Walmart’s 2021 annual financial report shows that the American multinational retail corporation made more than a half trillion dollars in revenue, making it no. 1 largest company in the world by revenue generation.
Walmart closely followed by another American multinational e-commerce firm Amazon, one of the world’s valuable companies.
Although, Walmart generated $102 Billion more than its close competitor, Amazon was able to pull $469.8 Billion in revenue, according to the company’s full financial year 2021.
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The third, fourth, and the fifth are Chinese companies: State Grid Corporation of China, Sinopec, and PetroChina with $461 Billion, $414.6 Billion, and $404.6 Billion respectively.
What is a company’s revenue?
In this context, revenue is the total amount of income generated by a company through sales and services without subtracting expenses.
Which country is the biggest by revenue?
On the top 10, the world’s largest two economies, the United States and China, have four companies each headquartered in their territory.
In the top 50, the U.S have 20 companies while China has 14 on the list. Despite the U.S taking the lead, the list is a reflection of the economic competition between the two super-power countries.
What are the top revenue-generating companies in 2021?
The list of biggest firms by revenue generation gives a glimpse of which companies raked in the most revenue through sales of goods and services around the world in 2021.
1) Walmart (WMT):
- Revenue: $571.9 Billion USD
- Net income: $13.51 Billion
- Market capitalization: $401.35 B
- Founder: Sam Walton
- Establishment date: July 2, 1962
- Number of employee: 2.3 million
- Industry: Retail
As of December 17, 2022, the market capitalization of Walmart was $384.96 Billion USD. In 2020, the retail company generated $548.74 Billion in revenue with $29.27 Billion earnings during the pandemic year.
2) Amazon (AMZN):
- Revenue: $469.8 Billion USD
- Net income: $33.36 Billion
- Market capitalization: $$1.691 Trillion
- Founder: Jeff Bezos
- Establishment date: July 4, 1994
- Number of employee: 1.4 million workers
- Industry: Retail
Founded by Jess Bezos who would later become one of the wealthiest people, Amazon’s revenue in 2020 was $386.06 Billion USD, but after the pandemic e-commerce added over $80 billion to its revenue.
3) State Grid
- Revenue: $461 Billion
- Net income: $7.1 Billion USD
- Founder: Chinese-owned
- Establishment date: 2002
- Number of employee: 1.5 million workers
- Industry: Power
The State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) is Chinese-owned largest electric utility corporation.
Relying on the population figure of China, State Grid reportedly has over a billion customers, no wonder it generated $461 Billion USD in 2021.
4) Sinopec:
- Revenue: $414.6 Billion
- Net income: $11.18 Billion
- Market capitalization: $11.81 Billion
- Founder: Chinese-owned
- Establishment date: February 25, 2000
- Number of employee: 249,142 (2018 data)
- Industry: Oil and gas
Sinopec Group is the largest oil refining and petrochemical conglomerate in the World. It is headquartered in Chaoyang District, Beijing.
5) PetroChina:
- Revenue: $404.6 Billion
- Net income: $26.75 Billion
- Market capitalization: $134.16 Billion
- Founder: China government
- Establishment date: November 5,1999
- Number of employee: Over 400,000 in 2020
- Industry: Oil and gas
PetroChina Company Limited is an extended arm of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), specialising in oil and gas with its headquarter in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is the largest oil and gas producer in Asia. It traded in Hong Kong and New York.
6) Apple Inc
- Revenue: $394.3 Billion
- Net income: $94.68 Billion
- Market capitalization: $2.91 Trillion
- Founder: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne
- Establishment date: April 1, 1976
- Number of employee: 164,000
- Industry: Technology
The annual financial report of Apple reveals that the tech company 8% more revenue in 2021 than the previous year (2020).
“We are deeply committed to protecting the environment, to securing user privacy, to strengthening accessibility, and to creating products and services that can unlock humanity’s full creative potential,” Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said in an official statement published by the firm.
apple.com
Apple Inc generated more revenue than any other tech company in 2021, no wonder it’s the only technology company that made the top 10 companies with highest revenue in the year under review.
Next to Apple is Google which was in 14th position with $257.6 Billion revenue in 2021, according to GlobalData.
7) Saudi Aramco
- Revenue: $359.5 Billion
- Net income: $110.0 Billion
- Market capitalization: $1.908 Trillion
- Founder: Saudi Arabia government
- Establishment date: May 29, 1933
- Number of employee: 66,800 (as of 2020)
- Industry: Oil and gas
At the time of this report, Saudi Aramco’s market cap stood at $1.801 Trillion. Its market cap ended $1.908 Trillion in 2021.
The Saudi Arabian Oil Company or Saudi Aramco was formerly known as Arabian-American Oil Company, it is one of the largest oil companies in the world.
Apart from being the largest oil company by revenue in Arab countries, Aramco also has the largest proven oil reserves.
By the number of daily production, Aramco produces more than any other oil company.
8) China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC)
- Revenue: $293.7 Billion
- Net income: $15.62 Billion
- Market capitalization: $32.91 Billion
- Founder: Chinese government
- Establishment date: 1957
- Number of employee: 368, 327 (as of 2021)
- Industry: Construction
China State Construction and Engineering or CSCEC is the largest construction company in the world with project across the world, especially in African countries.
