Over the past few decades, technology has been integrated deeper into every corner of the economy. Technology stocks have been some of the market’s best long-term performers, and the technology sector’s total weighting in the S&P 500 has expanded to 27.5% as of Sept. 29. Even mega-cap companies like Alphabet Inc. (ticker: GOOG, GOOGL), Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) and Tesla Inc. (TSLA) that aren’t technically classified as tech companies by the Global Industry Classification Standard have businesses that revolve around tech, such as artificial intelligence and cloud services.
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Here’s a look at the 10 biggest public tech companies:
| Company | Market cap |
| Apple Inc. (AAPL) | $2.7 trillion |
| Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) | $2.5 trillion |
| Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) | $999 billion |
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSM) | $447 billion |
| Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) | $347 billion |
| Oracle Corp. (ORCL) | $283 billion |
| Adobe Inc. (ADBE) | $241 billion |
| ASML Holding NV (ASML) | $237 billion |
| Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) | $211 billion |
| Salesforce Inc. (CRM) | $196 billion |
Apple Inc. (AAPL)
Not only is Apple the most valuable tech company in the world, it has continued to outperform both tech peers and the S&P 500 in recent years. Apple is one of the most profitable companies in the world, reporting a whopping $99.8 billion in net income in 2022. Apple may be the most valuable U.S. stock, but legendary value investor Warren Buffett thinks the stock still has room to run. Apple is by far the largest stock holding of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, BRK.B), representing about 47% of its total public investment portfolio.
Market capitalization: $2.7 trillion
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
Microsoft is the world’s largest software company and is known for its Windows operating system, Azure cloud services, LinkedIn social media platform, Office professional software suite and Xbox gaming brand. Microsoft is one of the oldest companies on this list. The company was founded in 1975 and went public in 1986. Nearly half a century after its founding, Microsoft’s pivot to subscription-based software, professional cloud services and AI technology has helped it maintain the revenue growth long-term investors have come to expect. Microsoft is hoping its stake in ChatGPT maker OpenAI will help usher in its next era of growth.
Market capitalization: $2.5 trillion
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)
High-end semiconductor maker Nvidia has been one of the most spectacular growth stories in the entire stock market since the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. In March 2009, Nvidia’s market cap was under $5 billion. Less than 15 years later, Nvidia’s historic bull run has sent the stock’s market capitalization soaring to nearly $1 trillion, and the company continues to churn out impressive growth numbers. Not only has the stock been the best performer on this list in 2023, it has been the best performing stock in the entire S&P 500 by a wide margin.
Market capitalization: $999 billion
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSM)
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is the world’s largest contract chipmaker, producing cutting edge semiconductor chips designed by Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) and other customers. Taiwan Semiconductor was founded back in 1987 and has been the leading dedicated global semiconductor foundry ever since, generating a 514% return for investors in the past decade. In recent years, Taiwan Semi’s foundries have become even more important to the tech world as Intel Corp. (INTC) has struggled with its in-house manufacturing processes. Taiwan now produces more than 90% of the world’s high-end semiconductor chips, and Taiwan Semi accounts for most of that production.
Market capitalization: $447 billion
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO)
Broadcom is a diversified designer, developer and supplier of analog semiconductor devices. AVGO has been a 10-bagger stock for investors in the past decade, with a 2,367% total return. That includes the stock’s healthy dividend, which currently sits at a 2.2% forward yield. In addition to its impressive organic revenue growth, Broadcom is attempting to close a massive $61 billion acquisition of VMware Inc., which could significantly boost Broadcom’s software capabilities. Broadcom is highly exposed to Apple device sales and should continue to benefit from growth in data center networking. VMware could also help Broadcom diversify into higher-margin, recurring software sales.
Market capitalization: $347 billion
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Oracle Corp. (ORCL)
Oracle is one of the world’s largest enterprise software and cloud services providers, specializing in database management software. It’s a rare value among mega-cap tech stocks. Oracle shares also trade at just a 18.3 forward earnings multiple. Oracle has stable top-line growth, generates consistent profits, has an attractive valuation, and reinvests excess income in stock buybacks and its 1.6% dividend. Oracle has world-class data center infrastructure, and its enterprise resource planning software system helps manufacturers manage their processes, including planning and purchasing materials. AI chipmaker Nvidia is also one of Oracle’s major cloud computing customers.
Market capitalization: $283 billion
Adobe Inc. (ADBE)
Adobe provides software applications for creative content production, and the company has successfully transitioned from a desktop-based software company to a cloud-oriented software provider. Adobe’s top products — including Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere Pro — remain leaders in their respective markets. Digital content creation is a booming industry, and the integration of generative AI features could create tremendous long-term value for Adobe investors. Adobe’s Sensei and Firefly generative AI products are already producing a lot of buzz among customers. In addition, the company’s shift to a subscription-based model has improved and stabilized its financial outlook and helped reduce piracy of its products.
Market capitalization: $241 billion
ASML Holding NV (ASML)
ASML is headquartered in the Netherlands and is one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturing equipment suppliers. ASML shares have lagged behind the S&P 500 in 2023, thanks to a cyclical downturn in the chip industry. However, the global semiconductor market could become a $1 trillion industry by 2030, according to Proficient Market Insights, and ASML is the world’s only manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet, or EUV, lithography machines. Chipmakers use EUV technology to print increasingly smaller chip designs. ASML doesn’t design or produce any chips itself, it simply designs the machines that create cutting-edge chips for Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and other chipmakers.
Market capitalization: $237 billion
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO)
Cisco Systems designs and sells a wide range of networking and security products. It may be one of the 10 largest tech stocks of 2023, but it is the only stock on this list that reached its peak market cap more than two decades ago. Cisco was briefly the world’s most valuable company back in 2000 during the dot-com bubble, when it reached a peak market capitalization of $555.4 billion. The company may not be the growth darling it once was, but its 3% dividend is the highest on this list and is a rarity among technology stocks.
Market capitalization: $211 billion
Salesforce Inc. (CRM)
Salesforce is the world’s largest provider of cloud-based customer relationship management, or CRM, software. While Salesforce’s revenue growth has slowed in recent years, its profits and margins have increased. The company was a pioneer of the software-as-a-service model, and its aggressive acquisition strategy has allowed it to build the most comprehensive portfolio of CRM products in the market. Salesforce’s large customer base creates opportunities for cross-selling and upselling, and it has a history of high customer retention rates. Automation remains a high-growth market, and investments in AI technology could help Salesforce capture even more market share in coming years.
Market capitalization: $196 billion
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The 10 Biggest Tech Companies in the World originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 10/31/23: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
