ULTRA-condensed knowledge
- A trawl through 30 years of data traces the evolution of superstar firms, a difficult-to-tame species.
- The world’s biggest businesses were doing fine until Covid-19 arrived. Now they’re doing even better.
- The top 50 companies by value added $4.5 trillion of stock market capitalization in 2020, taking their combined worth to about 28% of global gross domestic product. Three decades ago the equivalent figure was less than 5%.
- In 1990, there were no Chinese businesses among the top 50 exchange-traded companies; last year there were 8. China’s gains have come largely at the expense of European enterprises, whose presence on the list has shrunk from 15 to 7 over the period,
- Technology dominates the top of the list, and fossil fuel companies—with the exception of Saudi Arabia’s flagship Aramco—have dropped off.
- The extraordinary growth of tech companies in particular is what’s spurring government action. They’re in the crosshairs of politicians and regulators almost everywhere.
- With fat profits, light tax bills, and limited need for capital or even workers, the new generation of megafirms poses challenges for monetary and fiscal policy, too.
- In each of the last three decades, about half of the top 50 spots in the corporate rankings have turned over.
- The biggest companies generally post fatter margins and pay less in taxes than they did in decades past, the Bloomberg Economics study shows.
- The advantages superstar firms enjoy became all the more glaring during the pandemic, which is one reason why the issue of how to tame them has vaulted up the political agenda in so many countries.
- Government rescues worked best for the biggest companies, which benefited from central bank backstops that kept borrowing costs low and stock prices high. In contrast, patchwork relief efforts for small businesses left many struggling to pay their bills.
- Market dynamism is still at work and getting to the top is no guarantee of staying there.
Condensed knowledge
- Classical CONTEXT of the Digital Age
- g-f(2)45 "The Big Picture of the Digital Age": Knowledge opens the way to staggering opportunities, risks and challenges
- g-f(2)50 The Big Picture of the Digital Age: Mines of Golden Knowledge Growing Every Day
- g-f(2)74 THE BIG PICTURE OF THE DIGITAL AGE: Rapid change, incertitude and disruption, in a hypercompetitive environment
- g-f(1)28 The pyramid of knowledge of a “genioux fact”: From GOLD FRUITS to GOLD JUICES
- g-f(2)51 The Big Picture of the Digital Age: The Value of Golden Knowledge is Relative
- g-f(2)99 THE BIG PICTURE OF THE DIGITAL AGE, The “genioux facts”: Essential knowledge to unleash your limitless growth.
- g-f(2)75 THE BIG PICTURE OF THE DIGITAL AGE: “Infinite Learners” to keep pace with change, incertitude and disruption, in a hypercompetitive environment
- g-f(2)151 The Big Picture of the Digital Transformation, 3/1/2021, geniouxfacts, How To Succeed At Business Digital Transformation.
- g-f(2)153 The Big Picture of Business Artificial Intelligence (3/3/2021) in a Single “g-f KBP” Chart
- g-f(2)174 THE BIG PICTURE OF THE DIGITAL AGE (3/20/2021), geniouxfacts, Executive guide of golden knowledge to fire up your unlimited growth.
- CONTEXT the Golden Knowledge Path ("GKPath") digital highway
- "genioux facts", the online programme on MASTERING “THE BIG PICTURE OF THE DIGITAL AGE”, builds The Golden Knowledge Path (GKPath) to accelerate everyone's success in the digital age.
- The inverted mini pyramid of knowledge that is essential to travel on the Golden Knowledge Path ("GKPath") highway.
- g-f(2)261 The Big Picture of the Digital Age (5/5/2021), geniouxfacts, You are unique. Grow without limits in the digital age.
- g-f(2)257 The Big Picture of the Digital Age (5/3/2021), geniouxfacts, At any moment you take the fastest path (GKPath) to your greatness.
- g-f(2)254 The Big Picture of the Digital Age (5/1/2021), geniouxfacts, The Golden Knowledge Path (GKPath) to accelerate everyone's success.
- g-f(2)260 The Big Picture of the Digital Age (5/4/2021), geniouxfacts, Alerts, Warnings and Relevant Lessons Learned Traveling at High Speed on GKPath.
- Lessons learned
- A trawl through 30 years of data traces the evolution of superstar firms, a difficult-to-tame species.
- The world’s biggest businesses were doing fine until Covid-19 arrived. Now they’re doing even better.
- The top 50 companies by value added $4.5 trillion of stock market capitalization in 2020, taking their combined worth to about 28% of global gross domestic product. Three decades ago the equivalent figure was less than 5%.
- In 1990, there were no Chinese businesses among the top 50 exchange-traded companies; last year there were 8. China’s gains have come largely at the expense of European enterprises, whose presence on the list has shrunk from 15 to 7 over the period,
- Technology dominates the top of the list, and fossil fuel companies—with the exception of Saudi Arabia’s flagship Aramco—have dropped off.
- The extraordinary growth of tech companies in particular is what’s spurring government action. They’re in the crosshairs of politicians and regulators almost everywhere.
- With fat profits, light tax bills, and limited need for capital or even workers, the new generation of megafirms poses challenges for monetary and fiscal policy, too.
- In each of the last three decades, about half of the top 50 spots in the corporate rankings have turned over.
- Alert
- The biggest companies generally post fatter margins and pay less in taxes than they did in decades past, the Bloomberg Economics study shows.
- Warning
- The advantages superstar firms enjoy became all the more glaring during the pandemic, which is one reason why the issue of how to tame them has vaulted up the political agenda in so many countries.
