FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Only three German companies are among the world's most valuable listed companies. According to a study by consulting firm EY, SAP, Siemens, and Deutsche Telekom are the only German representatives in the top 100, which is dominated by US tech companies. However, German stocks are experiencing an upward trend, while US stock markets are faltering due to Donald Trump's unpredictable tariff policy.
Nvidia ahead of Microsoft: US companies in a league of their own
The chip company Nvidia, which is benefiting from the boom in artificial intelligence (AI), tops the ranking. On June 30, it had a market value of around $3.85 trillion, knocking iPhone maker Apple off the top spot to third place. Microsoft ranks second.
The US alone accounts for 60 of the 100 most valuable companies in the world. Nine of the top 10 are American, including Google's parent company Alphabet, Facebook's Meta, and Amazon. Only oil company Saudi Aramco, in seventh place, breaks the string of US companies.
It comes as no surprise that the six most valuable companies are heavily involved in AI, says Henrik Ahlers, CEO of EY. Even if the stock market euphoria has recently subsided, "artificial intelligence will continue to grow in importance in many industries in the coming years."
SAP is the most valuable company in Europe
The most valuable DAX-listed company is also benefiting from the enthusiasm for AI: SAP climbed to 27th place in the ranking with a market value of almost $354 billion (around €300 billion) at the end of June. For the first time since the study was launched in 2007, a German company, the software group, is the most valuable in Europe. Siemens came in at number 74, Deutsche Telekom at number 88.
Due to Trump's erratic policies, major investors have withdrawn billions from the US. As a result, Europe's top companies outperformed their American counterparts on the stock market in the first half of the year. And the German benchmark index, the DAX, broke new records once again.
With this rally, Germany is once again performing slightly better among the 300 most valuable stock market companies in the world – seven companies made it into the extended top selection at the end of June, including Allianz (106), Siemens Energy (217) and Munich Re (246). Rheinmetall climbed to 204th place thanks to the boom in defense spending.
Automotive industry weakens
The crisis in the automotive industry is leaving its mark. While Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, BMW, and Porsche were all still in the top 300 at the end of 2023, they were recently listed far behind in 381st, 402nd, 405th, and 484th place. According to EY, Europe's automotive industry is generally lagging behind on the stock market. The Chinese carmaker BYD, on the other hand, is already in 121st place./as/DP/zb
