - Retailing

Brand Value - $254 Billion

Amazon currently is the world’s largest eCommerce industry. But more than being an eCommerce industry, it has diversified into video streaming, music, memberships, and an overall community experience.

Sitting at a $1.7 Trillion market cap, Amazon is trying to redefine what already is an oversold idea. 

Every eCommerce company out there delivers products to you. Some may deliver it quicker than others. However, Amazon promises you that if you become a part of their Prime membership club, not only do you get one-day deliveries across all your orders, but you also unlock their streaming service, their kindle membership, and their music streaming services.

Amazon was doing just fine until it launched its Prime Service. But as soon as it did that, the company made notable success in terms of its increasing value and its efficient services, making Amazon the second largest company in our list of the world top 5 companies.

4. Microsoft

Industry - IT software and services

Brand Value - $184 Billion

Microsoft has been around for more time than when you bought your first computer or laptop running Windows XP. The value of Microsoft has only been increasing after they started diving more into the physical as well as virtual space.
From launching the Windows Surface Pro, to giving out operating system licenses, Microsoft has a recurring revenue stream from the same customers that once purchase from them.

Not just that, but Microsoft also relies on its search engine Bing, its web browser, its meeting application, and so many other applications and services to gather its revenue. And just like Google, Microsoft also has its advertising network where advertisers pay money to display their products and services.

On top of that, a popular social networking service, LinkedIn is also owned by Microsoft, making it a tech giant in its industry.

Microsoft has come a long way in terms of its growth and sustainability, which is reflected in the improvement of its products and services over the years.

5. Samsung

Industry - Technology

Brand Value - $107 Billion

From its flip phones back in the first decade of this century to its introduction of the Galaxy Z Flip, Samsung has progressed a lot in the development of its devices.

Just like Apple, Samsung also has a wide range of products including smartphones and wearables. And just like Apple, Samsung also is trying to create an ecosystem around its devices for the people.

However, this hasn’t been exactly successful just because of the easy replacement of the Samsung devices with others. This is why Samsung still hasn’t managed to make a breakthrough and reach the top position on the leaderboard of the world top 5 companies.

Samsung right now has diversified a lot into different companies. In many ways, Samsung is directly competing with Apple for its quality and range of products. But Apple for now seems to have an advantage because of their virtual services that people regularly use.

Conclusion

The narrative of just being a top company isn’t applicable anywhere. There are different kinds of ranks that could be used to determine the position of a company. Be it by market capitalization, the Fortune Global 500, or the Forbes Global 2000, you might find a regular change in the world's top 5 companies.

Whatever the criteria, one thing’s for certain - Maintaining the position as one of the top global companies is bound to get even harder with every passing year. With the global technological developments, companies have to improvise every now and then as per the market or they will be left out completely.

World's Top Companies FAQs

1. What is the top company in the world?

Ranking companies is done by different criteria including market capitalization, brand value, and other factors. However, for now, it seems that Apple is one of the top companies globally followed by Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Samsung.

2. Which is the top company in India?

Currently, the top position of leading companies in India is taken over by Reliance Industries with a market cap of ?18 Lac Crore.

3. What are the top 5 companies in India?

India has seen a growth in the technological sector significantly over the last few years. Because of that, companies like Reliance Industries, TATA Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank, Infosys, and ICICI are the top 5 companies in India.

4. Which Indian company is famous globally?

Indian companies like TATA, Dabur, and Godrej are popular throughout the world.

5. Who is the CEO of Apple?

Tim Cook is the current CEO of Apple. Tim became the CEO of Apple back in 2011 and was previously the co-founder of the company.