Global stock markets have faced sharp turbulence, with the world’s 10,000 largest listed companies shedding $10.3tn in value between Monday, 17 March 2025 and Tuesday 8 April 2025, according to data analyst at BestBrokers, Paul Hoffman.
Source: Reuters.
Hoffman says the firm's latest research highlights how different economies are positioned to withstand further losses amid ongoing market uncertainty.
The US was hit hardest, with $5.36tn wiped from company valuations, followed by China ($923.6bn), Japan ($434bn), Germany ($289bn), and Taiwan ($267.7bn).
While the US S&P 500 alone has lost nearly $6tn since the announcement of sweeping tariffs under President Trump, the impact has been global. Billions in value have evaporated across markets in every major region.
Despite the scale of these losses, many leading indices are still above where they were a year ago — supported by resilient earnings and long-term growth. In addition to tracking the drop in market value, BestBrokers also examined how countries stack up in terms of billion-dollar company density, measured relative to population and economic output, across 74 countries and territories.
Here are some key highlights from the report:
- In March, 5,522 publicly listed companies worldwide were identified with a market value of at least $1bn, with 1,873 headquartered in the United States. Three weeks after that, on 8 March, the number of billion-dollar public companies dropped to 5,370, with just the US losing 74 companies.
- When adjusted for population, Monaco leads the world with 77 billion-dollar companies per million citizens, followed by Luxembourg (32) and Iceland (18).
- Other countries with a large number of billion-dollar companies per million citizens are Switzerland with nearly 14, Sweden with 10.5, Singapore with close to nine, and Qatar with eight. Norway, Israel, and Denmark round up the top 10 countries with nearly eight companies per million people in Norway and Israel, while Denmark has seven.
- Although the United States has the largest absolute number of billion-dollar companies, it ranks 16th globally on a per capita basis — trailing behind smaller, entrepreneurial economies like Ireland, Qatar, and Israel. The US has roughly five billion-dollar companies per 1 million people.
- Although the aggregate market capitalisation of US-based billion-dollar companies dropped to $51.75tn, this is still nearly double the size of the American economy.
Source: Supplied.
As volatility shakes larger markets, understanding where corporate strength is most concentrated can offer valuable insights for navigating the months ahead.
Smaller, agile economies continue to punch well above their weight, signalling resilience and opportunity even as the broader market faces renewed pressure. A total of 13 countries saw a market wipeout of $100bn or more within the past 22 days. These are the countries where companies have lost the most market capitalisation:
United States - down $5.36tn to $51.75tn
China - down $923.6bn to $6.87tn
Japan - down $433.9bn to $4.68tn
Germany - down $289.1bn $2.39tn
Taiwan - down $267.7bn to $1.48tn
France - down $230.8bn to $2.83tn
Switzerland - down $177.7bn to $2.29tn
United Kingdom - down $170.5bn to $3.47tn
Netherlands - down $149.7bn to $1.17tn
Ireland - down $111.5bn to $894.79bn
Sweden - down $109.9bn to $1.02tn
Hong Kong - down $108.5bn to $835bn
South Korea - down $105.6bn to $932.9bn
