These Were the 5 Biggest Companies in 2009, and Here Are the 5 Biggest Companies Now

A lot can change in 15 years. Nowhere is this more true than on the stock market. For example, in just 15 years, the total annual revenue of the five largest American companies has soared 50% from $1.6 trillion to $2.4 trillion. That alone is a huge difference, but there's something even more dramatic behind the numbers: Only one of the companies that appeared in the 2009 list remains within the top five. Let's dig in and see which stocks have shouldered their way into the top five and which have dropped out.First off, a few notes on methodology. This list is made up of American-based public companies. Also, I'm using annual revenue as my measuring stick rather than a valuation metric, such as market capitalization. With that in mind, let's have a look at the list:Continue readingWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool