Status: 12/29/2022 10:21 am
According to a study, there are no German companies among the 100 most valuable listed companies in the world. US corporations dominate the ranking more than ever, although technology companies have lost a lot of value in recent months.
The United States is leaving Europe behind despite major price losses from US tech companies on the stock exchange. According to a study by management consultancy EY, 61 of the 100 most valuable listed companies in the world are from the USA alone, just one less than in the previous year.
According to this, no company from Europe is represented among the first ten companies in the list and only one that is not based in the USA: the oil company Saudi Aramco. As of December 27, Apple remained at the top of the ranking list with a market value of a good two trillion dollars, ahead of Saudi Aramco and Microsoft.
US companies still in the lead
German companies are not represented at all in the top 100. The software manufacturer SAP ranks only 106th as the most valuable DAX group. The industrial gas group Linde, which has been based in Ireland since the merger with the US company Praxair, ranks 59th.
US companies have dominated world stock markets for many years, driven by the growth of tech companies, whose value has risen rapidly in the stock market boom of recent years. But with the interest rate hikes by the major central banks in the stock market year 2022, the interest-sensitive tech giants faced a headwind. According to EY, technology companies lost 33 percent of their market value over the course of the year. Tesla, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon alone lost $4.6 trillion in market value.
Overall, the 100 largest public companies lost $7.2 trillion, or 20 percent of their value. While consumer goods and telecommunications companies also recorded significant price losses, energy companies in particular rose (plus 12 percent) due to higher commodity prices. “The sharp rise in interest rates, the Ukraine war and rising energy prices worldwide – all these developments have left their mark on the world stock exchanges,” said Henrik Ahlers, CEO of EY.
Top German corporations underrepresented
According to EY, only 15 of the 100 largest listed companies are based in Europe, with the most valuable representative being the French luxury group LVMH in 15th place. 19 of the largest listed companies come from Asia, led by the tech group Tencent.
The importance of Europe on the stock exchange has been declining for years. According to EY, at the end of 2007, before the peak of the financial crisis, 46 of the 100 most valuable companies in the world came from Europe and at least seven from Germany. At the end of 2021 there were still two: SAP and Siemens. The Federal Republic is underrepresented on the stock exchanges, said Ahlers. But the rules for the digital economy would be made by corporations from the USA and Asia.
But many medium-sized world market leaders
In Germany, there was a lack of a well-developed start-up culture and good financing conditions for young companies. However, Germany has many medium-sized world market leaders as well as unlisted, world-class corporations such as Lidl and Aldi or the automotive supplier Bosch.
In addition, Germany and Europe are suffering disproportionately from the Ukraine war and the rise in energy prices. “In the USA, industrial companies can currently produce much more cheaply, the war is far away for them, and nobody there has to fear a gas crisis,” said Ahlers. So there is little to speak of a renaissance in Germany and Europe on the world stock exchanges in the new year.