These were the 5 biggest companies in 1994 and here are the 5 biggest companies now

How much has the market changed in the last 30 years? Quite a bit, actually. Online trading was still in its infancy, for example. Now it’s the norm.

That’s not all that has changed. Almost none of the biggest publicly traded companies since then (based on annual revenue) are now the biggest names. Here’s how they’ve changed too.

The biggest companies of 1994

There are several ways to measure the size of a company. Market capitalization is one of them. A more meaningful measure, however, might be the revenue produced in a given year. To that end, here’s a rundown of the top publicly traded revenue producers of 1994, with that year’s total top line not adjusted for inflation.

• General Motors155 billion dollars
• Ford Motor Company128.4 billion dollars
• ExxonMobil113.9 billion dollars
• Walmart67.3 billion dollars
• IBM64.1 billion dollars

Note that the giants of 1994 reflect the fact that automobile ownership was not just a matter of convenience at the time, but a lifestyle purchase.

Today’s Biggest Companies

And today’s biggest players, as measured by revenue over the last four reported quarters? No major surprises.

• Walmart, $657.3 billion
• Amazon$604.3 billion
• Saudi Aramco$495.1 billion
• China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec Group)$444.8 billion
• PetroChina430.7 billion dollars

Honorable mention is also awarded Applewhich achieved business worth USD 385.6 billion in the last 12 months. It’s clear that oil and gas remains a much bigger business than consumer technology currently is.

The only constant is change

Sure, Walmart earned a spot on both lists, and ExxonMobil came pretty close for 2024. Still, the bottom line for investors is that it’s difficult for any company to remain dominant indefinitely. Circumstances change; competitors are getting better. It’s a pretty safe bet that most, if not all, of these names will be off this list 30 years from now. So don’t commit too much to a particular stock.