Context note - Human Activity "Spaces" - Size of Sectors

 

Human Activity "Spaces"

Sector/SpaceGlobal Revenue (T)Notes
Retail & Wholesale~$30Final distribution, aggregation
Financial Services~$26.5Capital flows, fee income
Manufacturing~$13–16Transformation of resources
Construction~$13–14Built environment
Information Tech~$11.7Digital infrastructure
Healthcare~$10Health, pharma, care
Energy~$7–10Powering all activity
Transportation/Logistics~$6–8Physical movement, supply chains
Infrastructure~$4.5–9Backbone; overlaps with construction/energy
Education~$5–7Human capital formation
Agriculture~$3.6Base of food chain
Media/Telecom~$2–4Communication, culture, info
Real Estate Services~$1–2Leasing, transactions, property management
Tourism/Hospitality~$2–4Movement, experience, leisure





**

Largest Firms & Leading Regions by Sector (2024)

1. Retail & Wholesale (~$30T)

  • Top Firms:
    • Walmart (US) – largest global retailer
    • Amazon (US) – global e-commerce leader
    • Schwarz Group (Germany – Lidl/Kaufland)
    • Costco (US), Aldi (Germany), JD.com (China), Carrefour (France), Tesco (UK)
  • Leading Regions:
    • US, China, EU (esp. Germany, UK, France), Japan

2. Financial Services (~$26.5T)

  • Top Firms:
    • JPMorgan Chase (US), Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)
    • Bank of America, Wells Fargo (US)
    • HSBC (UK), BNP Paribas (France), Mitsubishi UFJ (Japan)
    • BlackRock, Vanguard (US – asset management)
    • Berkshire Hathaway (US – conglomerate/insurance)
  • Leading Regions:
    • US (Wall Street), China (Beijing, Shanghai), UK (London), EU, Japan, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong


Within the ~$26.5 T financial services sector:

  • Net interest income – ~60–70%

  • Non-interest income – ~30–40%, of which:

    • Fees – perhaps ~15–20% of total sector revenue

    • Trading/investment gains – ~10–15%

    • Other (e.g., insurance underwriting profit) – remainder




3. Manufacturing ($13–16T)

  • Top Firms:
    • Volkswagen (Germany – autos), Toyota (Japan – autos), Apple (US – electronics)
    • Samsung Electronics (South Korea), Siemens (Germany), Foxconn (Taiwan)
    • General Electric (US), Bosch (Germany), Mitsubishi (Japan)
  • Leading Regions:
    • China (“world’s factory”), US, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Mexico

4. Construction ($13–14T)

  • Top Firms:
    • China State Construction Engineering (CSCEC, China) – world’s largest
    • Vinci (France), ACS (Spain), Hochtief (Germany), Bechtel (US), Bouygues (France)
    • Larsen & Toubro (India)
  • Leading Regions:
    • China (enormous urbanization), US, EU (France, Germany, Spain, UK), Middle East (Gulf), India

5. Information Technology ($11.7T)

  • Top Firms:
    • Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Meta (all US)
    • Samsung (South Korea), Huawei (China), SAP (Germany), Tata Consultancy (India)
  • Leading Regions:
    • US (Silicon Valley, Seattle, Austin, NYC), China (Shenzhen, Beijing, Hangzhou), India (Bangalore, Hyderabad), Europe (Germany, France, UK)

6. Healthcare ($10T)

  • Top Firms:
    • UnitedHealth Group (US – insurance/provider)
    • CVS Health (US – retail/health)
    • McKesson (US – distribution)
    • Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Roche, Novartis, Merck, Sanofi, AstraZeneca (global pharma)
  • Leading Regions:
    • US, EU (Germany, France, Switzerland, UK), Japan, China, India (hospitals, generics)

7. Energy ($7–10T)

  • Top Firms:
    • Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia), ExxonMobil, Chevron (US), Shell (UK/Netherlands), BP (UK), TotalEnergies (France)
    • State Grid (China – electricity)
    • Gazprom (Russia), Rosneft (Russia), PetroChina (China)
    • Renewables: NextEra Energy (US), Enel (Italy), Iberdrola (Spain)
  • Leading Regions:
    • Middle East (oil/gas), US, Russia, China, EU, Canada, Brazil

8. Transportation & Logistics ($6–8T)

  • Top Firms:
    • United Parcel Service (UPS, US), FedEx (US), Deutsche Post DHL (Germany)
    • A.P. Moller–Maersk (Denmark – shipping), China COSCO Shipping
    • Delta Air Lines, Lufthansa, Emirates (airlines)
  • Leading Regions:
    • US, EU, China, Japan, Singapore (port), Dubai (port/air hub)

