18 months after the COVID-19 pandemic began changing the planet, Forbes unveiled their most recent Global 2000 list of the world’s biggest companies. 2020 and early 2021 has changed the fortunes of some companies.
A look at the top 25 companies reflects the strange nature of the world’s economy. While many industries have been crushed, global stock markets are up about 48% and while sales and profits may be down for the Forbes Global 2000 companies, total assets and market value are up.
It’s interesting to note in the top 10 list, five companies are from the United States, four from China and one from Saudi Arabia.
| Rank | Name | Country | Sales | Profit | Assets | Market Value | |
| 1 | ICBC | China | $190.5 B | $45.8 B | $4,914.7 B | $249.5 B | |
| 2 | JPMorgan Chase | United States | $136.2 B | $40.4 B | $3,689.3 B | $464.8 B | |
| 3 | Berkshire Hathaway | United States | $245.5 B | $42.5 B | $873.7 B | $624.4 B | |
| 4 | China Construction Bank | China | $173.5 B | $39.3 B | $4,301.7 B | $210.4 B | |
| 5 | Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) | Saudi Arabia | $229.7 B | $49.3 B | $510.3 B | $1,897.2 B | |
| 6 | Apple | United States | $294 B | $63.9 B | $354.1 B | $2,252.3 B | |
| 6 | Bank of America | United States | $98.8 B | $17.9 B | $2,832.2 B | $336.3 B | |
| 6 | Ping An Insurance Group | China | $169.1 B | $20.8 B | $1,453.8 B | $211.2 B | |
| 9 | Agricultural Bank of China | China | $153.9 B | $31.3 B | $4,159.9 B | $140.1 B | |
| 10 | Amazon | United States | $386.1 B | $21.3 B | $321.2 B | $1,711.8 B | |
| 11 | Samsung Electronics | South Korea | $200.7 B | $22.1 B | $348.2 B | $510.5 B | |
| 12 | Toyota Motor | Japan | $249.4 B | $14.3 B | $561.9 B | $219.2 B | |
| 13 | Alphabet | United States | $182.4 B | $40.3 B | $319.6 B | $1,538.9 B | |
| 14 | Bank of China | China | $134 B | $27.9 B | $3,731.4 B | $116.7 B | |
| 15 | Microsoft | United States | $153.3 B | $51.3 B | $304.1 B | $1,966.6 B | |
| 16 | Citigroup | United States | $84.4 B | $17.1 B | $2,314.3 B | $151.2 B | |
| 17 | Volkswagen Group | Germany | $254.1 B | $9.5 B | $646.4 B | $147.2 B | |
| 18 | Walmart | United States | $559.2 B | $13.5 B | $252.5 B | $396.1 B | |
| 19 | Wells Fargo | United States | $85.9 B | $7.4 B | $1,959.5 B | $181.5 B | |
| 20 | Verizon Communications | United States | $128.3 B | $17.8 B | $316.5 B | $241.3 B | |
| 21 | UnitedHealth Group | United States | $262.9 B | $16.9 B | $205.2 B | $369.6 B | |
| 22 | China Merchants Bank | China | $60.4 B | $14.1 B | $1,278.5 B | $192.8 B | |
| 23 | Alibaba Group | China | $93.8 B | $23.3 B | $250.1 B | $657.5 B | |
| 24 | Allianz | Germany | $129.9 B | $7.8 B | $1,357.5 B | $108 B | |
| 25 | Comcast | United States | $103.6 B | $10.5 B | $273.9 B | $252.4 B |