Forbes Global 2000: Shell Becomes Europe’s Top Public Company As Oil Price Boom Drives Profits

Royal Dutch Shell has reclaimed its position as Europe's top-ranked public company on the Forbes Global 2000 ranking, pushing German car giant Volkswagen AG back down into second place.

The London-based Anglo-Dutch giant, with its distinctive yellow and red branding seen across Europe's gasoline forecourts, is valued at $211 billion this year, a rise of nearly 40% over the year.

In May, Shell reported its highest ever quarterly profits for the first three months of 2022. After falling to a low of 324 on the list of 2000 listed companies last year, Shell is back in the 16th spot.

Volkswagen AG, the famous German car giant that manufactures some of the best-known names in world automotive, has lost over $60 billion in value over the last year. Carmakers like Volkswagen have cut production due to a severe global shortage of chips and the diesel emissions scandal which has sent the share price down by around 30% since last year's list was published.

Total SA is next on the list. Total has risen alongside Shell for many of the same reasons, and last year's 344th-ranked company on the Forbes Global 2000 has shot up into the top 30 this year. British bank HSBC and German insurance giant Allianz complete the top five.

Forbes has measured the world's largest public companies in terms of four equally weighted metrics: assets, market value, sales and profits. The market value calculation is based on closing prices from April 22nd to April 29th. The figures are in U.S. dollars.

Germany, France and the U.K. have the most companies on the list, with 54, 52 and 57 companies, respectively.

The power of petrol in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine is one of the most remarkable changes this year.

Russia's oil and gas giants have weathered the storm better than Russia's billionaires, who have lost a significant percentage of their wealth since the invasion of Ukraine.

Russian giant Gazprom is back in the top 50 after climbing up the list over 300 places. The top 100 list has both Rosneft and LukOil in it.

Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) is third on the Forbes Global 2000 list with a value of $2 trillion, making it the third largest oil company in the world.