About the 2023 list of the Fortune 500 Europe
In raw statistical terms, Europe’s economy trails those of the U.S. and China. But Europe does just as much as its larger counterparts to drive the global business agenda. The region’s biggest companies are planetary powerhouses in energy, banking, and the auto industry; its affluent consumers help determine what the world makes and buys; and its regulators are setting benchmarks for sustainability, data privacy, and antitrust practices that are reshaping business strategy worldwide.
The inaugural edition of the Fortune 500 Europe, which ranks the biggest companies in Europe by revenue, aims to capture this diverse, dynamic environment. The list features businesses from 24 different countries, ranging in size from No. 500 (Germany’s MTU Aero Engines, with $5.6 billion in revenue) to No. 1, London-headquartered oil and gas giant Shell ($386.2 billion). Together, the 500 Europe companies brought in revenue of $13.94 trillion in their most recent fiscal year.
Europe’s corporations, like its economy more broadly, have navigated dire challenges over the past year, including the Ukraine war and its ripple effects on energy prices, along with the volatility generated by high inflation and rising interest rates. For many companies, the weakening of the euro against the U.S. dollar also created difficult headwinds, as commodities, many of them priced in dollars, became proportionally more expensive. (The flagging euro also affected headline revenue and profit results on this list, since Fortune uses dollars as its baseline currency for rankings.) Not all the economic news was grim, of course: Many industries benefited from a boost in consumer demand as communities shed restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite being hard-hit by energy-supply disruption that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany placed 80 companies on the list, more than any other country. German automaker Volkswagen was No. 2 overall, and Germany’s energy, chemical, and retail sectors also contributed to its top position. Britain finished a close second with 76 companies, while France was third with 71. Financials, including banks, insurers, and asset managers, had the greatest number of companies of any sector on the 500 Europe, posting 84, with players like Germany’s Allianz and France’s AXA among the leaders.
Whatever their industry, these giants face an increasingly complex geopolitical and economic landscape. Next year’s Fortune 500 Europe may well show which ones have adapted most successfully.