In this article, we will be taking a look at the 15 biggest Israeli companies in the world. To skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to see the 5 biggest Israeli companies.
Israel’s economy is a developed free-market economy. Earlier on, Israel’s economy was mostly controlled by the state and established on social democratic ideas but in the 1970s and 1980s, Israel’s economy underwent free-market reforms and has continued to grow at a rapid pace since. It is no coincidence that this growth has coincided with increased support and aid provided by the United Staes. Israel has been counted as the second biggest recipient of U.S. aid after Afghanistan.
Israel boasts one of the most powerful militaries in Asia with nuclear capabilities. It is a welfare state and has modern highly developed infrastructure not to mention a technology sector which can rival Silicon Valley. In fact, after the United States, Israel has the highest number of startups in the world despite the relatively low population. It also has the third highest number of companies listed on NASDAQ after the United States and China. Some of the biggest American companies established their first research centers in Israel after establishing operations overseas. It is also home to a major diamond industry and accounts for over 23% of all diamond exports. On the other hand, Israel’s economy is quite reliant on energy imports even though this may change after the recent discovery of natural gas reserves and the fact that Israel is one of the leading solar energy producers in the world.
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According to the Organization of Economically Developed Countries, GDP in Israel is expected to grow by 4.8% in 2022, followed by 3.4% in 2023. The high-tech sector will drive the growth while exports and investments will continue to increase albeit at a more modest rate. Israel has faced inflation just like most other countries though it is expected to slow gradually. Despite Israel’s strong economy, its GDP per capita is still 28% lower than the best performers in the OECD while income inequality is quite high too with the poorest 20% of households earn just 6.3% of the total income. While Israel’s economy has only strengthened despite its Palestine problem, things may change if the Western nations start to impose sanctions to side with the Palestinians. However, that is quite unlikely to happen given past precedence.
Forbes Global 2000 contains 13 companies from Israel while we also searched other top companies in Israel to determine the 15 biggest companies in Israel. For companies where data was not available on Forbes Global 2000, we used Yahoo Finance to determine their statistics. To compute our rankings, we considered revenue, profits, market cap and assets. We assigned 30% weightage each to the first three criteria while 10% weightage was assigned to assets. This allows us to come up with the most accurate possible rankings based on multiple criteria. For market cap, we used Yahoo Finance to determine the latest market cap and for companies where the market cap was in the local currency, we converted it to USD to have a standard currency for measurement. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the biggest company in one of the most advanced economies in the Middle East, with number 15:
15. Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT)
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 5.3
Total profits of the company (in millions): 274
Total assets of the company (in billions): 9.317
Total market cap of the company as of 3rd November 2022 (in billions): 8.8
Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) is an Israeli defense electronics company engaged in the aerospace and defense sector. Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) operates in various areas including land and naval systems, aerospace, communications, control, intelligence services, reconnaissance, unmanned aircraft systems and radios among many other products. Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) has close to 18,000 employees and has operations in multiple European countries, North America and South America in addition to Southeast Asia. In 2009, the Norwegian Pension Fund’s ethical council decided to divest from Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) due to the company’s supply of surveillance systems to the Israel West Bank barrier. Dankse Bank also added the company to its list of companies that have failed its Socially Responsible Investment Policy. This has been followed by additional companies and funds divesting as well.
14. Clal Insurance Enterprises
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 8
Total profits of the company (in millions): 329.1
Total assets of the company (in billions): 39.9
Total market cap of the company as of 3rd November 2022 (in billions): 1.2
Clal Insurance Enterprises is part of the IBD Development Group and provides long-term savings, insurance, health insurance, general insurance, pension and provident fund products and life insurance for private clients as well as business and companies.
13. Harel Insurance Investment & Financial Services
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 8.5
Total profits of the company (in millions): 320.6
Total assets of the company (in billions): 38.8
Total market cap of the company as of 3rd November 2022 (in billions): 2
One of the largest insurance groups in Israel, Harel Insurance Investment & Financial Services is controlled by the Hamburger family, German Jews who moved to Tel Aviv after the British Mandate of Palestine. The company currently has more than 5,000 employees.
12. Azrieli Group
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 0.7
Total profits of the company (in millions): 895.3
Total assets of the company (in billions): 13.6
Total market cap of the company as of 3rd November 2022 (in billions): 8.8
Azrieli Group is the biggest real estate company in Israel. Azrieli Group is mainly involved in the development and management of office buildings and shopping malls.
11. First International Bank of Israel
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 0.5
Total profits of the company (in millions): 393
Total assets of the company (in billions): 50.5
Total market cap of the company as of 3rd November 2022 (in billions): 15.3
The First International Bank of Israel is focused mostly on business customers though a small portion of its customer base is also comprised of end-market consumers. It was one of the only banks in Israel at one point which offered entire paperwork in English. The company also has branches in London and Zurich.
10. Migdal Insurance
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 11.4
Total profits of the company (in millions): 418.5
Total assets of the company (in billions): 65.2
Total market cap of the company as of 3rd November 2022 (in billions): 1.2
One of the the largest insurance companies in Israel, Migdal Insurance’s initial group of investors also included Palestinian Jews. The company was listed in 1996.
9. Israel Discount Bank
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 3.9
Total profits of the company (in millions): 858.5
Total assets of the company (in billions): 107.7
Total market cap of the company as of 3rd November 2022 (in billions): 7
Banks dominate our list of the biggest Israeli companies in the world, and Israel Discount Bank is no exception, operating more than 112 branches throughout the country.
8. Phoenix Holdings
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 8.7
Total profits of the company (in millions): 608.2
Total assets of the company (in billions): 45.2
Total market cap of the company as of 3rd November 2022 (in billions): 2.6
Phoenix Holdings is a financial services company which provides asset management and insurance services serving a large portion of Israel’s households in addition to business customers. The company manages over $100 billion in assets.
7. Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP)
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 2.2
Total profits of the company (in millions): 815.6
Total assets of the company (in billions): 5.9
Total market cap of the company as of 3rd November 2022 (in billions): 15.8
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) is an Israeli-American company and the biggest tech company in the country. Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) has more than 6,000 employees and maintains headquarters in Tel Aviv and San Carlos. Globally, Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) has more than 70 locations in the United States, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain in addition to Japan and Asia Pacific.
6. Mizrahi Tefahot Bank
Total revenue of the company (in billions): 4.3
Total profits of the company (in millions): 987
Total assets of the company (in billions): 126
Total market cap of the company as of 3rd November 2022 (in billions): 9.6
The third largest bank in Israel, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank is one of the biggest Israeli companies in the world. Formed in 2004 through the merger of two banks, in 2017 Mizrahi Tefahot Bank purchases Union Bank of Israel for $400 million. It is one of more than 100 Israeli companies which have been mentioned by the United Nations in helping to further Israeli settlement activity in Golan Height and West Bank, which is considered to be illegal under international law.
Click to continue reading and see the 5 biggest Israeli companies in the world.
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Disclosure: None. 15 biggest Israeli companies in the world is originally published at Insider Monkey.
