Most successful company founded the year you were born

Written by:
February 15, 2018
Stuart Monk // Shutterstock

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

Trending Now