The construction industry is one of the biggest and most lucrative industries in the world, and is expected to have a global value of $11,094 billion. That is $11 trillion dollars from just a single industry. This is based on a CAGR of 9.2%, which is immense compared to many other industries such as the beer industry or the beverage industry, where the CAGR is not even 5%.
While construction and infrastructure is absolutely crucial for developed economies, it is also integral for the growth of some of the less developed economies. Building roads, providing access to clean water, building affordable houses for the population and ensuring the provision of electricity can have a transforming effect on improving the lives of the people who reside there. New building and better infrastructure is also integral for developed economies to continue providing and steadily improving the standard of living that its residents are used to. Furthermore, apart from the direct contribution of this industry, it has significant and integral links with other sectors and industries, and its indirect impact may actually outweigh its direct contribution. The construction industry actually provides employment to over a hundred million people across the globe, which is truly a staggering number. 6% of the global GDP comes from just the construction industry, which can be broken down as 5% of total GDP in developed countries, and 8% of GDP for developing countries. By 2040, it is estimated that global expenditure in this industry will cross $3.2 trillion each year, though this can only happen if countries increase their construction budget, which might be a necessity for them considering the greater demand in construction due to a burgeoning population. If you want to take a look at what they achieve, take a look at the 10 biggest construction companies in the world.
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The residential construction industry alone increased at a CAGR of 6% between 2015 – 2019. And this is the smallest sector of the construction industry, where commercial construction and infrastructure construction are the main focus of companies. The latter alone was worth $2.7 billion in just 2019. Of course, any forecasts after 2019 have to be taken with more than a pinch of salt, as the world has turned upside down and all predictions have become null and void. The Covid-19 pandemic, which has claimed over 1.2 million lives and infected nearly 50 million people worldwide as at the time of writing this article, saw the world go into lockdown to try and fight the virus, which has also seen economies destroyed or at least severely effected, with even the biggest countries in the world seeing their GDP contract significantly. Because of the lockdown, the construction industry came to a virtual halt as people couldn’t leave their house for any reason whatsoever unless it was an emergency. All developments and projects were suspended and since it is one of the few industries where you cannot work from home, there was no backup option either. Now that the second wave has gripped the world and seems to be even more severe than the first, we can only imagine and not say with any certainty what the future of this industry will be. That it will survive, is undoubtable, but at what cost is the real question.
The top 19 construction companies in the world have revenue of nearly a trillion dollars. Profits exceeded $29 billion while they had assets worth nearly $1.6 trillion. While construction is a truly global sector, the biggest companies are present in just a few countries, which China utterly dominating this list. Thanks to the biggest country in the world having giant conglomerates which are state owned, it was able to get 7 entries on this list. The United States of America on the other hand, could only feature one. If you were to consider the top 100, you would see a lot more US companies, but because of the fact that the economy is very competitive in the US, there aren’t just a few giants which dominate the entire industry. For their rankings, we referred to Forbes and considered not just the market cap of each company, but also its asset portfolio, revenue and profits. Where we haven’t been able to find one of the criteria we have used an approximation based on the criteria that were available. If you have been following the construction industry for the last few years at least, you won’t be surprised to see the number one entry as it has remained consistent for a while. But till then, let’s take a look at the construction companies ready for most of the development
19. Strabag (WBAG: STR)
Market cap in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 2.9
Revenue in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 18
Profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 417
Total assets in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 13.6
Headquartered in Vienna, Strabag is an Austrian company and is among the largest in all of Europe as well. It had revenues of nearly half a billion in 2019 and has an active presence in Europe, as well as in India, China, Canada and Chile.
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18. Kajima (TYO:1812)
Market cap in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 5.4
Revenue in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 18.4
Profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 890
Total assets in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 20.2
Not only is Kajima one of the oldest construction companies in Japan, having been founded in 1840, it is also by far the biggest, as evidenced by its assets of over $20 billion, and revenue of at least $18 billion.
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17. Skanska AB (NASDAQ Stockholm: SKA B)
Market cap in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 7.9
Revenue in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 18.4
Profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 660
Total assets in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 13.3
Skansa is a Swedish giant, just not the one you are thinking of. It has been involved in some huge projects globally, which have no doubt been instrumental in it earning over $18.4 billion, such as the headquarters of the United Nations, MetLife Stadium, Mater Dei Hospital and the World Trade Center Transportation Hub among others.
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16. Shanghai Construction
Market cap in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 4.1
Revenue in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 28.3
Profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 393.2
Total assets in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 32.8
This may be the first Chinese company in this list, but I promise you, it won’t be the last. It is owned by the Shanghai Municipal government, something you’ll find common in most of the Chinese construction companies mentioned here.
