Most successful company founded the year you were born
Most successful company founded the year you were born
In our entrepreneurial economy, it can be challenging for new companies to stay relevant long enough to break even, let alone make a lasting impact. However, there are many that have succeeded with this challenge, and reached new heights in the present day, with business reigns that have ranged from several years to centuries.
To help find the companies that have truly stood the test of time, Stacker analyzed Barchart public company financials and the Field-Ritter dataset of company founding dates to identify the largest companies today that were created each year from 1920 to 2017. Our analysis focused on public companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges, with market capitalization figures as of Feb. 7, 2018.
Determining when a public company got is an inexact science. To identify each company’s founding date, Field-Ritter researched the earliest incorporation date of every company and took into consideration mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.
Read on to explore the most successful company founded the year you were born.
1920 - Occidental Petroleum Corp
Ticker: OXY (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $54.50 billion
1921 - Newmont Mining Corp
Ticker: NEM (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $20.07 billion
1922 - Raytheon Company
Ticker: RTN (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $58.14 billion
1923 - Walt Disney Company
Ticker: DIS (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $159.94 billion
1924 - Totalfinaelf S.A. (Total S.A.)
Ticker: TOT (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $138.99 billion
1925 - Caterpillar Inc
Ticker: CAT (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $93.05 billion
1926 - Schlumberger N.V.
Ticker: SLB (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $98.31 billion
1927 - Marriott
Ticker: MAR (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $51.05 billion
1928 - General Mills
Ticker: GIS (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $31.74 billion
1929 - Unilever
Ticker: UN (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $95.63 billion
1930 - MGM Resorts International
Ticker: MGM (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $19.75 billion
1931 - Baxter International Inc
Ticker: BAX (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $36.32 billion
1932 - Moody's Corp
Ticker: MCO (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $30.18 billion
1933 - Rockwell Collins
Ticker: COL (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $22.14 billion
1934 - United Technologies Corp
Ticker: UTX (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $103.66 billion
1935 - Morgan Stanley
Ticker: MS (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $97.14 billion
1936 - Core Laboratories N.V.
Ticker: CLB (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $5.01 billion
1937 - Canon Inc
Ticker: CAJ (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $41.73 billion
1938 - Sprint Corp
Ticker: S (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $20.40 billion
1939 - Hewlett-Packard Company
Ticker: HPQ (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $35.26 billion
1940 - Air Products and Chemicals
Ticker: APD (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $35.08 billion
1941 - Stryker Corp
Ticker: SYK (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $57.69 billion
1942 - Vale S.A.
Ticker: VALE (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $68.14 billion
1943 - Banco Bradesco S.A.
Ticker: BBD (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $79.72 billion
1944 - Coca Cola European Partners
Ticker: CCE (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $18.16 billion
1945 - Southern Company
Ticker: SO (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $43.65 billion
1946 - Lowe's Companies
Ticker: LOW (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $83.16 billion
1947 - T Rowe Price Group
Ticker: TROW (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $25.92 billion
1948 - Honda Motor Company
Ticker: HMC (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $65.50 billion
1949 - Medtronic Inc
Ticker: MDT (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $110.54 billion
1950 - Sasol Ltd
Ticker: SSL (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $22.22 billion
1951 - Texas Instruments
Ticker: TXN (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $104.34 billion
1952 - General Dynamics Corp
Ticker: GD (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $63.08 billion
1953 - Accenture Plc
Ticker: ACN (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $98.27 billion
1954 - Toyota Motor Corp Ltd Ord
Ticker: TM (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $203.62 billion
1955 - McDonald's Corp
Ticker: MCD (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $131.68 billion
1956 - Watsco
Ticker: WSO (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $6.07 billion
A previous version of the story listed CarMax as the largest company created in 1956. The first CarMax was opened in 1993 as a division of Circuit City.
