These were the 5 biggest companies in 2009 and here are the 5 biggest companies now

A lot can change in 15 years. Nowhere is this more true than in the stock market. For example, in just 15 years, the total annual revenues of the five largest US companies increased by 50% from $1.6 trillion to $2.4 trillion. That alone is a huge difference, but there’s something even more dramatic behind the numbers: Only one of the companies that appeared on the 2009 list remains in the top five.

Let’s dig in and see which stocks made the top five and which fell.

The five largest companies in 2009

First of all, a some notes on methodology. This list is made up of public companies with American headquarters. They also use annual revenue as a measurement tool rather than a valuation metric like market capitalization. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the list:

Data source: YCharts.

As you can seein 2009, energy companies dominated the list of largest companies. ExxonMobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips held three of the top four spots. Meanwhile, the retail giant Walmart was in second place, and the industrial conglomerate General Electric rounded out the list in fifth place. Notably, there were none technology top five companies.

The five largest companies in 2024

Fast forward 15 years, and things have changed a lot.

Data source: YCharts.

First, there are no energy stocks on the list. ExxonMobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips are all gone. General Electric is gone too. However, one remains — Walmart — and it takes the top spot.

Two “Magnificent Seven” acts are among those joining the list: Apple and Amazon.

Also, Berkshire Hathaway make the cut due to his enormous investment portfolio (including a significant portion of Apple shares). So does the healthcare giant UnitedHealth.