Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A +0.05%)(BRK.B +0.01%) is the top company in the financial sector, far ahead of JPMorgan Chase (JPM +0.26%) and Visa (V -0.50%). 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 March 5, 2026.)
| Name and ticker | Market cap | Current price | Industry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKA) | $1.1 trillion | $738,390.39 | Diversified Financial Services |
| JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) | $771.8 billion | $286.59 | Banks |
| Visa (NYSE:V) | $591.1 billion | $308.46 | Diversified Financial Services |
| Mastercard (NYSE:MA) | $453.5 billion | $507.12 | Diversified Financial Services |
| Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) | $337.7 billion | $47.28 | Banks |
| HSBC Holdings (NYSE:HSBC) | $275.9 billion | $80.90 | Banks |
| Industrial And Commercial Bank Of China (OTC:IDCBF) | $288.7 billion | $0.81 | Banks |
| China Construction Bank (OTC:CICHF) | $274.7 billion | $1.03 | Banks |
| Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) | $247.2 billion | $157.85 | Capital Markets |
| Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) | $233.7 billion | $76.17 | Banks |
1. Berkshire Hathaway
NYSE: BRKA
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $1.08 trillion (as of March 5)
- Revenue (TTM): $400.5 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 14.56%
- Year founded: 1839
TTM = trailing 12 months.
Originally in the textile 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 retired at the end of 2025, and Greg Abel took over as CEO. Buffett still serves as chairman of the board.
2. JPMorgan Chase
NYSE: JPM
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $791.71 billion (as of March 5)
- Revenue (TTM): $181.8 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 14.74%
- 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 $4.8 trillion in assets under management (AUM) at the end 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, aiming to become a fully AI-connected enterprise.
3. Visa
NYSE: V
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $616.36 billion (as of March 5)
- Revenue (TTM): $41.4 billion
- Gross profit (TTM): $33.6 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 8.67%
- Year founded: 1958
Visa is a payment network that processes transactions for prepaid, debit, and credit cards. It's accepted in more than 200 countries and territories, making it one of the most widespread payment networks in the world. During the company's 2025 fiscal year, it processed 258 billion transactions.
This payments company is consistently at the forefront 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: $468.23 billion (as of March 5)
- Revenue (TTM): $32.8 billion
- Gross profit (TTM): $25.5 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 8.39%
- Year founded: 1966
Mastercard (MA -0.27%) is a payment network and Visa's closest competitor. It's accepted in more than 210 countries, and it processed 210 billion transactions in 2025.
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: $363.74 billion (as of March 5)
- Revenue (TTM): $113.1 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 6.62%
- Year founded: 1904 (Bank of Italy), 1998 (merger of NationsBank and Bank of America)
Bank of America (BAC +0.39%) 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 nationwide.
6. HSBC
NYSE: HSBC
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $293.95 billion (as of March 5)
- Revenue (TTM): $70.0 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 24.04%
- Year founded: 1935
Headquartered in London, HSBC (HSBC +0.73%) is the largest bank in Europe, with $3.2 trillion in AUM at the end of 2025. It has a strong international presence, serving around 41 million customers in more than 50 markets.
HSBC has restructured its business to focus more on Asia and the Middle East. It closed some investment banking units in the U.S., U.K., and Europe, and it cut some of its senior staff.
7. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
OTC: IDCBF
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $290.45 billion (as of March 5)
- Revenue (TTM): $120.3 billion*
- Five-year annualized return: 4.24%
- Year founded: 1984
*Converted from Chinese yuan.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (IDCBF +0.01%), 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, including ICBC, had a challenging 2025. To support the country's economy, they needed to offer cheap lending and loan subsidies, which cut into their profitability.
8. China Construction Bank
OTC: CICHF
Key Data Points
NYSE: MS
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $258.11 billion (as of March 5)
- Revenue (TTM): $66.0 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 15.62%
- Year founded: 1935
Morgan Stanley (MS +1.38%) 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 engaging in both commercial and investment banking. JPMorgan Chase took the commercial banking business, while some employees left to form Morgan Stanley and provide investment banking services.
10. Wells Fargo
NYSE: WFC
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $257.75 billion (as of March 5)
- Revenue (TTM): $83.7 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 17.70%
- Year founded: 1852
Wells Fargo (WFC +0.55%) is the fourth-largest bank in the U.S. by total assets, after JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup (C +0.28%). It had approximately $2.1 trillion in AUM as of the end of 2025. Products include bank accounts, credit cards, and home, auto, and personal loans. It also offers investing and wealth management services.
This bank has been involved in some high-profile issues. One of the most widely reported cases was an account fraud scandal discovered in late 2016, where employees opened fraudulent accounts for clients without their knowledge.
Financial sector takeaways for investors
Bank stocks may be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of the financial sector. They comprise seven of the 10 largest financial companies, but the sector also encompasses other types of businesses, such as insurance companies and payment networks.
Economic downturns often hit financial stocks hard, particularly banks. During periods of high unemployment, financial companies may be saddled with large amounts of bad debt that they need to write off.
Despite those risks, 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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About the Author
Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Wells Fargo is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Lyle Daly has positions in Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway, JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard, and Visa. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
