List of public corporations by market capitalization
Publicly traded companies -- 1998
Table:
Rank

Name

Headquarters

Primary industry

Market value (USD million)

1
Microsoft
United States
Software industry
271,854

2
General Electric
United States
Conglomerate
258,871

3
Exxon Mobil
United States
Oil and gas
172,213

4
Royal Dutch Shell
The Netherlands
Oil and gas
164,157

5
Merck
United States
Health care
154,753

6
Pfizer
United States
Health care
148,074

7
Intel Corporation
United States
Computer hardware
144,060

8
The Coca-Cola Company
United States
Beverage
142,164

9
Wal-Mart
United States
Retail
123,062

10
IBM
United States
Software industry, Computer hardware
121,184

By analysing the table as well as the context snippets provided at the end.

Answer the following question: What year was the company founded whose primary industry is the process of selling consumer goods or services to customers through multiple channels of distribution ? Output only the correct answer as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Avoid adding external knowledge.

The United States dollar ( sign : $ ; code : USD ; also abbreviated US $ and referred to as the dollar , U.S. dollar , or American dollar ) is the official currency of the United States and its territories per the Coinage Act of 1792 . One dollar is divided into 100 cents ( Symbol : ¢ ) or 1000 mills ( for accounting purposes and for taxing . Symbol : ₥ ) . The Coinage Act of 1792 created a decimal currency by creating the following coins : tenth dollar , one-twentieth dollar , one-hundredth dollar . In addition the act created the dollar , half dollar , and quarter dollar coins . All of these coins are still minted in 2020 . In addition , several forms of paper money were introduced by Congress over the years . The latest of these , the Federal Reserve Note , was authorized by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 , while all existing U.S. currency remains legal tender . Issuance of the previous form of the currency ( U.S. notes ) was discontinued in January 1971 . As a result , currently circulating paper money consists primarily of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars ( 12 U.S.C . § 418 ) . Since the suspension in 1971 of convertibility of paper U.S. currency into any precious metal , the U.S. dollar is de facto fiat money .
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company with headquarters in Redmond , Washington . It develops , manufactures , licenses , supports , and sells computer software , consumer electronics , personal computers , and related services . Its best known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems , the Microsoft Office suite , and the Internet Explorer and Edge web browsers . Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox video game consoles and the Microsoft Surface lineup of touchscreen personal computers . In 2016 , it was the world 's largest software maker by revenue ( currently Alphabet/Google has more revenue ) . The word Microsoft is a portmanteau of microcomputer and software . Microsoft is ranked No . 30 in the 2018 Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue . Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4 , 1975 , to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800 . It rose to dominate the personal computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s , followed by Microsoft Windows . The company 's 1986 initial public offering ( IPO ) , and subsequent rise in its share price , created three billionaires and an estimated 12,000 millionaires among Microsoft employees . Since the 1990s , it has increasingly diversified from the operating system market and has made a number of corporate acquisitions , their largest being the acquisition of LinkedIn for $ 26.2 billion in December 2016 , followed by their acquisition of Skype Technologies for $ 8.5 billion in May 2011 .
The software industry includes businesses for development , maintenance and publication of software that are using different business models , mainly either license/maintenance based ( on-premises ) or Cloud based ( such as SaaS , PaaS , IaaS , MaaS , AaaS , etc. ) . The industry also includes software services , such as training , documentation , consulting and data recovery .
General Electric Company ( GE ) is an American multinational conglomerate incorporated in New York City and headquartered in Boston . As of 2018 [ update ] , the company operates through the following segments : aviation , healthcare , power , renewable energy , digital industry , additive manufacturing , venture capital and finance and lighting . In 2018 , GE ranked among the Fortune 500 as the 18th-largest firm in the U.S. by gross revenue . In 2011 , GE ranked among the Fortune 20 as the 14th-most profitable company but has since very severely underperformed the market ( by about 75% ) as its profitability collapsed . Two employees of GE - Irving Langmuir ( 1932 ) and Ivar Giaever ( 1973 ) - have been awarded the Nobel Prize .
