London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jun 10, 2026

Tech's top seven companies added $3.4 trillion in value in 2020

Tech's top seven companies added $3.4 trillion in value in 2020

Big Tech got much bigger in 2020, and Tesla joined the pack of mega-cap tech stocks after climbing ninefold.

Tech’s biggest companies just wrapped up a huge year.

The seven most valuable U.S. technology companies — Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook, Tesla and Nvidia — picked up a combined $3.4 trillion in market cap in 2020, powering through a global pandemic and broader economic crisis.

Between continued optimism over iPhone sales, Microsoft’s growing Teams collaboration product, Amazon’s ongoing control of e-commerce and the strength of Google and Facebook’s online ad duopoly, Big Tech was neither slowed by 1Covid1-19 nor the rising number of investigations into its dominance.

Tesla’s wild rally served as the biggest surprise.

The stock climbed almost ninefold this year, lifting the electric car maker’s market cap from $76 billion at the beginning of the year to $669 billion at Thursday’s close. Despite initial factory closures due to the pandemic, Tesla bounced back to deliver a record number of vehicles in the third quarter.


Tesla led tech stocks in 2020


This month, Tesla became the largest-ever addition to the S&P 500, joining the index with the fifth-heftiest weighting after turning in five straight profitable quarters.

Meanwhile, chipmaker Nvidia more than doubled in value in 2020, closing with a market cap of $323 billion, making it the seventh most valuable tech company and number 16 overall in the U.S. Nvidia’s graphics processors for gaming devices have been flying off the shelves so quickly that the company has struggled to keep up with demand.

Nvidia’s chips are also gaining traction in the data center, where enhanced workloads require faster speeds. In September, Nvidia agreed to buy mobile chipmaker Arm Holdings from SoftBank for $40 billion, the second-largest deal announced by a U.S. tech company this year. However, Chinese regulators could still block it.

By far the biggest increase in market cap went to Apple, which jumped by almost $1 trillion in value, thanks to its stock climbing 81%. Amazon, which benefited from growth in its consumer and cloud-computing business, rose by $710 billion. Microsoft picked up $480 billion, while Alphabet gained $268 billion and Facebook $193 billion.

The gains are clearly reflected in the ranks of the richest people. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is the wealthiest person in the world, followed by Tesla’s Elon Musk and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is fifth. Also in the top 10 are Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and Microsoft ex-CEO Steve Ballmer.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
United Kingdom Sees Recovery in Horizon Europe Research Funding Share to 9.3 Percent
UK Inflation Holds at 2.8 Percent as Office for Budget Responsibility Flags Persistent Price Pressures
United Kingdom Launches National Anti-Fraud Framework to Combat Rising Pension Scam Losses
United Kingdom Expands Sanctions on Israeli Groups While Funding Palestinian Authority Salaries and Gaza Mine Clearance
United Kingdom Issues Three-Month Ultimatum to Major Technology Firms Over Child Online Safety Controls
United Kingdom Government Moves Toward Blanket Social Media Ban for Children Under Sixteen
Widespread Anti-Immigration Rioting Erupts Across Belfast After Knife Attack Linked to Asylum Seeker
Farmers Warn of Crop Losses Following Months of Unseasonal Rainfall
Civil Aviation Authority Launches Review of Regional Airport Operations
Met Office Issues Heat-Health Alert Across Parts of England
National Grid Introduces New Measures to Protect Winter Energy Supply
Northern England Rail Upgrades Receive Additional Government Funding
Wales Advances Green Hydrogen Strategy to Decarbonize Heavy Industry
UK Expands Recruitment Incentives to Address Shortage of STEM Teachers
High Court Opens Door to Climate Liability Claims Against Major Industrial Emitters
Police Service of Northern Ireland Investigates Major Personnel Data Breach
Defense Ministry Overhauls Procurement System to Accelerate AUKUS Submarine Program
Net Migration Remains Above Government Expectations, New Data Shows
UK and Scottish Governments Agree Framework for Expanded North Sea Wind Development
UK Treasury Launches New Tax Incentives to Boost AI and Semiconductor Investment
Bank of England Signals Continued Caution on Interest Rate Cuts
UK Unveils £10 Billion NHS Digital Modernization Plan Centered on AI Integration
Nebius Opens Major Robotics and Physical AI Laboratory in London
Bank of England Data Shows Strong Rise in New Mortgage Approvals
Network Rail Completes Landmark Upgrade of Severn Tunnel Rail Infrastructure
East West Rail Passenger Services Between Oxford and Milton Keynes Set for December Launch
GlaxoSmithKline Reportedly Pursues £7 Billion Acquisition of US Cancer Drug Developer Nuvalent
Bank of England Signals Interest Rates Likely to Remain Unchanged Despite Energy Market Risks
NHS Trusts Launch Job-Cutting Programmes as Financial Pressures Intensify Across England
More Than 130 Labour MPs Urge Ban on Trade With Israeli Settlements
Keir Starmer Orders Technology Firms to Introduce Smartphone Nudity Controls for Under-18s
UK Unveils £400 Million National AI Supercomputer Fund and New Economics Institute
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
Global Critical Mineral Alliances Expand as Western Nations Move to Counter Chinese Supply Dominance
×