All the hype these days is about Chinese or US economies, but what about biggest European companies by market value? Granted, none of them is among 11 biggest private companies in the world, but these are all major global players in their respective fields. Companies like BASF, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Inditex, L’Oréal, and Nestle are the absolute world leaders in their sectors, being the largest companies in them. BMW, Volkswagen, British American Tobacco and Vodafone are among the most recognizable brands on the planet. One-half of Big Oil companies is also present. Judging by the list, Old Europe still has a lot to offer in the world of business.
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Based on Forbes’ list of biggest companies in the world, the list is dominated by pharmaceutical companies, followed by several banking, oil, and automotive giants. Looking by the country of origin, Germany has 9 companies on the list, followed closely by the United Kingdom with 8, Switzerland and France have 3 each, and Netherlands and Spain two each. Belgium, Ireland, and Denmark with one representative apiece complete the list. Interestingly enough, none of the Italian or Russian companies made it to the list.
None of the European companies for the 11 biggest private companies in the world list is here, since private companies market values is a rather hard to determine, since their stocks aren’t listed on stock markets.
30. BMW Group – Germany
Market Value: $81.4 B
We start with the icon of the automotive industry. BMW (Bayerische Motoren Werke) was founded in 1916. During both World Wars, the company was a major aircraft manufacturer for German Luftwaffe. Today, BMW is part of Germany’s Big Three luxury car manufacturers, with Audi and Mercedes-Benz. With more than 2.1 million cars manufactured in 2014 alone, it is one of the largest automakers in the world.
29. Allianz – Germany
Market Value: $82 B
Founded in 1890, Allianz has grown to become the largest insurance company in the world. The company nearly went bankrupt over the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, but it managed to survive.
28. Lloyds Banking Group – United Kingdom
Market Value: $84.4 B
The fourth oldest bank in the United Kingdom, Lloyds Bank was founded in 1765. It became Lloyds Banking Group in 2008 by taking over failing HBOS (Halifax Bank of Scotland). It operates in over 30 countries all over the world.
27. Deutsche Telekom – Germany
Market Value: $85 B
The first of two telecommunication companies on the list, Deutsche Telekom, has stakes in almost dozen telecom companies in Europe, including several national providers, plus T-Mobile, US, one of the largest US wireless carriers.
26. SABMiller – United Kingdom
Market Value: $87.3 B
The second largest brewing company in the world, SABMiller owns such brands as Grolsch, Fosters, Pilsner Urquell, Miller, and Peroni. Present in 80 countries, the company sells about 20 million liters of beverage annually. It is also one of the largest Coca-Cola bottlers.
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25. AstraZeneca – United Kingdom
Market Value: $87.7 B
Created in 1999 by a merger of Astra AB from Sweden and British Zeneca Group, the company employs over 11,000 people in its research centers in several countries. In 2014 it almost became a part of Pfizer, but the talks broke down.
24. Vodafone – United Kingdom
Market Value: $88 B
Vodafone is the second largest telecommunication company in the world, only behind China Telecom. With more than 430 million subscribers, London-based giant is present in almost every market in Europe, either directly or through partners. It also operates in US, China, Brazil, Chile, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt and Australia.
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23. SAP – Germany
Market Value: $90.2 B
The only software company on the list, SAP employs 70,000 people and has over 210,000 clients in over 130 countries. It is one of the leading producers of enterprise software for managing business operations as well as client relations in the world.
22. BASF – Germany
Market Value: $93.5 B
The largest chemical manufacturing company in the world, BASF was founded in 1865. By 1900s it became one of the leading producers of synthetic dyeing agents in the world. During the World War 2 it was a part of IG Farben, the largest chemical conglomerate in the world. The conglomerate was dissolved after the war and in 1948 BASF was reconstituted.
21. Siemens – Germany
Market Value: $97.7 B
With 343,000 employees, Siemens is the European’s biggest engineering company. It was founded in 1847 as a telegraph company, responsible for the construction of the first long range telegraph line in Europe. Today, apart from construction, a large part of Siemens profits come from consumer electronics and medical technology.
20. British American Tobacco – United Kingdom
Market Value: $99.6 B
Despite all the stigma tobacco products get, British American Tobacco remains one of the largest companies in the world. It owns some of the world’s most popular cigarette brands like Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Dunhill, and Kent.
19. Daimler AG – Germany
Market Value: $103.3 B
The owner of the Mercedes brand, Daimler is one of the largest car manufacturers in the world. This German company is also the second biggest truck producer on the planet and engine supplier for several Formula 1 teams.
