Largest Tech Companies in the World
The tech industry belongs to one of the highest earning industries in the world. It combines many fields, all usually based on the use of Information Technology (IT). Many aspects of our daily lives are enabled by modern innovations made by these tech and IT companies, such as the way we communicate with others. In fact, the largest tech companies usually have several revenue streams from different fields and branches within the general IT industry. The biggest tech companies make billions annually through these different revenue sources including sales of their consumer products and online services.
The following list ranks the currently largest tech companies in the world based on the latest achieved revenue number for each company.
The 10 Largest Tech Companies in the World:
1. Apple
Revenue: $261.2 billion
Founded: 1976
Headquarters: Cupertino, California, USA
Main technology products/services: Consumer electronics, Software, Online services
Apple’s products are some of the most recognizable globally. Sales from their range of iPhones, MacBooks, and other gadgets are the tech giant’s highest revenue stream, but online services such as the App Store and iTunes Store are also very profitable. The IT company also constantly ventures into new branches and technology fields, always targeting the high-end segments of each market.
Not only does Apple belong to the largest tech companies, the Apple brand is also among the most valuable ones in the world. Apple is therefore consistently making headlines on the stock market. And outside of the stock market itself, the company is a mainstay in stock CFD trading alongside other tech giants like Alphabet, Inc. and Microsoft. This market allows even more investors to trade on Apple’s success as it continues to outperform its competitors and report consistently strong growth. All of this adds to the many strong revenue streams for the California-based IT company.
2. Samsung
Revenue: $221.6 billion
Founded: 1938
Headquarters: Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
Main technology products/services: Consumer electronics, Health technology
Samsung us Apple’s biggest competitor in consumer electronics. The South Korean tech company actually has an even broader portfolio within the consumer electronics market than Apple. Samsung is a leading manufacturer for TVs, hard drives, cameras, etc. Like for Apple, smartphone sales remain Samsung’s biggest revenue stream, however. Outside the consumer electronics market, Samsung has also managed to establish itself as a leading company in the health technology market.
3. Foxconn
Revenue: $178.1 billion
Founded: 1974
Headquarters: New Taipei City, Taiwan
Main technology products/services: Consumer electronics (manufacturing services)
Foxconn may not have the same name brand recognition as the tech companies like Apple or Samsung, but the Taiwanese company is actually the biggest provider of electronics manufacturing services in the world. Popular products like the iPhone, Kindle or PlayStation are all manufactured by Foxconn plants. In fact, most of the tech and IT companies in this very ranking are customers of Foxconn. So while the company may not come up with its own products, as long as companies like Apple and Sony are selling its products, Foxconn’s business will remain steady as well.
4. Alphabet
Revenue: $161.9 billion
Founded: 2015 (through restructuring of Google)
Headquarters: Mountain View, California, USA
Main technology products/services: Internet search engine, Software, Cloud computing, Consumer electronics, Online services
Most people know Alphabet, Inc. by its former name, Google, Inc.. In 2015, Google Co-founder Larry Page announced that the IT company would restructure as Alphabet Inc., a multinational tech conglomerate with businesses other than its original search engine and other internet-related services. Today, Alphabet Inc. is part of the $1 trillion club of companies with a market value in the trillions. Alphabet Inc. is one of the most sought-after stocks by investors, as the IT company and tech titan continues to develop innovative technology in various branches.
5. Microsoft
Revenue: $143.0 billion
Founded: 1975
Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, USA
Main technology products/services: Software, Consumer electronics, Cloud computing
Microsoft is the largest software company in the world known for its franchises of Windows and Office installed in nearly a billion computers worldwide. Even non-Windows computers use the suite of Office products which includes Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint. It’s a clear display of dominance owed to years of experience in developing products that consumers need and depend on day to day. But Microsoft these days is more than just a software company. It is a tech company with a wide and growing portfolio, having established itself within the consumer electronics industry (including the video game industry) as well as cloud computing.
6. Huawei
Revenue: $123.0 billion
Founded: 1987
Headquarters: Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Main technology products/services: Consumer electronics, Telecommunications technology
As a relatively young tech company, Huawei is quickly becoming a formidable competitor of more established tech companies, especially on the consumer electronics market. The Chinese IT company is primarily known for its hi-tech yet affordable smartphones which are now sold all over the world and a fierce competitor for Apple and Samsung. Huawei is also a major manufacturer of telecommunications equipment and provider of many telecommunications services. As such, the tech company is currently the leading global supplier of equipment to upgrade the world’s mobile network standard to the new 5G technology standard (at least in countries it has not been banned from doing so due to espionage concerns).
7. Dell Technologies
Revenue: $92.2 billion
Founded: 2016 (through merger of Dell, Inc. and EMC Corporation)
Headquarters: Round Rock, Texas, USA
Main technology products/services: Consumer electronics, Software, Cloud computing
Dell Technologies is the result of a 2016 merger of Dell and EMC Corporation. The former was known for its computers and related technologies, while the latter was considered one of the best kept secrets in the IT industry. EMC Corporation developed data storage as well as data management hardware and software before officially joining with Dell to establish what is now known as Dell Technologies. This Texas-based tech company still primarily develops Notebooks and PCs, but has since also branched out to offering software, network security, information security services and cloud storage services.
8. Hitachi
Revenue: $89.4 billion
Founded: 1910
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
Main technology products/services: Telecommunications technology, Information systems
Automotive parts, construction machinery, digital media and telecommunications – Hitachi provides technology services for a vast number of different industries. The tradition-rich over 100 years old Japanese company today is one of the top earning IT companies in the world and the largest one without any meaningful market share in the consumer electronics market. While this may damage the tech company’s overall brand recognition, Hitachi is very much known and valued in the corporate world. Their IT strategies are focused towards corporate settings, with advanced technology like cloud solutions and big data analytics. With the scope of Hitachi’s business, it’s not surprising that it is among the ten largest IT companies on the planet.
9. IBM
Revenue: $77.1 billion
Founded: 1911
Headquarters: Armonk, New York, USA
Main technology products/services: Artificial intelligence, IT infrastructure, Cloud computing
Founded over a century ago, IBM today is one of the most unique, innovative and of course still one of the largest tech companies in the world. The company is leading in many rapidly growing technology fields with huge potentials in the future, but first and foremost in that of Artificial Intelligence (AI). As one of the first IT companies in history, IBM also to this day remains a leading manufacturer of several IT infrastructure components.
While there was a slight dip in their revenue for the second quarter of 2020, the company is still generally growing, among other thanks to newer generated revenue streams such as cloud computing services.
10. Sony
Revenue: $76.0 billion
Founded: 1946
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
Main technology products/services: Consumer electronics, Health technology, Biotechnology
Sony is another Japanese tech conglomerate with global recognition. Sony belongs to the leading manufacturers of consumer electronics, with leading market shares in various product types, including the company’s very successful involvement in the video game market. But recently the IT company has also ventured into many other industries with immense future growth potential, most notably the health technology and biotechnology sectors.