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15. Bechtel
Market cap in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 8
Revenue in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 25.5
Profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 500
Total assets in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 10
The only American company in this list is surprisingly not listed, and is in fact the 11th largest privately owned company in the country. It is headquartered in Virginia and was founded in 1898, 122 years ago.
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14. Obayashi
Market cap in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 6.4
Revenue in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 18.9
Profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 1,200
Total assets in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 20.8
The biggest Japanese construction company saw a profit of $1.2 billion in the latest fiscal year, while holding assets of $20.8 billion.
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13. China Engineering Energy (SEHK: 3996)
Market cap in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 3.2
Revenue in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 35.7
Profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 700
Total assets in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 60.5
Another state owned Chinese generically named company makes our list, which was formed just 9 years ago, but has revenues of over $35.7 billion.
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12. Eiffage SA
Market cap in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 8
Revenue in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 20.9
Profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 811
Total assets in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 36.9
A French company makes out list of the biggest construction companies in the world in Eiffage. While the company itself isn’t that old having been founded in 1992, it came into existence after the merger of several long standing companies.
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11. Metallurgical Corp of China (SSE:601618)
Market cap in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 3.6
Revenue in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 49.8
Profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 963
Total assets in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 67.6
One of Metallurgical’s biggest project is through its parent company, China Metallurgical Group Corporation, called the Saindak Copper-Gold Project, in Pakistan.
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10. ACS Group (BMAD:ACS)
Market cap in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 7.6
Revenue in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 43.7
Profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 1,100
Total assets in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 43.3
ACS is a Spanish giant, and has projects all across the world, which has earned the company over $43 billion in revenue.
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9. Hochtief (FWB:HOT)
Market cap in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 10
Revenue in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 30.2
Profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): -200
Total assets in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 210.1
The largest German construction company is nearly 150 years old, and employs nearly 54,000 people and has built Germany’s first nuclear power plant as well as Adolf Hitler’s homes. More recently, it built the famous Bosphorus Bridge in Turkey.
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8. Larsen and Toubro (NSE:LT)
Market cap in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 16.8
Revenue in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 20.8
Profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 1,400
Total assets in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 40.4
While the company was founded by two Danish workers seeking refuse in India, the company now has over 100 subsidiaries, as well as numerous associates and joint ventures. It is responsible for major projects in India and employs over 337,000 people.
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7. Power Construction Corp of China
Market cap in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 7.7
Revenue in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 50.1
Profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 1,000
Total assets in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 116.7
This company is mainly responsible just for electric utility line construction services and still pulled in $50 billion in revenue in just a year.
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6. Bouygues
Market cap in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 11.7
Revenue in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 42.5
Profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 1,300
Total assets in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 44.2
One of the biggest construction company in France is also one of the biggest construction companies in the world, employing over 129,000 people and earning a revenue of $42.5 billion in 2019.
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5. China Communications Construction (SSE:601800)
Market cap in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 10.8
Revenue in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 79.8
Profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 2,800
Total assets in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 161.8
The list is almost entirely China now as another state owned company with mostly domestic operations, including bridges, railways, tunnels, subways, highways and even railways.
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4. China Railway Group (SSE:601390)
Market cap in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 14.8
Revenue in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 122.9
Profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 3,200
Total assets in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 151.6
It is among the biggest companies in the world and apart from the domestic market share, also engages in high profile projects across the world.
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3. Vinci (Euronext:DG)
Market cap in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 45.5
Revenue in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 54.6
Profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 3.600
Total assets in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 102.4
Founded 121 years ago, Vinci is Europe’s biggest construction company in the world. It employs over 220,000 people and in fact, it’s not just Europe’s biggest construction company, but any country other than China.
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2. China Railway Construction (SSE:601186)
Market cap in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 14.9
Revenue in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 116.8
Profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 2,800
Total assets in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 154.4
Don’t confuse it with China Railway Group above. I’ve already mentioned that China isn’t really very creative when naming its state owned giant conglomerates, and China Railway Construction is no exception, and has earned $116 billion in revenue in just one year, while holding $154 billion in assets as well. While the company was founded in 1948, it was only listed in 2007.
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1. China State Construction Engineering
Market cap in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 30.7
Revenue in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 203
Profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 6,100
Total assets in 2019 (in billions of dollars): 292.3
Topping the list of the 10 largest construction companies in the world is of course China State Construction Engineering, which is the only company in the list to have earned more than $200 billion in revenue in a single year. It also has the highest profits and total assets of any construction company in the world. However, most of its sales come from domestic sources and other companies such as the European ones have greater international revenue.
See also: 10 Biggest Construction Companies in India and 11 Biggest Construction Companies in Europe
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Disclosure: No positions. 19 Largest Construction Companies in the World is originally published on Insider Monkey.