1957 - O'Reilly Automotive
Ticker: ORLY (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $21.67 billion
1958 - Edwards Lifesciences Corp
Ticker: EW (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $26.89 billion
1959 - Anadarko Petroleum Corp
Ticker: APC (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $31.46 billion
1960 - Rogers Communication
Ticker: RCI (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $23.77 billion
1961 - Broadcom Ltd
Ticker: AVGO (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $98.51 billion
1962 - Wal-Mart Stores
Ticker: WMT (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $298.90 billion
1963 - Comcast
Ticker: CMCSA (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $185.41 billion
1964 - Nike Inc
Ticker: NKE (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $106.11 billion
1965 - Analog Devices
Ticker: ADI (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $33.00 billion
1966 - Mastercard Inc
Ticker: MA (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $179.21 billion
1967 - Applied Materials
Ticker: AMAT (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $52.85 billion
1968 - Intel Corp
Ticker: INTC (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $210.18 billion
1969 - Danaher Corp
Ticker: DHR (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $67.61 billion
1970 - Visa Inc
Ticker: V (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $248.53 billion
1971 - The Charles Schwab Corp
Ticker: SCHW (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $70.86 billion
1972 - SAP Ag
Ticker: SAP (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $133.17 billion
1973 - Canadian Natural Resources
Ticker: CNQ (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $38.90 billion
1974 - Carnival Corp
Ticker: CCL (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $37.00 billion
1975 - Microsoft Corp
Ticker: MSFT (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $703.22 billion
1976 - Discover Financial Services
Ticker: DFS (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $27.67 billion
1977 - Apple Inc
Ticker: AAPL (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $827.22 billion
1978 - Home Depot
Ticker: HD (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $223.09 billion
1979 - Boston Scientific Corp
Ticker: BSX (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $36.69 billion
1980 - Amgen
Ticker: AMGN (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $127.54 billion
1981 - Infosys Ltd
Ticker: INFY (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $37.96 billion
1982 - Adobe Systems Inc
Ticker: ADBE (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $95.60 billion
1983 - AT&T Inc
Ticker: T (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $226.10 billion
1984 - Cisco Systems Inc
Ticker: CSCO (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $198.59 billion
1985 - Altria Group
Ticker: MO (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $126.95 billion
1986 - Celgene Corp
Ticker: CELG (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $75.78 billion
1987 - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Ticker: TSM (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $226.06 billion
1988 - Blackrock
Ticker: BLK (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $86.20 billion
1989 - Vertex Pharmaceutical
Ticker: VRTX (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $40.34 billion
1990 - Time Warner Inc
Ticker: TWX (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $74.22 billion
1991 - Ntt Docomo Inc
Ticker: DCM (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $97.14 billion
1992 - Charter Communications
Ticker: CHTR (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $91.92 billion
1993 - Nvidia Corp
Ticker: NVDA (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $136.70 billion
1994 - Amazon
Ticker: AMZN (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $698.49 billion
1995 - Lockheed Martin Corp
Ticker: LMT (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $96.80 billion
1996 - Novartis Ag
Ticker: NVS (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $199.83 billion
1997 - Priceline Group
Ticker: PCLN (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $90.65 billion
1998 - Alphabet Class C
Ticker: GOOG (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $750.80 billion
1999 - Alibaba Group Holding Ltd
Ticker: BABA (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $474.25 billion
2000 - JP Morgan Chase & Co
Ticker: JPM (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $388.99 billion
2001 - Mizuho Financial Group
Ticker: MFG (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $47.56 billion
2002 - Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc
Ticker: SMFG (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $63.56 billion
2003 - Tesla Inc
Ticker: TSLA (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $56.40 billion
2004 - Facebook Inc
Ticker: FB (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $538.48 billion
2005 - Mitsubishi Ufj Financial Group Inc
Ticker: MTU (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $98.61 billion
2006 - Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc
Ticker: TMO (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $84.00 billion
2007 - Bank of New York Mellon Corp
Ticker: BK (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $56.24 billion
2008 - Anheuser-Busch Inbev S.A.
Ticker: BUD (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $184.50 billion
2009 - Lloyds Banking Group Plc
Ticker: LYG (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $69.09 billion
2010 - United Continental Holdings
Ticker: UAL (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $18.95 billion
2011 - Xylem Inc
Ticker: XYL (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $12.81 billion
2012 - Duke Energy Corp
Ticker: DUK (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $52.14 billion
2013 - Abbvie Inc
Ticker: ABBV (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $177.52 billion
2014 - Walgreens Boots Alliance
Ticker: WBA (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $71.12 billion
2015 - Kraft Heinz Co
Ticker: KHC (NASDAQ)
Market capitalization: $90.54 billion
2016 - Fortive Corp
Ticker: FTV (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $25.06 billion
2017 - Dxc Technology Company
Ticker: DXC (NYSE)
Market capitalization: $27.37 billion
