PwC: Market value of most valuable companies fell last year by the most since 2009

The market value of the world's 100 most valuable companies fell last year by the most since the financial crisis in 2009. The ranking of the largest companies has not changed, with Apple remaining number one. The latest PwC Global Top 100 Companies study shows.

According to the study, the market value of the world's 100 largest companies reached $3.845 trillion at the end of March this year, down 11 percent year-on-year. It's the first decline since 2016 and the biggest drop since the financial crisis in 2009, when it plunged 38 percent. "The decline is mainly due to last year's sharp decline in investor confidence and fiscal policy tightening in a number of countries. Solid growth in this year's first quarter failed to reverse these previous losses," said Jan Hadrava, PwC CR's director of strategic advisory services.

In Europe, the market capitalisation of the largest firms rose 9.5 per cent to $341 billion. Europe was thus the only region that managed to grow over the past year, despite a highly volatile macroeconomic environment caused mainly by the war in Ukraine. "European companies have been able to cope with all the current shocks, be it the post-Cold War situation or the war, unexpectedly quickly and without major constraints," Hadrava believes.

Despite last year's 12 percent decline, the strongest region remains the US, which also has the largest representation in the Top 100. In terms of industries, the financial sector has been the hardest hit over the past year. Technology also fell for the first time in a decade, although it started the year with strong growth. "So we can expect that there has been more of a short-term profit-taking for technology firms, while in the long term technology firms will continue to grow," Hadrava said.

Apple remained the most valuable company by market capitalisation despite an eight per cent decline. Second-placed Microsoft also saw a seven per cent decline, yet both fared better than their technology rivals. In fact, the entire technology market fell by 12 per cent. Saudi Aramco, Alphabet and Amazon round out the top five global companies. Tesla had the biggest drop in value among the Top100, with its market capitalisation falling by 41 per cent.

Source: PwC, Reuters and CTK