A conglomerate is a multi-industry company - i.e. , a combination of multiple business entities operating in entirely different industries under one corporate group , usually involving a parent company and many subsidiaries . Conglomerates are often large and multinational . Conglomerates were popular in the 1960s due to a combination of low interest rates and a repeating bear-bull market , which allowed the conglomerates to buy companies in leveraged buyouts , sometimes at temporarily deflated values . Famous examples from the 1960s include Ling-Temco-Vought , ITT Corporation , Litton Industries , Textron , Teledyne . Because of low interest on the loans , the overall return on investment of the conglomerate appeared to grow . In addition , the conglomerate had a better ability to borrow in the money market , or capital market , than the smaller firm at their community bank . [ citation needed ] For many years this was enough to make the company 's stock price rise , as companies were often valued largely on their return on investment . The aggressive nature of the conglomerators themselves was enough to make many investors , who saw a powerful and seemingly unstoppable force in business , buy their stock . [ citation needed ] High stock prices allowed them to raise more loans , based on the value of their stock , and thereby buy even more companies . This led to a chain reaction , which allowed them to grow very rapidly . However , all of this growth was somewhat illusory and when interest rates rose to offset inflation , conglomerate profits fell . Investors noticed that the companies inside the conglomerate were growing no faster than before they were purchased , whereas the rationale for buying a company was that synergies would provide efficiency .
Exxon Mobil Corporation , doing business as ExxonMobil , is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving , Texas . It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller 's Standard Oil , and was formed on November 30 , 1999 by the merger of Exxon ( formerly the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey ) and Mobil ( formerly the Standard Oil Company of New York ) . ExxonMobil 's primary brands are Exxon , Mobil , Esso , and ExxonMobil Chemical . ExxonMobil is incorporated in Texas . One of the world 's largest companies by revenue , ExxonMobil from 1996 to 2017 varied from the first to sixth largest publicly traded company by market capitalization . The company was ranked ninth globally in the Forbes Global 2000 list in 2016 . ExxonMobil was the tenth most profitable company in the Fortune 500 in 2017 . As of 2018 , the company ranked second in the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue . Approximately 55.56% of the company 's shares are held by institutions . As of March 2019 , ExxonMobil 's largest shareholders include The Vanguard Group ( 8.15% ) , BlackRock ( 6.61% ) , and State Street Corporation ( 4.83% ) . ExxonMobil is one of the largest of the world 's Big Oil companies . As of 2007 [ update ] , it had daily production of 3.921 million BOE ( barrels of oil equivalent ) ; but significantly smaller than a number of national companies .
The petroleum industry , also known as the oil industry or the oil patch , includes the global processes of exploration , extraction , refining , transporting ( often by oil tankers and pipelines ) , and marketing of petroleum products . The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline ( petrol ) . Petroleum ( oil ) is also the raw material for many chemical products , including pharmaceuticals , solvents , fertilizers , pesticides , synthetic fragrances , and plastics . The extreme monetary value of oil and its products has led to it being known as black gold . The industry is usually divided into three major components : upstream , midstream , and downstream . Upstream deals with Drilling and Production mainly . Petroleum is vital to many industries , and is necessary for the maintenance of industrial civilization in its current configuration , making it a critical concern for many nations . Oil accounts for a large percentage of the worlds energy consumption , ranging from a low of 32% for Europe and Asia , to a high of 53% for the Middle East . Other geographic regions ' consumption patterns are as follows : South and Central America ( 44% ) , Africa ( 41% ) , and North America ( 40% ) . The world consumes 30 billion barrels ( 4.8 km³ ) of oil per year [ citation needed ] , with developed nations being the largest consumers . The United States consumed 25% of the oil produced in 2007 . The production , distribution , refining , and retailing of petroleum taken as a whole represents the world 's largest industry in terms of dollar value .
