The largest companies on earth are measured by revenue, and the top of the list is currently separated by margins thin enough to flip in a single quarter. Amazon and Walmart are divided by roughly $3 billion, a rounding error at this scale.
Revenue is not the same as profit or market value, and the difference explains why an oil producer with 73,000 employees sits near a retailer employing 2.1 million. Below we rank the ten largest companies in the world by revenue, with what each earns and how it does it.
Largest Companies in the World at a Glance
| Rank | Company | Revenue | Country | Industry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amazon | $716 billion | United States | Retail and IT |
| 2 | Walmart | $713 billion | United States | Retail |
| 3 | State Grid Corporation of China | $545 billion | China | Electricity |
| 4 | Saudi Aramco | $480 billion | Saudi Arabia | Oil and gas |
| 5 | China National Petroleum | $476 billion | China | Oil and gas |
| 6 | China Petrochemical | $429 billion | China | Petrochemicals |
| 7 | Apple | $416 billion | United States | Information technology |
| 8 | Alphabet | $402 billion | United States | Information technology |
| 9 | UnitedHealth Group | $400 billion | United States | Healthcare |
| 10 | Berkshire Hathaway | $371 billion | United States | Financials |
The 10 Largest Companies in the World, Ranked
1. Amazon: The New Revenue Leader
Revenue: $716 billion | Country: United States | Employees: 1,576,000
Amazon now leads the world by revenue at roughly $716 billion, narrowly ahead of Walmart after years of closing the gap. Its business is really two: a vast global retail operation and Amazon Web Services, the cloud platform that generates a disproportionate share of its profit.
That dual structure is what separates Amazon from a conventional retailer, since cloud computing carries far higher margins than selling goods. With about 1.58 million employees, it is also among the largest private employers on the planet.
2. Walmart: The Retail Giant It Overtook
Revenue: $713 billion | Country: United States | Employees: 2,100,000
Walmart held the top spot for most of the past two decades and remains within roughly $3 billion of Amazon at about $713 billion. It is the definitive example of scale through volume, moving enormous quantities of goods at thin margins.
With 2.1 million employees it is the largest private employer in the world, more than any other company on this list. Its revenue per worker is the lowest here, which is precisely what a physical retail model looks like at scale.
3. State Grid Corporation of China: The Utility Colossus
Revenue: $545 billion | Country: China | Employees: 1,361,423
State Grid Corporation of China earns roughly $545 billion delivering electricity to more than a billion people. It is state-owned and operates as a near-monopoly across most of China’s power distribution network.
Few Western consumers have heard of it, yet it consistently ranks among the two or three largest companies on earth. Its scale reflects national infrastructure rather than competitive market success.
4. Saudi Aramco: The Profit Machine
Revenue: $480 billion | Country: Saudi Arabia | Employees: 73,311
Saudi Aramco generates about $480 billion from oil and gas with only 73,311 employees, by far the smallest workforce in this top ten. That combination makes it the most extraordinary entry on the list.
It has frequently been the single most profitable company in the world, often out-earning Apple and Amazon combined on the bottom line. Because it is majority state-owned, its results are effectively tied to Saudi national revenue.
5. China National Petroleum: State-Owned Energy at Scale
Revenue: $476 billion | Country: China | Employees: 1,026,301
China National Petroleum brings in roughly $476 billion and employs more than a million people, a striking contrast with Saudi Aramco’s lean structure. It handles exploration, refining, and distribution across China’s vast domestic market.
Like State Grid, it is state-owned and serves national energy policy alongside commercial goals. Its employment figure reflects an integrated model that keeps most operations in-house.
6. China Petrochemical: The Refining Specialist
Revenue: $429 billion | Country: China | Employees: 513,434
China Petrochemical, widely known as Sinopec, earns about $429 billion primarily from refining and chemicals rather than extraction. It converts crude oil into fuels and the chemical inputs that manufacturing depends on.
Its presence alongside China National Petroleum and State Grid means three Chinese state enterprises occupy the top six. That concentration reflects how China’s largest firms are structured around national infrastructure.
7. Apple: The Most Valuable, Not the Largest
Revenue: $416 billion | Country: United States | Employees: 166,000
Apple earns roughly $416 billion from a remarkably narrow product range compared with the retailers above it. With only 166,000 employees, its revenue per worker is among the highest of any large company outside oil.