The company pulled $236.43 Billion revenue in 2020, but in 2021, pulled over $293 B revenue, making it one of the most successful companies by revenue in 2021.
The annual review of its CSCES’s financial report shows that the company keeps getting better than its previous year.
“The Company achieved a total operating revenue of RMB1.89 trillion and net profit attributable to the parent company of RMB51.41 billion for the year of 2021, a YOY increase of 17.1% and 14.4% respectively. CSCEC ranked 13th in Fortune Global 500 in 2021,” statement by the company says.
9) CVS Health
- Revenue: $292.1 Billion
- Net income: $7.91 Billion
- Market capitalization: $136.17 Billion
- Founder: Stanley Goldstein, Ralph Hoagland, Sidney Goldstein
- Date founded: May 8, 1963
- Number of employee: 300,000 (in 2021)
- Industry: Health
CVS Health Corporation is an American healthcare company that owns many health brands. It is notable to have acquired many health firms.
10) Volkswagen
- Revenue: $291.3 Billion
- Net income: $17.6 Billion
- Market capitalization: $128 Billion
- Founder: German Labor Front
- Establishment date: May 28, 1937
- Number of employee: 667,647 (at 2021)
- Industry: Automotive
Volkswagen Group, a German-based firm, generated the highest revenue in the automotive industry in 2021.
Volkswagen generated more revenue more than Ford and BMW combined in 2021. Notably, 40% of sales and profits of Volkswagen come from China
Below is the list top 50 top revenue-generating companies in 2021
| Ranking | Companies | 2021 Revenue | Headquarters |
| 1 | Walmart | $571.9 Billion | United States |
| 2 | Amazon | $469.8 Billion | United States |
| 3 | State Grid | $461 Billion | China |
| 4 | Sinopec | $414.6 Billion | China |
| 5 | PetroChina | $404.6 Billion | China |
| 6 | Apple | $394.3 Billion | United States |
| 7 | Aramco | $359.5 Billion | Saudi Arabia |
| 8 | CSCEC | $293.7 Billion | China |
| 9 | CVS | $292.1 Billion | United States |
| 10 | Volkswagen | $291.3 Billion | Germany |
| 11 | UnitedHealthCare | $287.6 Billion | United States |
| 12 | Toyota | $276.5 Billion | Japan |
| 13 | Shell Plc | $261.5 Billion | United Kingdom |
| 14 | $257.6 Billion | United States | |
| 15 | Samsung | $240.7 Billion | South Korea |
| 16 | Ping An Insurance | $199.6 Billion | China |
| 17 | Costco Wholesale | $195.9 Billion | United States |
| 18 | Mercedez-Benz | $176.4 Billion | Germany |
| 19 | AT&T | $168.9 Billion | United States |
| 20 | Microsoft | $168 Billion | United States |
| 21 | CRCC | $157.8 Billion | China |
| 22 | Bank of China | $152.2 Billion | China |
| 23 | JD.com | $149.3 Billion | China |
| 24 | Home Depot | $147.6 Billion | United States |
| 25 | ICBC | $145.3 Billion | China |
| 26 | Allianz Group | $144.6 Billion | Germany |
| 27 | Mitsubishi Group | $144.03 Billion | Japan |
| 28 | Ford | $136.3 Billion | United States |
| 29 | Walgreens | $134.9 Billion | United States |
| 30 | Verizon | $133.6 Billion | United States |
| 31 | BMW | $131.6 Billion | Germany |
| 32 | China Mobile | $131.2 Billion | China |
| 33 | TATA Group | $128 Billion | India |
| 34 | Honda | $127.7 Billion | Japan |
| 35 | Chase Bank | $127.2 Billion | United States |
| 36 | China Construction Bank | $127.1 Billion | China |
| 37 | Deutsche Telekom | $126.2 Billion | Germany |
| 38 | JPMorgan | $121.7 Billion | United States |
| 39 | Aldi | $121.1 Billion | Germany |
| 40 | $117.9 Billion | United States | |
| 41 | Xfinity | $116.4 Billion | United States |
| 42 | Agric Bank of China | $111.1 Billion | China |
| 43 | Alibaba | $109.5 Billion | China |
| 44 | NTT Group | $108.4 Billion | Japan |
| 45 | DELL Technologies | $105.2 Billion | United States |
| 46 | Target | $101.9 Billion | United States |
| 47 | Huawei | $99.9 Billion | China |
| 48 | Hyundai Group | $98.1 Billion | South Korea |
| 49 | UPS | $97.3 Billion | United States |
| 50 | Nestle | $95.7 Billion | Switzerland |
Conclusion:
A big thumb up to the top 50 companies that generated highest revenue in 2021. will they maintain their positions as the 20222 winds down?
Resources:
- Apple Newsroom (October 27, 2022). “Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results”. apple.com
- Companies Market Cap. “Earnings for Sinopec”. companiesmarketcap.com
- CSCEC English Version (June 17, 2022). “CSCEC Achieves a Steady Growth in Financial Performance in 2021 and Proposes to Declare and Pay Cash Dividends Exceeding RMB10 Billion”. cscec.com
- Global Data. “Google’s Revenue (2002 – 2021)”globaldata.com