Below you can find the list of 5 largest European companies by market cap in 2020. For a detailed coverage of this topic and a more comprehensive list, please check out this article.
5. Total SA (NYSE:TOT)
Total market cap as at June 30, 2020 (in billions of dollars): 197
Total SA is the biggest oil and gas company in France, and had revenues exceeding $200 billion in 2019. It is involved in all business across the oil and gas supply chain from exploration and extraction to production, marketing and trading as well. Total petrol pumps are some of the most recognizable in the world. Nearly 1% of all greenhouse emissions from 1988 to 2015 were attributed to Total, which has committed to zero emissions by 2050.
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4. Novartis (NYSE:NVS)
Total market cap as at June 30, 2020 (in billions of dollars): 213
There are a lot of pharma companies among the biggest companies in Europe and Novartis maintains the trend, as it is a pharma company based in Basel Switzerland. Its revenues in 2019 were worth $47.5 billion while its net income was close to $12 billion. The company also has over $118 billion in assets. Like many big pharmaceutical companies, it has had to face many allegations such as marketing violations, bribery and data scandals.
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3. LVMH
Total market cap as at June 30, 2020 (in billions of dollars): 220
LVMH is the biggest company in France by market cap, and one of the only two in this list. LVMH was formed recently in 1987 after the merger of Louis Vuitton and Moet Hennessy, Moet & Chandon, which merged with Hennessy to form Moet and Hennessy is 277 years old. The company engages in the production of luxury goods including cosmetics, perfumes, watches and fashion accessories along with wines and spirits. Due to its wine and spirits business, it is ranked among the largest beverage companies in the world.
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2. Roche
Total market cap as at June 30, 2020 (in billions of dollars): 300
Roche is a Swiss pharmaceutical giant which is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. The company had nearly $70 billion in revenue in 2019 and has nearly 100,000 employees. Roche as founded 124 years ago and has consistently been named among the biggest biotech companies in the world. It is the leading company to provide treatment for cancer and controls American and Japanese biotechnology companies as well. In 1973, the company was found guilty of fixing prices and fined accordingly, though it later had the whistleblower arrested for unauthorized disclosure of information.
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1. Nestle
Total market cap as at June 30, 2020 (in billions of dollars): 328
Easily topping the list of the 5 largest European companies by market size in 2020 is Nestle, the Swiss giant which is also the largest food and beverages company in the entire world. Nestle is synonymous with food and beverages across the world, and even though it is headquartered in Vaud, Switzerland, it actually has a presence in most countries around the world, a count which exceeded 180. Nestle is involved in the production of milk, baby food, medical food, bottled water, cereal, tea, coffee, confectionary items, ice cream, chocolates, frozen food and pet food among other items. It is also the largest dairy company in the world, even if you exclude all non dairy sales, showing the size and strength of the company.
Nestle provides employment to 339,000 people across the world and was formed over a century ago in 1905. While it has grown both organically and through mergers and acquisitions, it has also attracted significant controversy for its controversial practices in many c0untries, from trying to recollect debt from Ethiopia while it was suffering a major famine to child soldiers to unethical advertising to the way it produces and promotes its bottled water. Despite all these controversies, boycotts and litigation, it is still the biggest company in Europe and one of the biggest in the entire world.
See also 10 Most Profitable Companies in America in 2020 and 10 Most Profitable Companies in the World in 2020
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