The world's top 500 companies in 2026 are announced, 9 are headquartered in Shanghai, and AI companies have made a significant jump
On July 28, the 2026 Fortune Global 500 list was officially released. The list is ranked based on the company's total revenue in 2025. A total of 122 Chinese companies are shortlisted, and there are 9 companies headquartered in Shanghai on the list. The rise of “hard technology” companies is an obvious feature of this year’s list. Whether it is Chinese companies on the list or companies on the global list, high-tech companies have risen the fastest, which also reflects that "hard technology" is the main line of global economic development. Raising the threshold for inclusion on the list shows that in 2025, the company with the highest revenue in the world will be Amazon.
On July 28, the 2026 Fortune Global 500 list was officially released. The list is ranked based on the company's total revenue in 2025. A total of 122 Chinese companies are shortlisted, and there are 9 companies headquartered in Shanghai on the list. The rise of “hard technology” companies is an obvious feature of this year’s list. Whether it is Chinese companies on the list or companies on the global list, high-tech companies have risen the fastest, which also reflects that "hard technology" is the main line of global economic development. The list shows that in 2025, the company with the highest revenue in the world will be Amazon. This is the first time Amazon has topped the Fortune 500 list, ending Walmart's 12-year streak at the top. Walmart, Saudi Aramco, Apple and CVS Health, which are “frequent customers” among the top ten companies in the world, ranked 2nd, 5th, 6th and 9th respectively this year. McKesson and Google parent company Alphabet entered the world's top ten companies for the first time this year, ranking 7th and 8th respectively. Among the top ten companies in the world, there are two Chinese companies, namely State Grid, ranked third, and PetroChina, ranked tenth. The top ten companies in the world in 2026. Looking at the entire list, China has a total of 122 companies on the list, 8 fewer than last year, but the number of companies on the list still ranks second. It is not easy to get on the Fortune 500 list. According to the official introduction of Fortune magazine, the threshold for inclusion on the list has increased from US$32.2 billion to US$33.2 billion, an increase of 3% from a year ago. These large enterprises are an important driving force for global economic development. The total operating income of the Fortune 500 companies this year is approximately US$43.1 trillion, more than one-third of global GDP, and an increase of approximately 3.2% over last year. The total assets and total net assets of the 500 companies on the list have reached their highest peaks since the list was created. 9 companies headquartered in Shanghai are on the list In this year's Fortune Global 500 list, a total of 9 companies headquartered in Shanghai are on the list. In order of ranking, they are: China Baowu (100), SAIC Motor (125), Bank of Communications (188), COSCO Shipping (237), China Pacific Insurance (248), Pinduoduo Holdings (255), Susun Construction (340), Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (349), and Shanghai Pharmaceuticals (411). There are 9 companies headquartered in Shanghai on the list. Most of these nine companies headquartered in Shanghai are "old faces" on the list, and many have been on the list for more than 15 years. Among them, China Baowu has been on the list for 23 consecutive years, SAIC has been on the list for 22 consecutive years, and COSCO Shipping, Bank of Communications, and China Pacific Insurance have also been on the list for 19, 18, and 16 consecutive years respectively. Only Pinduoduo is relatively young, and this year it is the third time that it has been listed in the Fortune 500. SAIC Motor's ranking has risen 13 places compared with last year, and its ranking has risen the most among companies headquartered in Shanghai. In 2025, SAIC Group's sales and revenue will rebound, with annual vehicle sales of 4.507 million units, a year-on-year increase of 12.3%; total operating revenue is 656.24 billion yuan (91.301 billion U.S. dollars), a year-on-year increase of 4.6%. In the first half of this year, SAIC Motor sold a total of 2.045 million vehicles, becoming the only domestic car company to exceed 2 million sales and continuing to lead the Chinese auto market. Pinduoduo has been on a sharp rise in the past two years. After being shortlisted for the first time in the Fortune 500 in 2024, its ranking this year has reached 255th in the world, an increase of 11 places compared with last year. In recent years, Pinduoduo has simultaneously promoted domestic e-commerce and cross-border platform Temu. Revenue in 2025 will reach 431.85 billion yuan (US$60.08 billion), a year-on-year increase of 10%. China Pacific Insurance’s world ranking has also improved this year, rising by three places. In 2025, China Pacific Insurance achieved total operating income of 435.156 billion yuan (US$60.54 billion), a year-on-year increase of 7.7%, which was mainly attributed to operating profit and investment income. In 2025, China Pacific Insurance's insurance service revenue will be 288.910 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.4%; the comprehensive rate of return on investment assets will reach 6.1%, reaching the industry-leading level. “Hard technology” companies perform well Whether looking at the companies on the global list or the companies on the Chinese list, technological innovation is the password for companies to rapidly improve their rankings.
