We compile our Global 2000 list using the same methodology as we did in for our first list back in 2003. We use data from FactSet Research systems to screen for the biggest public companies in four metrics: sales, profits, assets and market value. Our market value calculation is as of May 17, 2024, closing prices and includes all common shares outstanding.
All figures are consolidated and in U.S. dollars. We use the latest-12-months’ financial data available to us on May 17, 2024. We rely heavily on the databases for all data, as well as the latest financial period available for our rankings (the final database screen was run in mid-May). Many factors play into which financial period of data is available for the companies and used in our rankings: the timeliness of our data collection/screening and company reporting policies, country-specific reporting policies and the lag time between when a company releases its financial data and when the databases capture it for screening/ranking. We quality-check the downloaded financial data to the best of our ability using other data sources and available company financial statements.
We first create four separate lists of the 2000 biggest companies in each of the metrics: sales, profits, assets, and market value. Each of the 2000 lists has a minimum cutoff value in order for a company to qualify: sales $5.8 billion, profits of $375 million, assets of $13.8 billion and market value of $7.4 billion. A company needs to qualify for at least one of the lists to be eligible for the final Global 2000 ranking. This year 3,410 companies were needed to fill out the four lists of 2000, each company qualifying for at least one of the lists. Each company receives a separate score for each metric based on where in ranks on the metric’s 2000 list. We add up all the scores for all four metrics (equally weighted) and compile a composite score for each company based on their rankings for sales, profits, assets and market value. We sort the companies in descending order by the highest composite score and then apply our Forbes Global 2000 rank. The highest composite score gets the highest rank.
Publicly traded subsidiaries for which the parent company consolidates figures are excluded from our list. For most countries, the accounting rules for the consolidation of a subsidiary is when the parent’s ownership (control) of the subsidiaries stock is more than 50%. Some countries accounting rules allow for the consolidation of a subsidiary at less than 50% ownership. We exclude companies where we don’t have access to reliable or timely data—this year, that included Russian companies, which do not have financial data reported on FactSet or other reliable data sources since prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
GLOBAL 2000
