What are the different types of stock companies can issue?

Common stock is the main type of stock issued by publicly traded companies. It gives everyday people and institutional investors the opportunity to own a piece of a business and a proportional share of its future profits. There is also preferred stock, which generally pays a fixed dividend but does not entitle the investor to any ownership of the company's profits.

Do stock market companies always make profits?

No, companies that trade on public stock markets are not always profitable. This is quite common among fast-growing technology companies, and many report negative income in any given period.

How do stocks get listed on exchanges?

To be listed on a major exchange, a company typically needs to meet several size-related requirements and comply with regulatory requirements.

Biggest Stock Market Companies in 2026

The Largest Stock Market Companies in 2026

By Matthew Frankel, CFP – Updated Jul 13, 2026 at 4:30 PM EST | Fact-checked by Robin Hartill, CFP

Key Points

Nvidia leads as the first $5 trillion company on Nasdaq, dominating GPU tech and major tech trends.
On the NYSE, Taiwan Semiconductor emerges as a top company, capitalizing on the AI tech surge.
Large companies like Amazon and Walmart maintain substantial market caps through e-commerce and retailing.

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American flags flying on a Wall Street building. — Image source: Getty Images.

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The five largest Nasdaq companies

The Nasdaq-100 index is a tech-heavy index that includes several of the world's largest companies. In fact, the five largest Nasdaq companies were also the five largest companies trading on U.S. stock exchanges as of July 2026, by a wide margin. Note that market caps fluctuate constantly, so it's entirely possible the market values (and even the rank order) may have changed by the time you're reading this.

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA): Nvidia became the first $5 trillion market cap company in 2025 and has a valuation of about $4.8 trillion as of July 2026. It literally invented the graphics processing unit (GPU), and it remains the dominant leader in the space. Its chips have use cases across the most compelling technology trends, including data centers, autonomous vehicles, mobile gaming, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL): With a market cap of about $4.2 trillion, Apple was the second-largest company in the stock market in July 2026. This is a business that needs no introduction, as Apple is the company behind some of the world's most popular consumer electronics, including the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and more.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG)(NASDAQ:GOOGL): Alphabet isn't a household name itself, but its main subsidiary, Google, certainly is. The company has a $4.2 trillion market cap with two main divisions, Google Services and Google Cloud. Google Services include the dominant internet search business, Gmail, Google Maps, Android, Google Chrome, and more. Google Cloud is one of the big three cloud services platforms, with Amazon's AWS and Microsoft's Azure being the other two.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT): Microsoft has a market cap of $3.2 trillion as of July2026. The company is a designer and manufacturer of both hardware and software, and provides services to customers. It is the company behind the Windows operating system, the Microsoft Office suite of productivity tools, the Azure cloud infrastructure platform, and much more.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN): Amazon has a $2.5 trillion market cap, and while it is best known for its dominant e-commerce platform, it is also the clear leader in cloud services through its Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform, which has a commanding market share lead over rivals from Microsoft and Alphabet.

The five largest NYSE companies

The New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, lists thousands of companies as well. Here are the five largest as of Summer 2026.

Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM): Taiwan Semiconductor is a chipmaker that produces components for personal computers, mobile devices, servers, data centers, and more. It has a market cap of $2.2 trillion and is emerging as one of the biggest winners of the surge in AI investment.
Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY): With an $1.11 trillion market cap, Eli Lilly is a pharmaceutical manufacturer with a long list of products to treat a variety of conditions. The company's major drugs are used to treat diabetes, obesity, oncology, immunology, and neuroscience, among other conditions.
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A)(NYSE:BRK.B): Berkshire Hathaway is a conglomerate with more than 60 subsidiary businesses, including GEICO, Duracell, Dairy Queen, Pilot Travel Centers, and dozens more. It also owns a massive portfolio of common stocks worth more than $340 billion and has a staggering $397 billion in cash and short-term investments on its balance sheet as of the first quarter of 2025. Berkshire was the first non-technology company in the U.S. stock market to reach a trillion-dollar market cap.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT): Walmart is the largest physical retailer in the United States, and it also has a substantial e-commerce operation. With a $913 billion market cap as of July 2026, Walmart has generated $725 billion in merchandise sales over the past 12 months.
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM): JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States by asset size, with a $896 billion market cap as of July 2026. It has $2.4 trillion in deposits and $1.3 trillion in loans, and it operates more than 4,000 banking branches under the Chase brand.

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The five largest OTC companies

Many of the largest companies that trade on the over-the-counter (OTC) markets are foreign and also listed on other major stock exchanges worldwide. In fact, all of the top five are in this category.

