2020 was a phenomenal year for the markets with some big changes in the Global Top 100 companies by market capitalization. Tesla for instance saw its market capitalization increase by 565% from the levels seen in March 2020. In this blog we’ll look at the global top 100 companies by market capitalization as of Mar-2021 and who their auditors are. The top-100 companies were identified based on the survey performed by PwC. This blog provides a listing of the top 100 companies along with their auditors.
Industry Sectors
Of the top 100 companies, 20 of them are in the Technology sector, 17 of them in the Consumer Discretionary sector, and 16 of them in the Healthcare sector. No surprises that Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Facebook, and Tencent occupy spots within the top 10 companies. NextEra Energy is the only utility company within the top 100 list. See below for a detailed breakdown of companies by sector:
Company Location
Of the top 100 companies, 59 of them are located in the United States while 11 of them are located in the People’s Republic of China. Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, and UK have 3 companies each. See below for a detailed breakdown of companies by country:
Auditors
Looking at the top 100 Companies, PwC leads in the number of audit clients followed by EY. PwC audits 37 companies while EY audits 26. Deloitte and KPMG audits 16 companies each. PwC received a total audit fee of $1.03 billion from these 37 companies while EY received an audit fee income of $861 million. The break-down of the auditors for these 100 companies along with their audit fees are as follows:
The public fillings of Saudi Aramco does not disclose how much they paid to PwC, their auditors. Hence the above numbers for PwC does not include the fees for the Aramco audit which is expected to be a very substantial amount. Samsung Electronics and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China switched to Deloitte in FY’20. However, for the purposes of the above chart, they are considered under their previous auditors.
Biggest Companies in the World
| Ranking | Company | Country | Sector | Market Cap. ($ bn) | Auditor | Currency | Total Audit Fees (Million) | Total Audit Fees (USD Million) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | APPLE INC | United States | Technology | 2051 | EY | USD | 22.18 | 22.18 |
| 2 | SAUDI ARAMCO | Saudi Arabia | Energy | 1920 | PwC | -Na- | ||
| 3 | MICROSOFT CORP | United States | Technology | 1778 | Deloitte | USD | 55.29 | 55.29 |
| 4 | AMAZON.COM INC | United States | Consumer Discretionary | 1558 | EY | USD | 30.90 | 30.90 |
| 5 | ALPHABET INC | United States | Technology | 1393 | EY | USD | 29.85 | 29.85 |
| 6 | FACEBOOK INC | United States | Technology | 839 | EY | USD | 27.33 | 27.33 |
| 7 | TENCENT | China | Technology | 753 | PwC | RMB | 164 | 25.31 |
| 8 | TESLA INC | United States | Consumer Discretionary | 641 | PwC | USD | 13.54 | 13.54 |
| 9 | ALIBABA GRP | China | Consumer Discretionary | 615 | PwC | RMB | 162.51 | 25.08 |
| 10 | BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY | United States | Financials | 588 | Deloitte | USD | 48.80 | 48.80 |
| 11 | TSMC | Taiwan | Technology | 534 | Deloitte | NTS | 70.32 | 2.51 |
| 12 | VISA INC | United States | Industrials | 468 | KPMG | USD | 11.74 | 11.74 |
| 13 | JPMORGAN CHASE | United States | Financials | 465 | PwC | USD | 105.10 | 105.10 |
| 14 | JOHNSON & JOHNSON | United States | Health Care | 433 | PwC | USD | 58.63 | 58.63 |
| 15 | SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS | South Korea | Technology | 431 | PwC | KRW | 6,866 | 6.00 |
| 16 | KWEICHOW MOUTA | China | Consumer Staples | 385 | Lixin CPA | -Na- | 0 | |
| 17 | WALMART INC | United States | Consumer Discretionary | 383 | EY | USD | 28.23 | 28.23 |
