Top 10 Companies By Market Cap Then (2001) and Now Has Only Microsoft In Common; Here's Elon Musk's Take On It

The list of the world's most valued companies has remained dynamic over the years. Manufacturing companies, which once dominated the list, are now hardly found, giving way to a near clean sweep by software and services companies. Benzinga looked at these changing dynamics by comparing the list of most valued companies in 2001 and two decades later in 2021.

Conglomerate GE Led The Pack In 2001: Conglomerate General Electric Company GE was the most valued company in 2001, and quite rightly so, as it was once considered the bellwether of the U.S. economy, given the diverse businesses under its fold. The company's reactive approach to emerging opportunities is considered the primary reason among the many factors for its downfall. The company is now no longer part of the prestigious Dow Jones Industrial Average.

A few technology names, pharma major Pfizer, Inc. PFE, retail giant Walmart Inc. WMT were among the other companies that made the top 10 list in 2001.

Related Link: Why Apple Will Hit A $3 Trillion Market Cap By The End Of 2021

A Different Era and Radically Different Companies Dominate In 2021: Tech companies made up a majority of the top 10 companies in 2021. Except for Saudi Aramco and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A), all the other companies belonged to the tech sector.

Musk Finds It Interesting: Tesla, Inc. TSLA founder and CEO Elon Musk views the changing dynamics as "interesting." His reaction came in a reply to a tweet that highlighted the change over the two-decade period.

One of the interesting replies to the original tweet was that if space travel is commercialized, Musk's SpaceX will have a decade+ lead over other companies and Tesla will no longer figure in the list.

Related Link: 2 Tech Stocks To Play Right Now (And 1 To Avoid)

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