Royal Dutch Shell PLC , commonly known as Shell , is a British-Dutch oil and gas company headquartered in the Netherlands and incorporated in the United Kingdom . It is one of the oil and gas supermajors and the third-largest company in the world measured by 2018 revenues ( and the largest based in Europe ) . In the 2019 Forbes Global 2000 , Shell was ranked as the ninth-largest company in the world ( and the largest outside China and the United States ) , and the largest energy company . Shell was first in the 2013 Fortune Global 500 list of the world 's largest companies ; in that year its revenues were equivalent to 84% of the Dutch national $ 556 billion GDP . Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry , including exploration and production , refining , transport , distribution and marketing , petrochemicals , power generation and trading . It also has renewable energy activities , including biofuels , wind , energy-kite systems , and hydrogen . Shell has operations in over 70 countries , produces around 3.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day and has 44,000 service stations worldwide . As of 31 December 2014 , Shell had total proved reserves of 13.7 billion barrels ( 2.18×109 m3 ) of oil equivalent . [ note 1 ] Shell Oil Company , its principal subsidiary in the United States , is one of its largest businesses . Shell holds 50% of Raízen , a joint venture with Cosan , which is the third-largest Brazil-based energy company by revenues and a major producer of ethanol . Shell was formed in 1907 through the amalgamation of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company of the Netherlands and the Shell Transport and Trading Company of the United Kingdom . Until its unification in 2005 the firm operated as a dual-listed company , whereby the British and Dutch companies maintained their legal existence but operated as a single-unit partnership for business purposes .
Merck & Co. , Inc. , d.b.a . Merck Sharp & Dohme ( MSD ) outside the United States and Canada , is an American multinational pharmaceutical company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world . Merck is incorporated in New Jersey . The company was established in 1891 as the United States subsidiary of the German company Merck , which was founded in 1668 by the Merck family . Merck & Co. was expropriated by the US government during World War I and subsequently established as an independent American company in 1917 . While it operates as Merck & Co. in the United States and Canada , the original Merck based in Darmstadt holds the rights to the Merck name everywhere else . Merck & Co. is the world 's seventh largest pharmaceutical company by market capitalization and revenue . Its headquarters is located in Kenilworth , New Jersey . The company ranked No . 78 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue . Merck & Co. publishes The Merck Manuals , a series of medical reference books for physicians , nurses , technicians , and veterinarians . These include the Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy , the world 's best-selling medical reference .
Health care , health-care , or healthcare is the maintenance or improvement of health via the prevention , diagnosis , treatment , recovery , or cure of disease , illness , injury , and other physical and mental impairments in people . Health care is delivered by health professionals in allied health fields . Physicians and physician associates are a part of these health professionals . Dentistry , pharmacy , midwifery , nursing , medicine , optometry , audiology , psychology , occupational therapy , physical therapy , athletic training and other health professions are all part of health care . It includes work done in providing primary care , secondary care , and tertiary care , as well as in public health . Access to health care may vary across countries , communities , and individuals , influenced by social and economic conditions as well as health policies . Providing health care services means the timely use of personal health services to achieve the best possible health outcomes . Factors to consider in terms of healthcare access include financial limitations ( such as insurance coverage ) , geographic barriers ( such as additional transportation costs , possibility to take paid time off of work to use such services ) , and personal limitations ( lack of ability to communicate with healthcare providers , poor health literacy , low income ) . Limitations to health care services affects negatively the use of medical services , efficacy of treatments , and overall outcome ( well-being , mortality rates ) . Health care systems are organizations established to meet the health needs of targeted populations . According to the World Health Organization ( WHO ) , a well-functioning health care system requires a financing mechanism , a well-trained and adequately paid workforce , reliable information on which to base decisions and policies , and well maintained health facilities to deliver quality medicines and technologies . An efficient health care system can contribute to a significant part of a country 's economy , development and industrialization .