| 18 | MASTERCARD INC | United States | Industrials | 354 | PwC | USD | 9.94 | 9.94 |
| 19 | UNITEDHEALTH GRP | United States | Health Care | 352 | Deloitte | USD | 27.02 | 27.02 |
| 20 | LVMH MOET HENNESSY | France | Consumer Discretionary | 337 | EY & Mazars | EUR | 15(EY); 8(Mazars) | 27.31 |
| 21 | WALT DISNEY CO | United States | Consumer Discretionary | 335 | PwC | USD | 33.30 | 33.30 |
| 22 | BANK OF AMERICA | United States | Financials | 334 | PwC | USD | 67.50 | 67.50 |
| 23 | PROCTER & GAMBLE | United States | Consumer Staples | 333 | Deloitte | USD | 30.99 | 30.99 |
| 24 | NVIDIA CORP | United States | Technology | 331 | PwC | USD | 6.90 | 6.90 |
| 25 | HOME DEPOT INC | United States | Consumer Discretionary | 329 | KPMG | USD | 8.14 | 8.14 |
| 26 | NESTLE SA | Switzerland | Consumer Staples | 322 | EY | CHF | 45.00 | 49.23 |
| 27 | IND & COMM BK | China | Financials | 290 | KPMG | RMB | 224.00 | 34.57 |
| 28 | PAYPAL HOLDINGS | United States | Industrials | 284 | PwC | USD | 16.64 | 16.64 |
| 29 | ROCHE HOLDING | Switzerland | Health Care | 283 | KPMG | CHF | 23.70 | 25.93 |
| 30 | INTEL CORP | United States | Technology | 261 | EY | USD | 21.97 | 21.97 |
| 31 | ASML HOLDING NV | Netherlands | Technology | 255 | KPMG | Euro | 3.46 | 4.11 |
| 32 | TOYOTA MOTOR | Japan | Consumer Discretionary | 254 | PwC | Yen | 5,739 | 52.10 |
| 33 | COMCAST CORP | United States | Telecommunications | 248 | Deloitte | USD | 24.30 | 24.30 |
| 34 | VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS | United States | Telecommunications | 241 | EY | USD | 50.70 | 50.70 |
| 35 | EXXON MOBIL CORP | United States | Energy | 236 | PwC | USD | 41.80 | 41.80 |
| 36 | NETFLIX INC | United States | Consumer Discretionary | 231 | EY | USD | 7.52 | 7.52 |
| 37 | ADOBE INC | United States | Technology | 228 | KPMG | USD | 8.08 | 8.08 |
| 38 | COCA-COLA CO | United States | Consumer Staples | 227 | EY | USD | 40.16 | 40.16 |
| 39 | MEITUAN | China | Technology | 226 | PwC | RMB | 50.79 | 7.84 |
| 40 | PING AN | China | Financials | 219 | PwC | RMB | 122 | 18.83 |
| 41 | CISCO SYSTEMS | United States | Telecommunications | 218 | PwC | USD | 28.27 | 28.27 |
| 42 | AT&T INC | United States | Financials | 216 | EY | USD | 69.80 | 69.80 |
| 43 | L'OREAL | France | Consumer Discretionary | 215 | PwC & Deloitte | Euro | 12.4(PwC), 7.4(Deloitte) | 13.54 |
| 44 | CHINA CONSTRUCTION BANK | China | Financials | 213 | EY | RMB | 151.86 | 23.44 |
| 45 | ABBOTT LABS | United States | Health Care | 212 | EY | USD | 31.67 | 31.67 |
| 46 | NOVARTIS AG | Switzerland | Health Care | 212 | PwC | USD | 23.50 | 23.50 |
| 47 | NIKE INC | United States | Consumer Discretionary | 209 | PwC | USD | 22.40 | 22.40 |
| 48 | ORACLE CORP | United States | Technology | 202 | EY | USD | 31.80 | 31.80 |
| 49 | PFIZER INC | United States | Health Care | 202 | KPMG | USD | 32.82 | 32.82 |
| 50 | CHEVRON CORP | United States | Oil & Gas | 202 | PwC | USD | 31.00 | 31.00 |
| 51 | CHINA MERCH | China | Financials | 196 | Deloitte | RMB | 44.00 | 6.79 |
| 52 | PEPSICO INC | United States | Consumer Staples | 195 | KPMG | USD | 25.77 | 25.77 |
| 53 | SALESFORCE.COM | United States | Technology | 195 | EY | USD | 27.28 | 27.28 |
| 54 | MERCK & CO | United States | Health Care | 195 | PwC | USD | 58.8 | 58.8 |
| 55 | ABBVIE INC | United States | Health Care | 191 | EY | USD | 32.1 | 32.1 |
| 56 | BROADCOM INC | United States | Technology | 189 | PwC | USD | 18.69 | 18.69 |
| 57 | PROSUS NV | Netherlands | Technology | 181 | PwC | USD | 11 | 11 |
| 58 | RELIANCE INDS | India | Energy | 180 | EY & DTS Assoc. | INR | 597.3 | 8.02 |
| 59 | THERMO FISHER | United States | Health Care | 180 | PwC | USD | 37.13 | 37.13 |
| 60 | ELI LILLY & CO | United States | Health Care | 179 | EY | USD | 17.3 | 17.3 |
| 61 | AGRICULTURAL BANK OF CHINA | China | Financials | 178 | PwC | RMB | 122.3 | 18.88 |
