Mega Cap: Companies With Market Caps Above $200 Billion

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James Chen
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James Chen, CMT is an expert trader, investment adviser, and global market strategist.

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Updated April 27, 2022
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Charlene Rhinehart
Charlene Rhinehart
Reviewed by Charlene Rhinehart
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Charlene Rhinehart is a CPA , CFE, chair of an Illinois CPA Society committee, and has a degree in accounting and finance from DePaul University.

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Yarilet Perez
Yarilet Perez
Fact checked by Yarilet Perez
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Yarilet Perez is an experienced multimedia journalist and fact-checker with a Master of Science in Journalism. She has worked in multiple cities covering breaking news, politics, education, and more. Her expertise is in personal finance and investing, and real estate.

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What Is a Mega Cap?

Mega cap is a designation for the largest companies in the investment universe as measured by market capitalization. While the exact thresholds change with market conditions, mega cap generally refers to companies with a market capitalization above $200 billion. Many of the companies boast strong brand recognition and operate in major markets around the world, such as Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), and Meta (META), formerly Facebook. 

Key Takeaways

  • Mega cap companies are those with market values well above the rest of the market, with valuations over $200 billion.
  • Due to the market value weighting of indices, mega-cap stocks have been in a unique position to sometimes lift or drop an entire index based on their stock performance.
  • Mega cap stocks in the past have predominantly been in the energy or transportation sectors such as those in oil or railroads. Today, many of the largest companies in the world are tech companies such as Tencent and Amazon.
  • Mega-cap stocks do have limitations, like any stock.
  • Mega-cap stocks are no longer confined to Japan, Europe, and the United States, but you can find their steady growth in emerging markets.

Understanding Mega Caps

Mega-cap stocks often wield significant influence in different industries due to the size and volume of goods and services sold during a given time period. Apple, for instance, holds a market cap north of $2 trillion as of December 2021 owing to continued strength in iPhone sales, whereas Amazon reached new highs on the success of retail operations and web services.

Today, there exist about a dozen companies traded in the United States that hold capitalizations over $300 billion, most of them now operating in the technology sector. In the past, blue-chip companies such as ExxonMobil (XOM) and General Electric (GE) held most of these seats as investors trusted them to deliver consistent dividend payments and steady returns.

In the 21st century, the surge in innovative and disruptive technology lifted the entire sector and many of its constituents to new heights.

Meanwhile, mega-cap stocks are no longer confined to the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Steady growth in emerging markets in the past decade has resulted in a greater representation of stocks from other nations. China, in particular, is now home to two of the largest global companies, Tencent and Alibaba (BABA). 

On a sector basis, the commodity boom of the early 2000s led to many energy and resource companies achieving mega-cap status. On the other hand, the dramatic decline of U.S. and European banks following the 2008 credit crisis dragged some of the biggest banks below mega-cap status. Many of the largest companies in the US now have ties to cutting-edge technology but also boast significant returns.

Limitations of Mega Cap Stocks

The stock market, as measured by the S&P 500, is being led higher by a handful of mega-cap tech stocks. This concentrated leadership has investors worried about the potential for another tech bubble. If these select stocks were to experience a sustained downturn, it could have a significant impact on the broader market. This trend reflects investor's tendency to pile into one corner of the market, rather than following basic investing strategies of rebalancing and sector rotation.

Article Sources
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  1. CompaniesMarketCap. "Largest Companies by Market Cap." Accessed Dec. 5, 2021.

  2. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing. "Tencent Holdings." Accessed Dec. 5, 2021.

  3. Federal Reserve Board. "The Systemic Risk of European Banks During the Financial and Sovereign Debt Crises." Accessed Dec. 5, 2021.

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