Christopher Helman

2 weeks ago | forbes.com | Hank Tucker |Andrea Murphy |Christopher Helman |Rashi Shrivastava

Despite media reports with alarming reports of a country divided politically and socio-economically, The United States remains the land of opportunity. Globalization has lifted up the rest of the world for decades, but American dominance on Forbes’ annual Global 2000 list remains unchallenged. There are 612 U.S.-based companies on the list ranking the world’s 2,000 largest public companies, far more than the closest rival in China, which has 317 firms represented.

2 weeks ago | forbes.com | Hank Tucker |Andrea Murphy |Christopher Helman |Rashi Shrivastava

The growth of South Korea's $1.7 trillion GDP has stalled in recent years, forecast by the Bank of Korea to see anemic 0.8% GDP growth this year, following a 0.2% contraction in the first quarter. The KOSPI stock index is up 6% in the past year and merely 34% in 5 years. The nation’s new president, the progressive Lee Jae-Myung, has pledged a $30 billion tech stimulus package.

2 weeks ago | forbes.com | Hank Tucker |Andrea Murphy |Christopher Helman |Rashi Shrivastava

The United Kingdom doesn’t have Europe’s largest GDP, a title that belongs to Germany by a wide margin, but London is still the continent’s financial center and the home of its largest stock exchange. That helps give the U.K. the most representation of any European country on the Global 2000, Forbes’ annual ranking of the world’s largest public companies, with 68 firms based in the United Kingdom on the list.

2 weeks ago | forbes.com | Christopher Helman |Chris Helman

An iconic "nodding donkey" pumps in the Permian Basin. Getty ImagesIt’s a tough time to be in the oil business. Prices are down 15% in the past year to $67/bbl as OPEC decided to abandon supply cuts and allow member countries to boost output. Forget drill, baby, drill; at current prices America’s drillers have been mothballing rigs at a rapid clip to preserve capital. Among the 93 oil and gas companies in the Forbes Global 2000, more than half dropped in the rankings this year.

2 weeks ago | forbes.com | Christopher Helman |Chris Helman

What began as a $1.1 billion acquisition by Hyundai of Boston Dynamics has grown into a national robotics ambition. In 2021 Hyundai Motor Company paid $1.1 billion to acquire 80% of robotics pioneer Boston Dynamics, famous for videos of its dog-shaped bot named Spot and its running and jumping humanoid Atlas. The deal initially seemed more of a headline grab for Hyundai rather than part of a fully baked strategy. That’s no longer the case. Four years later, Hyundai ($130 billion 2024 sales, no.