Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A -0.51%)(BRK.B -0.42%) is the top company in the financial sector, far ahead of JPMorgan Chase (JPM +0.85%) and Visa (V -0.45%). Big banks in the U.S. and China make up most of the largest financial companies by market cap.
Largest companies by market cap in the financial sector
(Editor's note: Rankings are as of Nov. 5, 2025.)
| Name and ticker | Market cap | Current price | Industry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) | $1.1 trillion | $744,500.10 | Diversified Financial Services |
| JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) | $862.7 billion | $316.89 | Banks |
| Visa (NYSE:V) | $645.1 billion | $334.52 | Diversified Financial Services |
| Mastercard (NYSE:MA) | $496.6 billion | $552.39 | Diversified Financial Services |
| Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) | $390.1 billion | $53.40 | Banks |
| Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) | $270.3 billion | $86.10 | Banks |
| Industrial And Commercial Bank Of China (OTC:IDCBF) | $276.9 billion | $0.78 | Banks |
| Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) | $262.3 billion | $165.05 | Capital Markets |
| Agricultural Bank Of China (OTC:ACGBF) | $259.4 billion | $0.74 | Banks |
| American Express (NYSE:AXP) | $253.4 billion | $367.88 | Consumer Finance |
1. Berkshire Hathaway
NYSE: BRK.A
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $1.06 trillion (as of Nov. 5)
- Revenue (TTM): $372.1 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 18.59%
- Year founded: 1839
TTM = trailing 12 months.
Originally in the textiles business, Berkshire Hathaway is now a holding company with subsidiaries across a number of industries, including insurance, freight rail transportation, and utilities.
Warren Buffett became CEO and chairman of Berkshire after taking majority control of the company in 1965. The legendary investor has announced that he'll be retiring at the end of the year. Greg Abel, the company's vice chairman, is expected to take over.
Berkshire Hathaway is highly regarded for its financial performance and investment choices. Under the leadership of Buffett (and business partner Charlie Munger, until his death in 2023), Berkshire has grown significantly. It was the first (and so far the only) U.S. financial company to reach a $1 trillion market cap.
2. JPMorgan Chase
NYSE: JPM
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $848.46 billion (as of Nov. 5)
- Revenue (TTM): $167.1 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 27.54%
- Year founded: 1799 (Bank of the Manhattan Company), 2000 (merger of JPMorgan and Chase)
JPMorgan Chase is the biggest bank in the U.S. It had $4.6 trillion in assets under management (AUM) as of the third quarter of 2025.
As one of the Big Four U.S. banks -- alongside Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup -- JPMorgan Chase offers a wide range of financial products and services. These include bank accounts, credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, and wealth management. The bank has been making a push to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) tools recently, with the goal of being a fully AI-connected enterprise.
3. Visa
NYSE: V
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $657.39 billion (as of Nov. 5)
- Revenue (TTM): $40.0 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 12.28%
- Year founded: 1958
Visa is a payment network that processes prepaid, debit, and credit card transactions. It's accepted in more than 200 countries and territories, making it one of the most widespread payment networks in the world. During the 2024 fiscal year, it processed 234 billion transactions.
This payments company is regularly on the cutting edge of technological innovations. It was the first major payments network to settle a cryptocurrency transaction, and it has invested heavily in AI fraud detection.
4. Mastercard
NYSE: MA
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $496.87 billion (as of Nov. 5)
- Revenue (TTM): $31.5 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 12.43%
- Year founded: 1966
Mastercard is a payment network and Visa's closest competitor. It's accepted in more than 210 countries.
In February 2025, Mastercard announced it would remove the 16-digit card numbers from its credit and debit cards by 2030. It will replace them with tokenization, where each card has a unique encrypted token instead of a number. The change is expected to make payment card fraud more difficult.
5. Bank of America
NYSE: BAC
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $383.02 billion (as of Nov. 5)
- Revenue (TTM): $101.5 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 19.70%
- Year founded: 1904 (Bank of Italy), 1998 (merger of NationsBank and Bank of America)
Bank of America is the second-largest bank in the U.S., offering banking services, loans, and credit cards. During the Great Recession, Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch for approximately $50 billion, expanding its investment banking and wealth management segments.
This big bank has prioritized expansion over the last decade. Between 2014 and 2024, it invested more than $5 billion in financial center expansion to enter new markets across the country.
6. Wells Fargo
NYSE: WFC
Key Data Points
7. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
OTC: IDCBF
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $285.12 billion (as of Nov. 5)
- Revenue (TTM): $94.7 billion*
- Five-year annualized return: 13.21%
- Year founded: 1984
*Converted from Chinese yuan.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, or ICBC, was the largest bank in the world by total assets, with about $7.4 trillion in AUM as of the third quarter of 2025. The Chinese government owns a majority stake in ICBC.
Chinese banks, ICBC included, have had a difficult 2025. To support the country's economy, they've needed to provide cheap lending and loan subsidies, cutting into their profitability.
8. Morgan Stanley
NYSE: MS
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $262.80 billion (as of Nov. 5)
- Revenue (TTM): $68.5 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 29.81%
- Year founded: 1935
Morgan Stanley is an investment bank operating in over 40 countries with more than 80,000 employees. Its three business segments are institutional securities, wealth management, and investment management.
This bank was originally part of JPMorgan Chase until the passage of the Glass-Steagall Act, which prohibited a single entity from having both commercial and investment banking businesses. JPMorgan Chase took the commercial banking business, while some employees left to form Morgan Stanley and provide investment banking services.
9. Agricultural Bank of China
OTC: ACGBF
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $259.44 billion (as of Nov. 5)
- Revenue (TTM): $83.4 billion*
- Five-year annualized return: 24.31%
- Year founded: 1905 (Da-Qing Bank), 1912 (Bank of China), 1979 (re-established)
*Converted from Chinese yuan.
The Agricultural Bank of China is the world's second-largest bank after ICBC. As of the second quarter of 2025, it had about $6.8 trillion in AUM. It's partially state-owned, with the Chinese government having about a 40% stake through an investment company.
10. American Express
NYSE: AXP
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $251.98 billion (as of Nov. 5)
- Revenue (TTM): $65.3 billion
- Gross profit (TTM): $41.9 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 31.34%
- Year founded: 1850
American Express is one of the world's largest payment networks. Unlike Visa and Mastercard, it's also a card issuer that has its own portfolio of credit cards and charge cards. In addition, American Express offers deposit accounts and personal loans.
Related investing topics
Financial sector takeaways for investors
Bank stocks may be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of the financial sector. They make up half of the 10 largest financial companies, but the sector also includes other types of businesses, such as insurance companies and payment networks.
Economic downturns often hit financial stocks hard, banks in particular. During periods of high unemployment, financial companies may be saddled with large amounts of bad debt that they need to write off.
The Trump administration's tariffs and resulting economic uncertainty could be a serious headwind for the banking sector. Chinese bank stocks may be hit especially hard. However, a federal court ruled that most of these tariffs are illegal. For now, the tariffs are still in place, pending an appeal.
Despite the risk of a potential downturn, the top companies in this sector are massive businesses with long track records of success. For patient investors, financial stocks can be a valuable addition to a portfolio.
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