The stock market has been on fire this year! Yesterday, the US stock market closed at an all-time high, kicking off the July 4th celebrations in style. As I wrapped up my day, feeling pretty good, I thought about our old friends across the pond and how far we’ve come over the past 248 years.

Then I looked at some numbers, comparing the five largest American stocks to the five largest British stocks - and the results were remarkable.

Quick Summary

The combined value of the 5 largest US Stocks = $14.3 Trillion

Here’s what that looks like: $14,300,000,000,000.

The combined value of the 5 largest UK Stocks = $692 Billion

Here’s what that looks like: $692,000,000,000.

The Difference = $13.6 Trillion!

United States

1) Microsoft - The top dog worth $3.4 Trillion! Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, Xbox, Cloud, and they are now leading the charge in Artificial Intelligence.

2) Apple - Worth $3.39 Trillion! Dominating the tech world, Apple's products and ecosystem set the bar for quality and design.

3) NVIDIA - The newest member of the $3 Trillion Dollar Club. NVIDIA is a technology company renowned for its graphics processing units (GPUs) used in gaming, professional visualization, data centers, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

4) Alphabet - The artist formerly known as Google, a powerhouse in digital advertising and AI technology worth $2.3 Trillion.

5) Amazon - With its vast e-commerce empire, Whole Foods Supermarkets, Prime membership, and expanding AWS cloud services, Amazon is a juggernaut worth $2.05 Trillion.

United Kingdom

1) AstraZeneca - A pharmaceutical company you may remember from their Covid vaccination. AstraZeneca is pivotal in healthcare advancements and is worth $187.4 Billion.

2) Shell - Yes that Shell where you get your gas. They’re a global energy company specializing in oil, natural gas, and renewable energy solutions worth $180.7 Billion.

3) HSBC Holdings - As one of the world's largest banks, HSBC plays a crucial role in global finance and is worth $128.2 Billion.

4) Unilever - A British multinational consumer goods company known for brands like Dove, Vaseline, Axe, Ben & Jerry’s, and Hellmann's worth $107.5 Billion.

5) Rio Tinto - One of the world's largest mining companies, producing essential materials such as iron ore, aluminum, copper, and diamonds. Headquartered in the UK, it operates globally and is worth $88 Billion.

The differences between the five largest companies from each country are noteworthy, and something Americans should be incredibly proud of. The United States has five of the largest, most innovative technology companies in the world, each worth over two trillion dollars.

If our founding fathers were here today, they would likely feel proud of the remarkable progress the US has achieved.

Onward and upward, have a great 4th of July!

Brian Bond, CMT