These Were the 5 Biggest Companies in 1999, and Here Are the 5 Biggest Companies Now

Key Points

• The largest companies are now an order of magnitude larger than in 1999.

• The top of the list has become much more tech-heavy.

• To make the top five today, a market cap of more than $2 trillion is needed.

• 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia ›

So far in 2025, we've had not one, but two companies achieve a $4 trillion market capitalization. Both Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) have joined this ultra-exclusive club, with Nvidia remaining over that threshold, and there are a few others that aren't too far behind.

If I were to ask you what the largest companies were during the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, you might assume that the top of the list might have a tech stock or two, just like there is today. And you'd be right.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

Image source: Getty Images.

However, there are two big differences. The largest companies today are more than an order of magnitude larger than in 1999, and technology doesn't just appear on the list -- it completely dominates it.

With that in mind, here's how the largest companies of 1999 compare with those of 2025.

The five largest companies of 1999

Data source: CNBC.com. Market caps as of 1/1/1999.

The five largest companies of 2025

Data source: CNBC.com. Market caps as of 8/3/2025.

As a final thought, considering the differences between the two lists, it's interesting to consider what the list of the largest companies might look like in another quarter-century. Will the largest companies increase by yet another order of magnitude? And will the tech industry continue to dominate?

Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now?

Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $624,823!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,064,820!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,019% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 178% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 4, 2025

Matt Frankel has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Intel, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends GE Aerospace and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel, and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.