1. Top 10 biggest companies in the world. Scores based on their rankings for sales, profits, assets and market value. General Electric ended HSBC Holdings’ one-year reign as the world’s largest company. Here are the 25 biggest companies in the world.
2. Statistics: Public CompanyIncorporated: 1892 Employees: 305,000 Sales: $134.19 billion (2003) Stock Exchanges: New York Boston London Euronext Paris Ticker Symbol: GE No. 1: General Electric Industry: Conglomerate, U.S.
3. 1878: Thomas Edison establishes the Edison Electric Light Company. 1889: Edison has, by this date, consolidated all of his companies under the name of the Edison General Electric Company. 1892: Edison's company merges with the Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric Company (GE); company's stock begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange. 1894: Edison sells all his shares in the company, remaining a consultant to GE. 1900: GE establishes the first industrial laboratory in the United States.
4. No. 2: Royal Dutch Shell Industry: Oil and gas operations, U.K. Its $458 billion in revenues puts this integrated petroleum company in first place in sales and second in our Global 2000 composite ranking based on sales, profits, assets and market value.
5. The 'Royal Dutch Company for the Exploitation of Petroleum Wells in the Netherlands East Indies' was registered in the Hague in 1890. The name was abbreviated in 1949 to Royal Dutch Petroleum Company[13]. -* Shell was first registered in London in 1897 by the brothers Marcus and Sam Samuel as `The "Shell" Transport and Trading Company, Ltd.' (Now PLC: public limited company)[
6. Industry: Consumer Durables, Japan No. 3: Toyota Motor Public Company Incorporated: 1937 as Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. Employees: 214,631 Sales: $119.66 billion (2000) Stock Exchanges: Tokyo New York Ticker Symbol: TM
7. 1918: Sakichi Toyoda establishes Toyota Spinning & Weaving Co., Ltd. 1933: Automobile Department is created within Toyoda Automatic Loom Works. 1935: First Model A1 passenger car prototype is completed. 1937: Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. is formed. 1950: Toyota Motor Sales Co., Ltd. is established. 1956: Toyota creates the Toyopet dealer network. 1957: Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. is formed. 1962: Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd. begins operations. 1982: Toyota Motor Company and Toyota Motor Sales merge to form Toyota Motor Corporation. 1995: Hiroshi Okuda becomes company president. 1997: The Prius, Toyota's first 'eco-car,' is launched. 1998: Toyota acquires majority share in Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd.
9. Exxon Mobil Corporation is the second largest integrated oil company in the world, trailing only BP p.l.c. The company is involved in oil and gas exploration, production, transportation, and marketing in more than 200 countries and territories. Exxon Mobil is a major manufacturer of basic petrochemicals, such as olefins, aromatics, and polyethylene and polypropylene plastics. The company supplies refined products to more than 40,000 service stations operating under the brand names Exxon, Mobil, and Esso. Created from the 1999 merger of Mobil Corporation and Exxon Corporation, Exxon Mobil's history is the story of two companies, each an influential constituent of modern business history.
10. Industr:oil and gas operations, U.K This U.K. petroleum giant is in fifth place worldwide for profits as well as its Global 2000 composite ranking No. 5: BP
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12. Industry: Banking,U.K. No. 6: HSBC Holdings Statistics: Public Company Incorporated: 1865 as Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Company, Ltd. Employees: 130,000 Total Assets: £286.39 billion (US$471.69 billion) (1997) Stock Exchanges: London Hong Kong Ticker Symbol: HSBHY (ADR)
13. SICs: 6712 Offices of Bank Holding Companies; 6021 National Commercial Banks; 6029 Commercial Banks, Not Elsewhere Classified; 6162 Mortgage Bankers & Loan Correspondents; 6163 Loan Brokers; 6211 Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies; 6282 Investment Advice; 6311 Life Insurance; 6351 Surety Insurance; 6371 Pension, Health & Welfare Funds; 6411 Insurance Agents, Brokers & Services; 6733 Trusts, Except Educational, Religious & Charitable
16. Industry: Retailing, U.S. No. 8: Wal-Mart Stores Public CompanyIncorporated: 1969 Employees: 1,500,000 Sales: $256.68 billion (2004) Stock Exchanges: New York Pacific Ticker Symbol: WMT
17. 1962: Samuel Walton and his brother J.L. (Bud) Walton open their first Wal-Mart Discount City in Rogers, Arkansas. 1969: The brothers are operating 18 Wal-Mart stores in Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma; they incorporate these ventures as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 1970: Wal-Mart stock begins trading over the counter. 1972: The company's stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
20. Industry: Oil and gas operations,U.S. No. 10 : Chevron Public Company Incorporated: 1906 as Standard Oil Company (California) Employees: 53,000 Sales: $104.41 billion (2001) Stock Exchanges: New York Pacific Ticker Symbol: CVX
21. 1879: Pacific Coast Oil Company is founded in California. 1900: Pacific Coast is purchased by the Standard Oil Trust. 1906: Pacific Coast is merged with Standard Oil of Iowa to form Standard Oil Company (California), known as Socal. 1911: The Standard Oil Trust is ordered dissolved by the U.S. Supreme Court, and Socal emerges as an independent firm officially called Standard Oil (California).
