It alleges that Apple illegally maintains a monopoly over smartphones through contractual restrictions on developers. The Trump administration’s import tariffs have also added to Apple’s costs, although it has managed to reduce this burden through a U.S. investment of $100 billion. The main weakness is that this giant health firm carries around a high amount of debt. Higher leverage can increase HCA’s risk profile and limit its financial flexibility. Elevance provides medical, dental, pharmaceutical and disability plans through affiliated health insurance companies like Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
I also have a keen interest in the retail sector and often write about the business models/strategies of popular brands. In 2024, the company reported more than $8 billion in adjusted EBITDA and a record 83 million rental car bookings. Furthermore, the company acquired Momondo Group, Cheapflights, and Rentalcars.com to expand its business. Booking Holdings was launched in 1997 as a single website, Priceline.com, that allows users to buy travel packages at discounted rates. In just two years, in 1999, the company went public, making its founder a big-time billionaire. AutoZone is the largest retailer of auto parts in the United States, ahead of its domestic competitor Advance Auto Parts.
Meta Platforms (META)
- Higher leverage can increase HCA’s risk profile and limit its financial flexibility.
- In 2017, it outperformed major indices, with its stock price more than doubling from $1,700 in January 2017 to $3,508 by December 29.
- Founded by a chemist and Union Army veteran of the same name, Eli Lilly is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies.
The company pioneered the use of data analytics and algorithms for credit risk assessment. Its flagship creation, the FICO Score, is arguably the most widely used consumer credit score in the USA. Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) is one of the world’s most influential analytics and decision-management companies, founded by engineer Bill Fair and mathematician Earl Isaac. Berkshire Hathaway stock has become the most expensive stock on the market for two primary reasons.
Berkshire Hathaway Stock
Let’s dig into some of the most expensive stock available on the market today. Copyright © 2025 FactSet Research Systems Inc.Copyright © 2025, American Bankers Association. SEC fillings and other documents provided by Quartr.© 2025 TradingView, Inc. Palantir is known for its partnerships with U.S. government agencies.
The stock has been ablaze with excitement surrounding artificial intelligence stocks.Intel is one of AMD’s primary competitors. But the Santa Clara, California-based company has managed to dig in its heels and gain market share in the CPU, GPU and data processing space. The firm continues to grow in key markets, mainly high-performance computing, gaming and AI.
The NYSE, the world’s largest stock exchange by market capitalization, lists over 2,220 companies. Walmart may not have the largest market cap, but it is No. 1 in terms of revenue, and it’s the largest retailer in the world. With nearly $700 billion in annual revenue, it earns more than most of the other companies on this list by a wide margin.
The company is actively reshaping its portfolio by divesting less-strategic digital and lifestyle web operations (WGB) and acquiring complementary industrial assets. Its education and healthcare segments are driving growth, while traditional segments are experiencing more challenging conditions. FICO’s financial performance has been characterized by consistent earnings growth and exceptional stock appreciation over the past decade. Its revenue grew from about $850 million in 2015 to over $1.9 billion in 2025.
If you’re younger, you have a longer time horizon and can allocate more of your investment portfolio. In other words, you have some wiggle room to be more risky, allocating up to 70% to 90% of your portfolio to stocks. KLA provides equipment and services to semiconductor manufacturing, and its products are integral to the process. As of December 2024, it provided medical benefits to nearly 46 million members.
Currently, it is the world’s third-largest company by revenue, and tops the chart of largest daily oil production of all oil-producing companies. In 2024, Hermes International reported an annual revenue of $16 billion, a 13% increase at current exchange rates compared to the previous year. In FY 2025, its annual revenue stood at $14.6 billion, with a gross profit of $9.5 billion. B shares and stock splits aren’t your only option for owning shares in these ultraexpensive companies. Thanks to trading apps such as Robinhood, smaller investors can now buy fractional shares. Hence, splits may become more infrequent than in previous decades.
Tesla
Musk has since left the role and invested $1 billion into Tesla, a move seen as a show of confidence in the company’s future. Farran Powell is the managing editor of investing at Forbes Advisor. She was previously the assistant managing editor of investing at U.S. Her work has appeared in numerous publications including TheStreet, Mansion Global, CNN, CNN Money, DNAInfo, Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money, and the New York Daily News.
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- Its most significant acquisition to date, however, came a year later when it bought OpenTable, an online restaurant reservation company, for $2.6 billion.
- It’s the largest contract chip manufacturer in the world, and demand for AI chips has led to increased sales for TSMC.
- These brands compensate us to advertise their products in ads across our site.
- It started out as a textile company and remained in that business for more than a century, but it’s now known for its ties to legendary investor Warren Buffett.
- The company is actively reshaping its portfolio by divesting less-strategic digital and lifestyle web operations (WGB) and acquiring complementary industrial assets.
Like most companies in the semiconductor space, AMAT faces geopolitical risk because of its exposure to customers like Samsung and TSMC, which are based in Asia. With digital content creation as widespread as it is, companies like Adobe are benefiting. When it comes to cons, the company faces intense regulatory scrutiny over antitrust issues as well as controversies surrounding data privacy. GOOG stock also trades at a premium when compared with other tech stocks. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company manufactures and designs semiconductors, and is the world’s second most valuable semiconductor company, while the largest in Taiwan. The EV manufacturer was incorporated as Tesla Motors in July 2003, with Elon Musk joining as its largest shareholder in February 2004.
Google’s dominance over online searches hasn’t been without controversy, as Alphabet has been embroiled in antitrust lawsuits. In August 2024, a judge found that Google acted illegally to monopolize online search and advertising. While prosecutors wanted the court to force Google to sell its Chrome browser, a judge rejected that option and instead ruled that Google must share search data with competitors. Nvidia (NVDA -3.68%) currently tops the list of the largest companies in top binary options platforms the world. Apple (AAPL -0.06%) and Microsoft (MSFT -1.99%) round out the top three.
Alphabet Inc is a holding company created in October 2015 to restructure Google by moving subsidiaries from Google to Alphabet, thereby narrowing the search engine’s scope. When not writing for RankRed, I usually prefer reading investing books or immersing myself in Europa Universalis 4. In 2013, the company bought Kayak.com, a travel metasearch engine, for $1.8 billion, then changed its name to Priceline Group. Its most significant acquisition to date, however, came a year later when it bought OpenTable, an online restaurant reservation company, for $2.6 billion.
While tech companies dominate the top of the stock market, there are other sectors represented, including oil, insurance, medical companies, and financial services. Read on to see the 20 most valuable companies and where they stand as of November 2025. In that same year, they generated $35.8 billion in annual revenue and $24.6 billion in gross profit, marking increases of 7.8% and 11.7%, respectively, compared to 2022. Over the past five years, the company’s stock price has nearly septupled, rising from $250 in 2019 to $1400 in 2024. A company’s market capitalization is an essential metric that is used by investors across the globe to assess a company’s size and the market valuation of its outstanding shares.
Nvidia vs AMD: Stock Comparison
Tech companies, in particular, can often be profitable investments. They make up the top five — and eight of the top largest companies by market cap. How long you should hold stocks depends on your objectives and what the market is doing. In general, most investors build wealth by holding stocks long-term. Our picks for the best stocks to buy now include a lot of technology and semiconductor stocks. These industries have done extremely well over the past several years and are likely to do so for the next few years at least.
As you approach retirement, you need to be slightly more conservative with your investments. It is typically recommended that you trim your stock portfolio allocation to 60% to 70% by the time you are in your 40s or 50s. As you age, you want to turn more to bonds and cash holdings for stability and lower risk tolerance.