10 Most Profitable Companies in the World in 2014

Would you like to find out which were the most profitable companies in the world in 2014? These firms have managed to climb all the way to the top, boasting impressive levels of revenue and net income. The wealth they command is staggering, as is the number of assets in their possession, making them very powerful players in global markets and sometimes important partners for certain countries.

Despite what you may believe, most of the companies making an appearance in the following list of the most profitable companies in the world are not privately owned. In fact, seven out of ten are actually majority-owned by their respective governments, indicating that state-involvement can also boost a corporation’s profitability. After all, some governments have more than enough financial resources at their disposal to make large investments in these firms, allowing them to expand their business without having to take on the burden of large debt obligations.

If you read our previous post on the most profitable businesses, then you should certainly keep reading to find out what changes have occurred since last year. Those who have been following the rise of Chinese firms, have surely noticed that some have improved their positions significantly over the past decade. China has not only grown at impressive rates on a macroeconomic level, but some of its majority-owned corporations have also experienced exceptional growth. Hence, taking into account the recent shift of economic power towards Asia in general, and China in particular, it comes as no surprise to see several Chinese companies on our list.

In order to determine the most profitable companies in the world in 2014, we have used net income from continuing operations as our main tool of measurement. This is considered to be one of the best ways to rate a firm’s profitability, since it excludes extraordinary items from earnings. This allows us to rate corporations more accurately, since items that have little impact on the true profitability of the business are not taken into account.

According to the information we have considered, these companies were the most profitable in 2014:

10. Microsoft Corporation – $22.1 billion

Kicking off our list of the 10 most profitable companies in the world in 2014 is Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). The firm has generated much of its income from catering software programs such as Office and Windows, to both businesses and households.

The list of the most profitable companies in the world in 2014 continues on the next page with the first, but not last, energy behemoth to make the list.