Samsung (SSNLF +0.00%): Samsung is a company that needs no introduction to most people, as one of the world's largest electronics manufactures. Samsung is best known for its Galaxy smartphones, tablets, and wearables, but also makes televisions, home appliances, memory chips, and more.
Roche Holding AG (OTC:RHHBY): Roche is a Swiss healthcare company that makes pharmaceuticals and medical diagnostics. It is the world's largest producer of cancer treatments and has a massive portfolio of pharmaceutical products.
LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (OTC:LVMUY): LMVH is a massive conglomerate of luxury brands. In addition to those that make up the company's name, LMVH owns the brands Tiffany & Co., Christian Dior, Fendi, Marc Jacobs, TAG Heuer, and more.
Nestle SA (OTC:NSRGY): Nestle is best known for its chocolate brand, but it also owns a large portfolio of other food brands that are well-known in the U.S. and abroad, including Perrier, Gerber, Poland Spring, Deer Park, Nespresso, Hot Pockets, DiGiorno, Häagen-Dazs, Purina, and many others.
Siemens AG (OTC:SIEGY): A German technology conglomerate, Siemens develops and manufactures automation solutions, infrastructure products, mobility products such as trains, healthcare solutions, and more.

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The bottom line

There are thousands of companies listed on the U.S. stock market's various exchanges. As of 2026, there were about 3,450 different stocks listed on the Nasdaq (including cases where the same company has more than one class of stock), about 2,200 on the NYSE, and almost 6,500 on the OTC markets. The companies mentioned here, although the largest, make up only a tiny fraction of all publicly traded companies.

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FAQ

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About the Author

Matt Frankel, CFP®, is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst specializing in the real estate and financial sectors. Prior to The Motley Fool, Matt taught high school and college mathematics. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of South Carolina, a master’s degree in mathematics from Nova Southeastern University, and a graduate certificate in financial planning from Florida State University. He won a SABEW award for coverage of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. He is also regularly interviewed by Cheddar, Globe St, The National Desk, and other TV networks and publications for his real estate, financial, stock market, and investing expertise.

TMFMattFrankel

@MattFrankelUSC

The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA): Nvidia became the first $5 trillion market cap company in 2025 and has a valuation of about $4.8 trillion as of July 2026. It literally invented the graphics processing unit (GPU), and it remains the dominant leader in the space. Its chips have use cases across the most compelling technology trends, including data centers, autonomous vehicles, mobile gaming, and artificial intelligence (AI).

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL): With a market cap of about $4.2 trillion, Apple was the second-largest company in the stock market in July 2026. This is a business that needs no introduction, as Apple is the company behind some of the world's most popular consumer electronics, including the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and more.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG)(NASDAQ:GOOGL): Alphabet isn't a household name itself, but its main subsidiary, Google, certainly is. The company has a $4.2 trillion market cap with two main divisions, Google Services and Google Cloud. Google Services include the dominant internet search business, Gmail, Google Maps, Android, Google Chrome, and more. Google Cloud is one of the big three cloud services platforms, with Amazon's AWS and Microsoft's Azure being the other two.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT): Microsoft has a market cap of $3.2 trillion as of July2026. The company is a designer and manufacturer of both hardware and software, and provides services to customers. It is the company behind the Windows operating system, the Microsoft Office suite of productivity tools, the Azure cloud infrastructure platform, and much more.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN): Amazon has a $2.5 trillion market cap, and while it is best known for its dominant e-commerce platform, it is also the clear leader in cloud services through its Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform, which has a commanding market share lead over rivals from Microsoft and Alphabet.

The five largest NYSE companies

The New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, lists thousands of companies as well. Here are the five largest as of Summer 2026.

Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM): Taiwan Semiconductor is a chipmaker that produces components for personal computers, mobile devices, servers, data centers, and more. It has a market cap of $2.2 trillion and is emerging as one of the biggest winners of the surge in AI investment.

Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY): With an $1.11 trillion market cap, Eli Lilly is a pharmaceutical manufacturer with a long list of products to treat a variety of conditions. The company's major drugs are used to treat diabetes, obesity, oncology, immunology, and neuroscience, among other conditions.

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A)(NYSE:BRK.B): Berkshire Hathaway is a conglomerate with more than 60 subsidiary businesses, including GEICO, Duracell, Dairy Queen, Pilot Travel Centers, and dozens more. It also owns a massive portfolio of common stocks worth more than $340 billion and has a staggering $397 billion in cash and short-term investments on its balance sheet as of the first quarter of 2025. Berkshire was the first non-technology company in the U.S. stock market to reach a trillion-dollar market cap.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT): Walmart is the largest physical retailer in the United States, and it also has a substantial e-commerce operation. With a $913 billion market cap as of July 2026, Walmart has generated $725 billion in merchandise sales over the past 12 months.

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM): JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States by asset size, with a $896 billion market cap as of July 2026. It has $2.4 trillion in deposits and $1.3 trillion in loans, and it operates more than 4,000 banking branches under the Chase brand.

The Largest Stock Market Companies in 2026

Key Points

The five largest Nasdaq companies

The five largest NYSE companies

The five largest OTC companies

The bottom line

FAQ

Largest companies FAQ

About the Author

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Largest companies FAQ

What are the different types of stock companies can issue?

Do stock market companies always make profits?

How do stocks get listed on exchanges?

The five largest Nasdaq companies

The five largest NYSE companies

The bottom line

FAQ

The five largest OTC companies