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The 2025 Forbes Global 2000 rankings underscore a shifting balance of global corporate power, with Asia-Pacific (APAC) leading in scale, North America driving profitability, and Europe maintaining steady resilience. Sectoral dominance by financial services, technology, and oil and gas highlights how innovation, digital transformation, and energy transition continue to redefine growth trajectories, competitive dynamics, and value creation in the global economy, according to GlobalData, the data and analytics company.
The APAC region dominated the 2025 Forbes Global 2000 list, with 772 APAC headquartered companies contributing to 35% ($18.4 trillion) of the total aggregate revenue ($53 trillion) of all the listed companies.
North America stood second with 681 companies generating a combined revenue of $20.8 trillion; followed by Europe with 420 companies generating a combined revenue of $11.7 trillion. The Middle East and Africa with 75 companies generated a combined revenue of $1.1 trillion, and South & Central America with 52 companies generated a combined revenue of $0.9 trillion.
North America companies accounted for 43.3% of the total $4.9 trillion profit pool of the companies in the Forbes 2000 list, followed by APAC with 30.7%, Europe (19.7%), the Middle East and Africa (4.6%), and South and Central America (1.7%).
The Middle East and Africa surprisingly dwarfed all other regions in terms of generating profit through per unit of revenue with a net profit margin of 20.2%, followed by North America (10.1%), South and Central America (9.7%), Europe (8.2%), and Asia-Pacific (8.1%).
The breakup by sector reveals that the top five sectors by revenue accounted for 66.8% of the 2025 Forbes 2000 revenue pool, and 62.1% of total companies, which translates into $35.4 trillion and 1,241 companies, respectively.
Financial services, technology and communications, and oil and gas were the leading profitable sectors with a combined aggregate profit of over $1.8 trillion, $959.8 billion, and $446.2 billion, respectively.
The technology and communications reported the highest net profit margin of 14.4%, followed by financial services (13.5%), pharmaceuticals and healthcare (11.4%), consumer goods (9.9%), and energy & utilities (9.2%).
Few notable first-time entries include Roche Holding, Ingram Micro Holding, and Emirates Telecommunications Group.
Murthy Grandhi, Company Profiles Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Financial services thrive on digital banking innovations and enhanced consumer access, while the oil and gas sector adapts to the rising energy demands by embracing sustainability and renewable sources. Meanwhile, technology and communication leverage powerful platform ecosystems and AI for monetisation, supported by strong digital infrastructure and talent. Together, these sectors exemplify resilience and adaptability, driving innovation and shaping the future of global business in an ever-evolving landscape.
“Going forward, as financial services adapt to digital transformation and evolving regulations, they will maintain their crucial role in capital flow and risk management, albeit with slower growth in traditional areas.”
Meanwhile, technology and communication sectors are set for rapid expansion, fueled by AI and cloud computing. The oil and gas industry faces decarbonization pressures, diversifying into renewables while meeting ongoing hydrocarbon demand.
Grandhi concludes: “All three sectors will see consolidation and competition, where innovation and adaptability will be essential for long-term success.”