| 62 | SOFTBANK GROUP | Japan | Telecommunications | 176 | Deloitte | Yen | 786 | 7.14 |
| 63 | ACCENTURE PLC | Ireland | Industrials | 176 | KPMG | USD | 26.92 | 26.92 |
| 64 | TEXAS INSTRUMENT | United States | Technology | 174 | EY | USD | 13.05 | 13.05 |
| 65 | MCDONALDS CORP | United States | Consumer Discretionary | 167 | EY | USD | 11.4 | 11.4 |
| 66 | VOLKSWAGEN AG | Germany | Consumer Discretionary | 165 | EY | Euro | 53 | 62.95 |
| 67 | BHP GROUP LTD | Australia | Basic Materials | 163 | EY | USD | 16.70 | 16.70 |
| 68 | WELLS FARGO & CO | United States | Financials | 162 | KPMG | USD | 58.60 | 58.60 |
| 69 | TATA CONSULTANCY | India | Technology | 161 | KPMG | INR | 146 | 1.96 |
| 70 | DANAHER CORP | United States | Health Care | 160 | EY | USD | 29.95 | 29.95 |
| 71 | NOVO NORDISK | Denmark | Health Care | 160 | PwC | DKK | 42 | 5.71 |
| 72 | MEDTRONIC PLC | Ireland | Health Care | 159 | PwC | USD | 17.61 | 17.61 |
| 73 | WULIANGYE YIBI | China | Consumer Staples | 159 | Sichuan Huaxin | RMB | 1.32 | 0.2 |
| 74 | COSTCO WHOLESALE | United States | Consumer Discretionary | 156 | KPMG | USD | 8.81 | 8.81 |
| 75 | T-MOBILE US INC | United States | Telecommunications | 156 | PwC | USD | 48.62 | 48.62 |
| 76 | CITIGROUP INC | United States | Financials | 152 | KPMG | USD | 98.6 | 98.6 |
| 77 | HONEYWELL INTL | United States | Industrials | 151 | Deloitte | USD | 18.69 | 18.69 |
| 78 | QUALCOMM INC | United States | Technology | 151 | PwC | USD | 11.46 | 11.46 |
| 79 | SAP SE | Germany | Technology | 151 | KPMG | Euro | 14 | 16.63 |
| 80 | BOEING CO | United States | Industrials | 149 | Deloitte | USD | 32.3 | 32.3 |
| 81 | ROYAL DUTCH SHELL | Netherlands | Oil & Gas | 148 | EY | USD | 58 | 58 |
| 82 | NEXTERA ENERGY | United States | Utilities | 148 | Deloitte | USD | 11.21 | 11.21 |
| 83 | UNITED PARCEL | United States | Industrials | 148 | Deloitte | USD | 19.81 | 19.81 |
| 84 | UNION PAC CORP | United States | Industrials | 148 | Deloitte | USD | 3.72 | 3.72 |
| 85 | UNILEVER PLC | United Kingdom | Consumer Staples | 147 | KPMG | Euro | 26 | 30.88 |
| 86 | AIA | Hong Kong SAR | Financials | 147 | PwC | USD | 25.20 | 25.20 |
| 87 | LINDE PLC | United Kingdom | Basic Materials | 146 | PwC | USD | 25.21 | 25.21 |
| 88 | AMGEN INC | United States | Health Care | 144 | EY | USD | 9.25 | 9.25 |
| 89 | BRISTOL-MYER SQB | United States | Health Care | 141 | Deloitte | USD | 28.90 | 28.90 |
| 90 | SIEMENS AG | Germany | Industrials | 140 | EY | Euro | 68.60 | 81.48 |
| 91 | BANK OF CHINA | China | Financials | 139 | EY | RMB | 237 | 36.58 |
| 92 | PHILIP MORRIS INC | United States | Consumer Staples | 138 | PwC | USD | 25.87 | 25.87 |
| 93 | LOWE'S COS INC | United States | Consumer Discretionary | 136 | Deloitte | USD | 4.19 | 4.19 |
| 94 | CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS | United States | Telecommunications | 135 | KPMG | USD | 10.20 | 10.20 |
| 95 | CHINA MOBILE | Hong Kong SAR | Telecommunications | 134 | PwC | RMB | 114 | 17.60 |
| 96 | SONY GROUP CORP | Japan | Consumer Discretionary | 132 | PwC | Yen | 4529 | 41.11 |
| 97 | ASTRAZENECA PLC | United Kingdom | Health Care | 131 | PwC | USD | 20.30 | 20.30 |
| 98 | ROYAL BANK OF CANADA | Canada | Financials | 131 | PwC | CAD | 50.80 | 40.82 |
| 99 | STARBUCKS CORP | United States | Consumer Discretionary | 129 | Deloitte | USD | 8.49 | 8.49 |
| 100 | ANHEUSER-BUSCH | Belgium | Consumer Staples | 128 | PwC | USD | 20 | 20 |
Apple is the biggest company in the world in terms of market capitalization with a value of $2.05 trillion followed by Saudi Aramco with a market value of $1.92 trillion (as of Mar’21). Microsoft and Amazon occupy the third and fourth spot with a market value of $1.78 trillion and $1.56 trillion respectively.
Do read our other blogs on the top 500 companies in the US and their auditors.