- Government rescues worked best for the biggest companies, which benefited from central bank backstops that kept borrowing costs low and stock prices high. In contrast, patchwork relief efforts for small businesses left many struggling to pay their bills.
- Opportunity
- Market dynamism is still at work and getting to the top is no guarantee of staying there.
Category 2: The Big Picture of the Digital Age
[genioux fact deduced or extracted from Bloomberg Businessweek]
This is a “genioux fact fast solution.”
Tag Multiple updates for those traveling at high speed on GKPath
Tag Lessons learned to those traveling at high speed on GKPath
- A trawl through 30 years of data traces the evolution of superstar firms, a difficult-to-tame species.
- The world’s biggest businesses were doing fine until Covid-19 arrived. Now they’re doing even better.
- The top 50 companies by value added $4.5 trillion of stock market capitalization in 2020, taking their combined worth to about 28% of global gross domestic product. Three decades ago the equivalent figure was less than 5%.
- In 1990, there were no Chinese businesses among the top 50 exchange-traded companies; last year there were 8. China’s gains have come largely at the expense of European enterprises, whose presence on the list has shrunk from 15 to 7 over the period,
- Technology dominates the top of the list, and fossil fuel companies—with the exception of Saudi Arabia’s flagship Aramco—have dropped off.
- The extraordinary growth of tech companies in particular is what’s spurring government action. They’re in the crosshairs of politicians and regulators almost everywhere.
- With fat profits, light tax bills, and limited need for capital or even workers, the new generation of megafirms poses challenges for monetary and fiscal policy, too.
- In each of the last three decades, about half of the top 50 spots in the corporate rankings have turned over.
- The biggest companies generally post fatter margins and pay less in taxes than they did in decades past, the Bloomberg Economics study shows.
- The advantages superstar firms enjoy became all the more glaring during the pandemic, which is one reason why the issue of how to tame them has vaulted up the political agenda in so many countries.
- Government rescues worked best for the biggest companies, which benefited from central bank backstops that kept borrowing costs low and stock prices high. In contrast, patchwork relief efforts for small businesses left many struggling to pay their bills.
- Market dynamism is still at work and getting to the top is no guarantee of staying there.
Type of essential knowledge of this “genioux fact”: Essential Analyzed Knowledge (EAK).
Type of validity of the "genioux fact".
- Inherited from sources + Supported by the knowledge of one or more experts + Supported by research.
Authors of the genioux fact
References
World-Dominating Superstar Firms Get Bigger, Techier, and More Chinese, Tom Orlik, Justin Jimenez and Cedric Sam, May 21, 2021, Bloomberg Businessweek.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Chief Economist, Bloomberg Economics. Author of China: The Bubble that Never Pops (OUP, June 25 2020).
Justin covers Asia for Bloomberg Economics in Hong Kong.
I work as an interactive graphic journalist at Bloomberg (Graphics) since December 2015. Previously, I worked at the South China Morning Post (2013-15), La Presse (2013), JMSC HKU (2010-2012) and CBC/Radio-Canada (2007-09). Proud Montrealer now living in New York, after seven years in Hong Kong. [Electric Rice Cooker Tumblr | @cedricsam]
Key “genioux facts”
- Classical CONTEXT of the Digital Age
- g-f(2)45 "The Big Picture of the Digital Age": Knowledge opens the way to staggering opportunities, risks and challenges
- g-f(2)50 The Big Picture of the Digital Age: Mines of Golden Knowledge Growing Every Day
- g-f(2)74 THE BIG PICTURE OF THE DIGITAL AGE: Rapid change, incertitude and disruption, in a hypercompetitive environment
- g-f(1)28 The pyramid of knowledge of a “genioux fact”: From GOLD FRUITS to GOLD JUICES
- g-f(2)51 The Big Picture of the Digital Age: The Value of Golden Knowledge is Relative
- g-f(2)99 THE BIG PICTURE OF THE DIGITAL AGE, The “genioux facts”: Essential knowledge to unleash your limitless growth.
- g-f(2)75 THE BIG PICTURE OF THE DIGITAL AGE: “Infinite Learners” to keep pace with change, incertitude and disruption, in a hypercompetitive environment
- g-f(2)151 The Big Picture of the Digital Transformation, 3/1/2021, geniouxfacts, How To Succeed At Business Digital Transformation.
- g-f(2)153 The Big Picture of Business Artificial Intelligence (3/3/2021) in a Single “g-f KBP” Chart
- g-f(2)174 THE BIG PICTURE OF THE DIGITAL AGE (3/20/2021), geniouxfacts, Executive guide of golden knowledge to fire up your unlimited growth.
- CONTEXT the Golden Knowledge Path ("GKPath") digital highway
- "genioux facts", the online programme on MASTERING “THE BIG PICTURE OF THE DIGITAL AGE”, builds The Golden Knowledge Path (GKPath) to accelerate everyone's success in the digital age.
- The inverted mini pyramid of knowledge that is essential to travel on the Golden Knowledge Path ("GKPath") highway.
- g-f(2)261 The Big Picture of the Digital Age (5/5/2021), geniouxfacts, You are unique. Grow without limits in the digital age.
- g-f(2)257 The Big Picture of the Digital Age (5/3/2021), geniouxfacts, At any moment you take the fastest path (GKPath) to your greatness.
- g-f(2)254 The Big Picture of the Digital Age (5/1/2021), geniouxfacts, The Golden Knowledge Path (GKPath) to accelerate everyone's success.
- g-f(2)260 The Big Picture of the Digital Age (5/4/2021), geniouxfacts, Alerts, Warnings and Relevant Lessons Learned Traveling at High Speed on GKPath.