The idea of a $1 trillion public company was a pipe dream once, but market growth has allowed an exclusive club of trillion-with-a-T members to form. While it still includes just a handful of global companies, there’s reason to think membership will increase. For the sake of comparison, companies on this list of trillion-dollar companies and some up-and-comers are benchmarked by market capitalization — the value of all their outstanding shares of stock — after the last day of trading in 2021. Their value was converted to U.S. dollars where necessary.
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Apple (AAPL)
Market cap: $2.9 trillion
Sector: Technology
Apple was the first company to reach $1 trillion in market capitalization, crossing that line in August 2018. It was also the first to $2 trillion in August 2020. Now the iPhone maker is on the verge of becoming the first to reach the $3 trillion milestone.
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Market cap: $2.5 trillion
Sector: Technology
Close behind — if you can consider $400 billion to be “close” — is Microsoft, which took over the top spot on this list for a short time in 2021 when Apple slumped on supply chain fears.
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Market Cap: $1.9 trillion
Sector: Communication services
Google’s parent company continues its climb, briefly hitting $2 trillion in early November. Its market cap is about double what it was in January 2020, and it was easily last year’s top-performing Big Tech stock.
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Saudi Aramco (2222.SR)
Market Cap: $1.9 trillion
Sector: Energy
Publicly traded though primarily state-owned, the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. is the world’s largest oil producer — and the only company in the $1 trillion club based outside the United States. Aramco’s valuation is little changed since it went public in 2019.
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Market cap: $1.7 trillion
Sector: Consumer goods
The omnipresent online retailer topped $1 trillion in 2020. Forbes says it could be on a faster pace to reach $2 trillion than Apple, despite the exit of founder Jeff Bezos last year.
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Tesla (TSLA)
Market cap: $1.1 trillion
Sector: Tech-focused consumer goods
The electric car manufacturer broke into the $1 trillion club in October — 11 years after the company went public — slid back out about the time founder Elon Musk sold some of his holdings, then rejoined in December.
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Market cap: $935 billion
Sector: Communication services
Like Tesla, Facebook’s parent company crossed the $1 trillion threshold in June, only to slip back under the line as allegations surfaced that the company put profits ahead of users’ mental health. If the company can overcome its recent controversies, it seems likely to rejoin the club at some point.
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Market Cap: $732 billion
Sector: Technology
For what it’s worth, CNBC’s Jim Cramer sees the chip-making giant as a $10 trillion stock one day. Of course, that’s from a guy who named one of his dogs after the company. But Cramer’s prognostication follows a November report on Bloomberg suggesting it could be the “first trillion-dollar semiconductor company.”
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Maybe: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A)
Market cap: $669 billion
Sector: Financial services
While Warren Buffett’s fabled company isn’t an especially fast grower, it’s still in an enviable position as one of the world’s largest. So while it might not be next, it seems destined for the club one day.
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Market cap: $623 billion
Sector: Semiconductors
Global shortages are cutting into our unending appetite for computer chips for growing markets such as 5G networks, home automation, and consumer electronics. By its calculations, The Motley Fool thinks that appetite could put Taiwan Semiconductor in the $1 trillion ballpark by 2025. Emphasis on “could.”
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Market cap: $564 billion
Sector: Technology
The Shenzhen-based social media and gaming giant — which runs WeChat — was closing in on the 12-digit club at the beginning of 2021, but government pressure on China’s tech sector cooled the company’s growth. Another change in the country’s political climate could put the company back on track.
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Market cap: $472 billion
Sector: Health care
Like Berkshire Hathaway, the parent of the country’s largest private insurer continues its steady march up the list of the biggest companies in the world, following growth trends for an industry analysts expect to see worth $6.2 trillion in 2028, up from $3.8 trillion in 2019.
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Market cap: $471 billion
Sector: Financial services
Visa is moving toward a market cap of $1 trillion with the continued growth of digital funds and ecommerce. InvestorPlace.com calls its chances of hitting the mark by the end of 2023 “a long shot,” though.
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Maybe: JPMorgan Chase (JPM)
Market cap: $467 billion
Sector: Financial services
If interest rates move higher, InvestorPlace.com says it’s “entirely possible” the bank could reach $1 trillion in market cap by the end of 2023. But a lot of things would have to go right in the next two years.
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Market cap: $450 billion
Sector: Health care
With an annualized growth of 27% over the past 10 years, J&J would need a big boost to hit $1 trillion in the next few years. InvestorPlace.com speculates it could happen by late 2024 or the first half of 2025.
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