It is frequently the most valuable company in the world by market capitalization while ranking seventh by revenue, which neatly illustrates the difference between the two measures. Investors pay for profitability and growth, not sales volume.
8. Alphabet: Advertising at Global Scale
Revenue: $402 billion | Country: United States | Employees: 190,820
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, generates about $402 billion, still overwhelmingly from advertising across Search and YouTube. Cloud services and other bets contribute a growing but much smaller share.
With roughly 190,820 employees it produces enormous revenue per head, a hallmark of software-driven businesses. Its dependence on advertising remains both its greatest strength and its clearest strategic risk.
9. UnitedHealth Group: American Healthcare’s Scale
Revenue: $400 billion | Country: United States | Employees: 400,000
UnitedHealth Group earns roughly $400 billion, a figure that says as much about the US healthcare system as about the company. It combines health insurance with Optum, a vast health services and data operation.
No healthcare company outside the United States approaches this scale, because few countries route medical spending through private insurers. Its revenue essentially reflects the size of American healthcare expenditure.
10. Berkshire Hathaway: The Conglomerate
Revenue: $371 billion | Country: United States | Employees: 392,400
Berkshire Hathaway rounds out the top ten with about $371 billion, and it is unlike anything else here. Built by Warren Buffett, it is a holding company owning insurance, railroads, energy, and consumer brands outright.
Its revenue is the sum of dozens of unrelated businesses rather than one operation at scale. That structure makes it the clearest example of how differently companies can arrive at the same revenue figure.
Revenue Per Employee Tells the Real Story
The most revealing comparison on this list is not revenue but revenue per worker, and the spread is staggering. Saudi Aramco produces roughly $6.5 million of revenue per employee, while Walmart generates about $340,000, a difference of roughly nineteen times.
Apple and Alphabet sit near $2.5 million and $2.1 million per employee respectively, reflecting software and hardware economics. The pattern is consistent: extracting resources and selling software scale without proportional headcount, while retail and physical services do not.
Why Revenue Is Not the Same as Success
Ranking by revenue rewards businesses that move enormous volumes of money regardless of what they keep. Walmart’s $713 billion in sales produces a small fraction of the profit Saudi Aramco earns on less revenue.
Apple ranks seventh here yet is regularly the most valuable company on the planet, because investors price future profit rather than current sales. When comparing companies, always check whether a list measures revenue, profit, or market capitalization, since the three produce very different rankings.
How We Ranked the Largest Companies
This ranking orders companies by total annual revenue in US dollars for the most recent reported fiscal year, the standard basis used by lists such as the Fortune Global 500. Revenue figures are converted to dollars, so exchange-rate movements can shift positions between years.
State-owned enterprises are included, which is why Chinese and Saudi firms feature so prominently. Employee counts are the companies’ own reported figures and include part-time staff at retailers.
What This List Says About the Global Economy
Six of the top ten are American and three are Chinese, with Saudi Aramco the only other entrant. That concentration reflects the two economies that dominate global commerce, though they arrive by different routes.
The US entries are mostly private companies competing in open markets, while the Chinese entries are state enterprises built around national infrastructure. For founders operating at a rather different scale, our guides to the best states to start a business and business structures compared cover the practical end of the same economy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the largest company in the world?
Amazon is currently the largest by revenue at roughly $716 billion, narrowly ahead of Walmart at about $713 billion. The gap is small enough that the order can change year to year.
Which company is the most profitable?
Saudi Aramco has frequently been the most profitable company in the world, often earning more than Apple and Amazon combined, despite ranking fourth by revenue with only 73,311 employees.
Why is Apple only seventh?
This list ranks by revenue, not value. Apple is often the most valuable company by market capitalization, but it sells fewer dollars of goods than retailers like Amazon and Walmart, which operate on far thinner margins.
How many of the biggest companies are Chinese?
Three of the top ten are Chinese: State Grid Corporation, China National Petroleum, and China Petrochemical. All three are state-owned and built around national energy and infrastructure.
Which company employs the most people?
Walmart, with about 2.1 million employees, is the largest private employer in the world, roughly 28 times the workforce of Saudi Aramco despite earning comparable revenue.