18. Inditex – Spain
Market Value: $103.4 B
Inditex, a Spanish-based company, is the largest clothing company in the world. It operates more than 6,600 stores worldwide and owns brands like Zara, Oysho, Pull and Bear and Stradivarius. In the first quarter of 2015 the company made a record profit of 512 million euros.
17. L’Oréal Group – France
Market Value: $106.6 B
Founded in 1909, L’Oréal is the largest cosmetic company in the world. The company employs about 74,000 people around the globe, 400 of which are employed to post Facebook content alone. Its largest shareholder is Liliane Bettencourt, the second richest woman in the world.
16. Santander Group – Spain
Market Value: $109.4 B
Santander Group is the largest bank by market value in Eurozone. Founded in 1897 as Banco Santander, the company quickly grew through various acquisitions and mergers to the giant it is today, despite €2.3 billion hit it took when Madoff’s scheme collapsed in 2008.
15. GlaxoSmithKline – United Kingdom
Market Value: $114.1 B
Number 15 on our list of biggest European companies by market value is GlaxoSmithKline. The company owns brands as Lamictal, Augmentin, Lovaza, Advair, Flovent, and Avodart.
14. Actavis – Ireland
Market Value: $116.7 B
Another pharmaceutical giant, Actavis, is technically based in Ireland, despite originating from the United States. The company’s global headquarters are located in Dublin, taking advantage of Ireland’s generous tax laws.
13. Total S.A.– France
Market Value: $120.2 B
The first of Big Oil companies on our list is Total, a French multinational energy conglomerate. With more than 100,000 employees it is the third largest energy company in Europe.
12. BP – United Kingdom
Market Value: $120.8 B
Besides being part of Big Oil or 6 largest publicly owned oil companies in the world, or supermajors, BP is also owner of ignominious record being the company that paid the largest criminal fine in the United States history of $4.5 billion after the Deepwater Horizon incident.
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11. Volkswagen Group – Germany
Market Value: $126 B
Volkswagen is the second largest car manufacturer in the world, behind Toyota, and the biggest one in Europe. In 2014 it produced more than 10 million units. The group employs more than half a million people in some 150 countries around the world.
10. Bayer – Germany
Market Value: $126.4 B
After the end of World War 2 and the dissolution of IG Farben, it took Bayer more than 30 years to regain access to the US market.
9. Unilever
Market Value: $129.1 B
Unilever was founded in 1929. Today it is the largest producer of food spreads. The company is very diversified and includes brands like Ben and Jerry’s and Best Foods. Since Paul Polman took over the reins, it has been slowly turning away from the food market and towards beauty products.
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8. Sanofi
Market Value: $136 B
Sanofi is the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines. Like many other pharmaceutical companies around the world, Sanofi has been expanding lately trying to stave off the effects of impeding patent cliff. The company has spent $17 billion in new acquisitions since 2008.
7. Novo Nordisk
Market Value: $147 B
The Danish pharmaceutical giant was proclaimed the most sustainable company in the world in 2012. It is also among 25 company that are best to work for, so if you are looking for a long term employment, Novo Nordisk is the place for you.
6. HSBC Holdings
Market Value: $167.7 B
HSBC stands for Honk Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, revealing the origins of the third largest bank in the world. Founded in 1865 in Honk Kong, the group today does business in more than 80 countries, with 266,000 employees.
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5. Royal Dutch Shell
Market Value: $195.4 B
By revenues alone, Royal Dutch Shell is the 4th biggest company in the world. It is a part of Big Oil companies and has 94,000 employees worldwide. Not bad for a company started in 1833 by a shopkeeper.
4. Anheuser-Busch InBev
Market Value: $204.6 B
With 25% of market share, Anheuser-Busch InBev is the largest brewer in the world. Its brands include Bud Light, Beck’s, Stella Artois, Corona, and Budweiser.
3. Roche Holding
Market Value: $240.4 B
Apart from pharmaceuticals, Roche also focuses on diagnostics and is one of the world’s largest diagnostic machines producers.
2. Nestle
Market Value: $247.3 B
The Swiss multinational is the largest food company in the world. Bottled water, baby food, ice cream and confectionaries are just some of the items they produce. Nestle has 447 factories around the world with more than 330,000 employees. It also owns a large portion of shares of L’Oreal.
1. Novartis.
Market Value: $272.6
The biggest European company by market value and the second largest pharmaceutical company in the world (first by sales), Novartis is based in Basel. It has 135,000 employees.
