Inditex is among the 100 most valuable companies in the world

A pandemic, a transition at the top and an abandonment of one of its main markets later (Russia), Inditex has managed for the second time in its history to once again rub shoulders with the largest firms in the world by market capitalization at the end of the year. In 2023, the all-time high on the stock market and a 60% revaluation have led Inditex to climb 61 places in the world ranking, until it becomes the 97th most valuable company on the planet. The previous time it achieved this milestone was in 2019. At that time, the textile company burst into position number 96, climbing 23 positions.

In its latest results, those corresponding to the first nine months of its fiscal year, Inditex showed a net profit of 4,102 million euros, 32.5% more than in the same period of the previous year. In addition to these numbers, in favor of Inditex occupying this position on the list of most valuable companies is its status as a world leader in the sector. Present in 213 markets and with Zara as the 43rd most popular brand on the planet according to Interbrand, there is only one clothing company more valuable than Inditex: Nike, which occupies position 70. H&M, a firm considered one of the main competitors of the textile Of Galician origin, he takes the 656th place in the ranking.

Inditex has not been the only Spanish company with a good year. In 173rd place in the world, 12 more than in 2022, is Iberdrola, which rises 8.2% annually. Santander, in 247th place (+35.1% in the year, 58 more positions), and BBVA, in 339th (+45.4% and 127 more positions), remain the main Spanish representation in the ranking of listed companies. most valuable on the planet.

Despite Inditex's great moment, in 2023 technology has been the big winner. Not only does Nvidia's dazzling rise stand out with an increase of 238% in the year, but Microsoft (+56%) and Apple (+49%) have increased their market value throughout 2023 by one trillion dollars each. one. With this, Microsoft has left Aramco (+14%) far behind, the firm that took second place last year, and Apple has emerged at the top, with a capitalization that surpassed France's GDP. and that is equivalent to just over 22 Inditex.

But the technological reign goes further. Alphabet (+59%), Amazon (+82%) and the aforementioned Nvidia occupy the fourth, fifth and sixth positions, respectively. Both Google and Nvidia attest, along with Microsoft, to the effects that the fever for generative artificial intelligence has had. For its part, the company founded by Jeff Bezos celebrates the rebound in its profits. After a 2022 fiscal year in which it lost $2,722 million, in the first nine months of 2023 Amazon achieved profits of $19,801 million with its Amazon Web Services cloud computing services, leading the segment.

Taking advantage of the technological tailwind and with the help of investors who seem to have forgiven the determined – and unfruitful – commitment to the metaverse, Meta (+197%) closes its self-proclaimed “year of efficiency” having recovered 18 positions in the list. The company announced this year personnel cuts that affected 24.7% of its workforce. The critical weight of technology in this ranking is evident when analyzing the evolution of the joint value of these 50 companies. Of the 7.03 trillion total growth in joint capitalization, 4.81 trillion (68%) originate solely in the evolution of six companies: Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia and Meta.

Tesla, Berkshire Hathaway and Eli Lilly complete the list of the 10 largest in the world. The automobile company, after intensifying its efforts to make its cars cheaper, appreciated 105% in the year, although it is true that in January Tesla was going through a particularly negative streak on the stock market. For its part, Berkshire Hathaway (+15%), Warren Buffett's investment firm, ends a particularly sad year for reasons beyond economic reasons: the death of Buffett's vice president and right-hand man, Charlie Munger. The last, the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, with an increase of 59% in 2023, has based its strength on the encouraging results of two drugs that have stimulated investors: Monjuaro, an injectable for type 2 diabetes that has shown signs of being a weight loss pill, and Donanemab, with supposed potential to slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer's.

By country, with technological preeminence, the ranking is a little more American than before, with 33 of the 50 companies having origins in the United States, two more than in 2022. Within the first 12, only Aramco does not have that nationality. The Taiwanese TSMC (+32%) occupies the 13th position and already at number 16 appears the first European, the Danish Novo Nordisk, which scores 49% in the year thanks to the madness unleashed by its anti-diabetes drug Ozempic, Popular for its slimming effects.

In total, seven companies have left their position among the 50 largest to new ones. The pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Thermo Fisher, as well as the Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, the Chinese Alibaba, Cisco Systems and Shell have fallen from this particular Olympus; Netflix, AMD, Accenture, Hermès, Roche, Salesforce and Adobe have entered.

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