Pfizer Inc. ( /ˈfaɪzər/ ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation headquartered in New York City . It is one of the world 's largest pharmaceutical companies . It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange , and its shares have been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 2004 . Pfizer ranked No . 57 on the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue . On December 19 , 2018 , Pfizer announced a joint merger of their consumer healthcare division with UK pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline ; the British company will maintain a controlling share ( listed at 68% ) . The company developed and produces medicines and vaccines for a wide range of medical disciplines , including immunology , oncology , cardiology , endocrinology , and neurology . Its products include the blockbuster drug Lipitor ( atorvastatin ) , used to lower LDL blood cholesterol ; Lyrica ( pregabalin ) for neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia ; Diflucan ( fluconazole ) , an oral antifungal medication ; Zithromax ( azithromycin ) , an antibiotic ; Viagra ( sildenafil ) for erectile dysfunction ; and Celebrex ( also Celebra , celecoxib ) , an anti-inflammatory drug . In 2016 , Pfizer Inc. was expected to merge with Allergan , plc to create the Ireland-based Pfizer plc in a deal that would have been worth $ 160 billion . The merger was called off in April 2016 , however , because of new rules from the United States Treasury against tax inversions , a method of avoiding taxes by merging with a foreign company . The company has made the second-largest pharmaceutical settlement with the United States Department of Justice .
Intel Corporation ( commonly known as Intel and stylized as intel ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara , California , in Silicon Valley . It is the world 's largest and highest valued semiconductor chip manufacturer based on revenue , and is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors , the processors found in most personal computers ( PCs ) . Intel ranked No . 46 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue . Intel is incorporated in Delaware . Intel supplies processors for computer system manufacturers such as Apple , Lenovo , HP , and Dell . Intel also manufactures motherboard chipsets , network interface controllers and integrated circuits , flash memory , graphics chips , embedded processors and other devices related to communications and computing . Intel Corporation was founded on July 18 , 1968 , by semiconductor pioneers Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore ( of Moore 's law ) , and is associated with the executive leadership and vision of Andrew Grove . The company 's name was conceived as portmanteau of the words integrated and electronics , with co-founder Noyce having been a key inventor of the integrated circuit ( microchip ) . The fact that intel is the term for intelligence information also made the name appropriate . Intel was an early developer of SRAM and DRAM memory chips , which represented the majority of its business until 1981 . Although Intel created the world 's first commercial microprocessor chip in 1971 , it was not until the success of the personal computer ( PC ) that this became its primary business .
Computer hardware includes the physical parts of a computer , such as the case , central processing unit ( CPU ) , monitor , keyboard , computer data storage , graphics card , sound card , speakers and motherboard . By contrast , software is the set of instructions that can be stored and run by hardware . Hardware is so-termed because it is hard or rigid with respect to changes , whereas software is soft because it is easy to change . Hardware is typically directed by the software to execute any command or instruction . A combination of hardware and software forms a usable computing system , although other systems exist with only hardware .
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation , and manufacturer , retailer , and marketer of nonalcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups . The company produces Coca-Cola , invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta , Georgia . In 1889 the formula and brand were sold for $ 2,300 to Asa Griggs Candler , who incorporated The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta in 1892 . The Coca-Cola Company is the single largest plastic polluter in the world , producing over 3 million tonnes of plastic packaging each year including 110 billion plastic bottles . The company - headquartered in Atlanta , Georgia , but incorporated in Delaware - has operated a franchised distribution system since 1889 : the Company largely produces syrup concentrate , which is then sold to various bottlers throughout the world who hold exclusive territories . The company owns its anchor bottler in North America , Coca-Cola Refreshments . The company 's stock is listed on the NYSE and is part of DJIA , the S & P 500 index , the Russell 1000 Index , and the Russell 1000 Growth Stock Index .
A drink ( or beverage ) is a liquid intended for human consumption . In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst , drinks play important roles in human culture . Common types of drinks include plain drinking water , milk , coffee , tea , hot chocolate , juice and soft drinks . In addition , alcoholic drinks such as wine , beer , and liquor , which contain the drug ethanol , have been part of human culture for more than 8,000 years . Non-alcoholic drinks often signify drinks that would normally contain alcohol , such as beer and wine , but are made with less than .5 percent alcohol by volume . The category includes drinks that have undergone an alcohol removal process such as non-alcoholic beers and de-alcoholized wines .
