Ranked: The World’s Largest Companies by Revenue (2020-2026)
Key Takeaways
- Amazon rose from ninth place in 2020 to become the world’s largest company by revenue in 2026.
- Walmart fell to second place after a 15-year run atop the Fortune Global 500.
- UnitedHealth Group climbed from 10th place in 2023 to fourth in 2026, reaching $448 billion in annual revenue.
The composition of the world’s largest companies has shifted considerably since 2020, as energy giants have given way to a growing mix of retail, technology, and healthcare firms.
This visualization ranks the world’s 10 largest companies by annual revenue between 2020 and 2026, using the latest available data from the Fortune Global 500. Revenue figures are for fiscal years ending on or before March of a given year.
The Top Firms of 2020
In 2020, five of the world’s 10 largest companies by annual revenue were energy companies, led by Chinese oil refiner Sinopec ($407 billion).
Walmart ($524 billion) was the only company to generate more revenue than Sinopec that year. The table below ranks the world’s top-revenue companies in 2020.
| Rank | Company | 2020 Revenue (billions $) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Walmart |
524 |
| 2 |  Sinopec |
407 |
| 3 | State Grid |
384 |
| 4 | PetroChina |
379 |
| 5 |  Shell |
352 |
| 6 |  Saudi Aramco |
330 |
| 7 |  Volkswagen |
283 |
| 8 | BP |
283 |
| 9 | Amazon |
281 |
| 10 |  Toyota |
275 |
Chinese state-owned companies occupied three of the top four spots, while Saudi Aramco ($330 billion) and BP ($283 billion) also made the top 10.
However, the effects of the pandemic led to a decline in energy demand. As a result, all non-Chinese energy companies fell off the world’s top 10 list in 2021.
Amazon’s Rise to the Top
By 2026, no privately owned energy companies remained among the world’s 10 largest firms by revenue. Retail led the ranking, with Amazon ($717 billion) narrowly surpassing Walmart ($713 billion).
Amazon’s ascent to become the world’s top-revenue firm has been dramatic. In 2020, the company ranked ninth worldwide with $281 billion in revenue.
Sales surged in 2020 and 2021 as consumers stayed home and ordered more online. Amazon climbed to third place in 2021 and ranked second in 2022, 2024, and 2025. In 2026, it edged out Walmart by just $4 billion for the top spot.
| Rank | Company | 2026 Revenue (billions $) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amazon |
717 |
| 2 | Walmart |
713 |
| 3 | State Grid |
555 |
| 4 | UnitedHealth Group |
448 |
| 5 | Saudi Aramco |
446 |
| 6 | Apple |
416 |
| 7 | McKesson |
403 |
| 8 | Alphabet |
403 |
| 9 | CVS Health |
402 |
| 10 | PetroChina |
402 |
The Growing Heft of Healthcare
Healthcare companies also gained significant ground over the period.
Healthcare has become one of the largest economic sectors in major markets such as the U.S. and Europe, partly due to aging populations.
Neither UnitedHealth Group nor CVS Health ranked among the world’s top 10 companies by revenue in 2020. By 2026, UnitedHealth had climbed to fourth place with $448 billion in revenue, while CVS Health ranked ninth at $402 billion.
Learn More on the Voronoi App
To zoom in on the consumer goods sector specifically, check out Top 10 Consumer Goods & Services Companies Globally By Revenue (2024) on Voronoi.