Alphabet, which broke into the top ten companies in the world for the first time this year, is a representative company. Alphabet is a holding company reorganized and established by Google in August 2015. Its business involves search engines, autonomous driving, life sciences, artificial intelligence and other fields. In 2025, Alphabet's revenue will reach US$402.836 billion, a year-on-year increase of 15%. What's more noteworthy is that in 2025, Alphabet's net profit will reach US$132.17 billion, a year-on-year increase of 32%, making Alphabet the "most profitable company in the world." In addition, the ranking of AI chip company NVIDIA has also risen significantly this time, from 66th in 2025 to 28th this year. In 2024, Nvidia will become a Fortune 500 company for the first time. Boosted by its AI chip business, Chinese company Huawei's ranking has also risen, ranking 81st in the world this year. In terms of revenue, Huawei's total revenue in 2025 will reach US$122.56 billion, which is basically the same as the peak level in 2021. Among Chinese companies, Tencent, Xiaomi, Luxshare Precision and other companies have performed more well. This year, Tencent entered the top 100 for the first time, rising 19 places to 97th; Xiaomi rose 65 places to 232nd; Luxshare Precision rose 86 places to 337th. Of course, China’s Internet “Five Tigers” (JD.com, Alibaba, Tencent, Pinduoduo and Meituan), including Tencent, are also on the Fortune 500 list this year, and their rankings have all improved. From the changes in this year's Fortune 500 list, we can clearly see that "hard technology" is still the core engine for companies to achieve leaps, especially the development of AI-related businesses, which has reshaped the industrial landscape. Looking to the future, with the accelerated integration of AI and the real economy, next year’s list may see more “new faces” and “jumpers”.
Alphabet, which broke into the top ten companies in the world for the first time this year, is a representative company. Alphabet is a holding company reorganized and established by Google in August 2015. Its business involves search engines, autonomous driving, life sciences, artificial intelligence and other fields. In 2025, Alphabet's revenue will reach US$402.836 billion, a year-on-year increase of 15%. What's more noteworthy is that in 2025, Alphabet's net profit will reach US$132.17 billion, a year-on-year increase of 32%, making Alphabet the "most profitable company in the world." In addition, the ranking of AI chip company NVIDIA has also risen significantly this time, from 66th in 2025 to 28th this year. In 2024, Nvidia will become a Fortune 500 company for the first time. Boosted by its AI chip business, Chinese company Huawei's ranking has also risen, ranking 81st in the world this year. In terms of revenue, Huawei's total revenue in 2025 will reach US$122.56 billion, which is basically the same as the peak level in 2021. Among Chinese companies, Tencent, Xiaomi, Luxshare Precision and other companies have performed more well. This year, Tencent entered the top 100 for the first time, rising 19 places to 97th; Xiaomi rose 65 places to 232nd; Luxshare Precision rose 86 places to 337th. Of course, China’s Internet “Five Tigers” (JD.com, Alibaba, Tencent, Pinduoduo and Meituan), including Tencent, are also on the Fortune 500 list this year, and their rankings have all improved. From the changes in this year's Fortune 500 list, we can clearly see that "hard technology" is still the core engine for companies to achieve leaps, especially the development of AI-related businesses, which has reshaped the industrial landscape. Looking to the future, with the accelerated integration of AI and the real economy, next year’s list may see more “new faces” and “jumpers”.