Walmart Inc. ( /ˈwɔːlmɑːrt/ ; formerly Wal-Mart Stores , Inc. ) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets , discount department stores , and grocery stores , headquartered in Bentonville , Arkansas . The company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated on October 31 , 1969 . It also owns and operates Sam 's Club retail warehouses . As of January 31 , 2020 , [ update ] Walmart has 11,503 stores and clubs in 27 countries , operating under 55 different names . The company operates under the name Walmart in the United States and Canada , as Walmart de México y Centroamérica in Mexico and Central America , as Asda in the United Kingdom , as the Seiyu Group in Japan , and as Best Price in India . It has wholly owned operations in Argentina , Chile , Canada , and South Africa . Since August 2018 , Walmart only holds a minority stake in Walmart Brasil , which was renamed Grupo Big in August 2019 , with 20 percent of the company 's shares , and private equity firm Advent International holding 80 percent ownership of the company . Walmart is the world 's largest company by revenue , with US $ 514.405 billion , according to the Fortune Global 500 list in 2019 . It is also the largest private employer in the world with 2.2 million employees . It is a publicly traded family-owned business , as the company is controlled by the Walton family . Sam Walton 's heirs own over 50 percent of Walmart through their holding company Walton Enterprises and through their individual holdings . Walmart was the largest U.S. grocery retailer in 2019 , and 65 percent of Walmart 's US $ 510.329 billion sales came from U.S. operations .
Retail is the process of selling consumer goods or services to customers through multiple channels of distribution to earn a profit . Retailers satisfy demand identified through a supply chain . The term retailer is typically applied where a service provider fills the small orders of many individuals , who are end-users , rather than large orders of a small number of wholesale , corporate or government clientele . Shopping generally refers to the act of buying products . Sometimes this is done to obtain final goods , including necessities such as food and clothing ; sometimes it takes place as a recreational activity . Recreational shopping often involves window shopping and browsing : it does not always result in a purchase . Retail markets and shops have a very ancient history , dating back to antiquity . Some of the earliest retailers were itinerant peddlers . Over the centuries , retail shops were transformed from little more than rude booths to the sophisticated shopping malls of the modern era . Most modern retailers typically make a variety of strategic level decisions including the type of store , the market to be served , the optimal product assortment , customer service , supporting services and the store 's overall market positioning . Once the strategic retail plan is in place , retailers devise the retail mix which includes product , price , place , promotion , personnel , and presentation . In the digital age , an increasing number of retailers are seeking to reach broader markets by selling through multiple channels , including both bricks and mortar and online retailing .
The International Business Machines Corporation ( IBM ) is an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Armonk , New York , with operations in over 170 countries . The company began in 1911 , founded in Endicott , New York , as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company ( CTR ) and was renamed International Business Machines in 1924 . IBM is incorporated in New York . IBM produces and sells computer hardware , middleware and software , and provides hosting and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology . IBM is also a major research organization , holding the record for most U.S. patents generated by a business ( as of 2020 [ update ] ) for 27 consecutive years . Inventions by IBM include the automated teller machine ( ATM ) , the floppy disk , the hard disk drive , the magnetic stripe card , the relational database , the SQL programming language , the UPC barcode , and dynamic random-access memory ( DRAM ) . The IBM mainframe , exemplified by the System/360 , was the dominant computing platform during the 1960s and 1970s . IBM has continually shifted business operations by focusing on higher-value , more profitable markets . This includes spinning off printer manufacturer Lexmark in 1991 and the sale of personal computer ( ThinkPad/ThinkCentre ) and x86-based server businesses to Lenovo ( in 2005 and 2014 , respectively ) , and acquiring companies such as PwC Consulting ( 2002 ) , SPSS ( 2009 ) , The Weather Company ( 2016 ) , and Red Hat ( 2019 ) . Also in 2015 , IBM announced that it would go fabless , continuing to design semiconductors , but offloading manufacturing to GlobalFoundries . Nicknamed Big Blue , IBM is one of 30 companies included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and one of the world 's largest employers , with ( as of 2018 [ update ] ) over 350,000 employees , known as IBMers . At least 70% of IBMers are based outside the United States , and the country with the largest number of IBMers is India .