A rising “new guard” are officially the most valuable companies in the world

A rising “new guard” are officially the most valuable companies in the world: Apple, Alphabet/Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook.

We’re witnessing a staggering rotation of economic value. Out of incumbent “old guard” companies in the financial services, industrial, and consumer products spaces. And into “new guard” companies centered around software, data and technology-enabled services. You may have noticed that this year, for the first time, the top 5 companies by market cap are all technology-native businesses*. This is a huge shift from even ten years ago, when household names like Exxon, Walmart, GE and Citi ruled the S&P.

*In order as of 11/22/16:

• Apple — $596B
• Alphabet/Google — $551B
• Microsoft — $478B
• Amazon — $372B
• Facebook — $348B

Posted on January 16, 2017