9. Infrastructure ($4.5–9T)

  • Top Firms:
    • Ferrovial (Spain – tolls/airports), Transurban (Australia – tolls)
    • China Communications Construction, Vinci, ACS (also large in construction)
    • Many public sector operators (Transport for London, US State DOTs, Indian Railways)
  • Leading Regions:
    • China, US, EU, India, Middle East

10. Education ($5–7T)

  • Top Firms:
    • Mostly public, but large private: New Oriental Education (China), TAL Education (China), Pearson (UK, EdTech), Byju’s (India, EdTech)
  • Leading Regions:
    • US, EU, China, India, Japan

11. Agriculture ($3.6T)

  • Top Firms:
    • Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Bunge (US, global commodities)
    • COFCO (China), Syngenta (China), Olam (Singapore), Nutrien (Canada)
  • Leading Regions:
    • US, Brazil, China, India, EU (France, Germany, Netherlands), Russia, Argentina

12. Media & Telecom ($2–4T)

  • Top Firms:
    • Comcast (US), AT&T (US), Verizon (US), China Mobile, Vodafone (UK), Netflix, Disney, Tencent (China)
  • Leading Regions:
    • US, China, EU, India

13. Real Estate Services ($1–2T)

  • Top Firms:
    • CBRE, JLL (US), Brookfield (Canada), Dalian Wanda (China), Simon Property Group (US)
  • Leading Regions:
    • US, China, Germany, UK, Japan, Canada, Australia

14. Tourism & Hospitality ($2–4T)

  • Top Firms:
    • Marriott International (US), Hilton Worldwide (US), Airbnb (US), TUI Group (Germany), Accor (France)
  • Leading Regions:
    • US, France, Spain, China, Italy, Thailand, Turkey, UK

How to Read This Table

  • Top firms are those with the largest revenues/market presence in each sector (not always the most profitable!).
  • Leading regions are often both producers (exporters) and markets (large domestic consumption).

 




***

With revenue

1. Retail & Wholesale (~$30T)

  • Top Firms:

    • Walmart (US) – [$648B]

    • Amazon (US) – [$575B]

    • Schwarz Group (Germany – Lidl/Kaufland) – [~$170B]

    • Costco (US) – [$248B]

    • Aldi (Germany) – [~$134B]

    • JD.com (China) – [$156B]

    • Carrefour (France) – [$88B]

    • Tesco (UK) – [$83B]

2. Financial Services (~$26.5T)

  • Top Firms:

    • JPMorgan Chase (US) – [$162B]

    • Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) – [$166B]

    • Bank of America (US) – [$100B]

    • Wells Fargo (US) – [$80B]

    • HSBC (UK) – [$66B]

    • BNP Paribas (France) – [$60B]

    • Mitsubishi UFJ (Japan) – [$55B]

    • BlackRock (US – asset management) – [$18B]

    • Vanguard (US – asset management) – [~$8B]

    • Berkshire Hathaway (US – conglomerate/insurance) – [$364B]

3. Manufacturing ($13–16T)

  • Top Firms:

    • Volkswagen (Germany) – [$335B]

    • Toyota (Japan) – [$295B]

    • Apple (US) – [$383B]

    • Samsung Electronics (South Korea) – [$234B]

    • Siemens (Germany) – [$84B]

    • Foxconn (Taiwan) – [$206B]

    • General Electric (US) – [$68B]

    • Bosch (Germany) – [$96B]

    • Mitsubishi (Japan) – [$164B]

4. Construction ($13–14T)

  • Top Firms:

    • China State Construction Engineering (CSCEC, China) – [$302B]

    • Vinci (France) – [$73B]

    • ACS (Spain) – [$38B]

    • Hochtief (Germany) – [$30B]

    • Bechtel (US) – [~$20B]

    • Bouygues (France) – [$48B]

    • Larsen & Toubro (India) – [$25B]

5. Information Technology ($11.7T)

  • Top Firms:

    • Apple (US) – [$383B]

    • Microsoft (US) – [$227B]

    • Alphabet (Google) (US) – [$307B]

    • Amazon (AWS segment ~$90B of total $575B)

    • Meta (US) – [$135B]

    • Samsung (South Korea) – [$234B]

    • Huawei (China) – [$100B]

    • SAP (Germany) – [$33B]

    • Tata Consultancy (India) – [$29B]

6. Healthcare ($10T)

  • Top Firms:

    • UnitedHealth Group (US) – [$372B]

    • CVS Health (US) – [$357B]

    • McKesson (US) – [$276B]

    • Pfizer (US) – [$58B]

    • Johnson & Johnson (US) – [$86B]

    • Roche (Switzerland) – [$69B]

    • Novartis (Switzerland) – [$52B]

    • Merck & Co. (US) – [$60B]

    • Sanofi (France) – [$47B]

    • AstraZeneca (UK) – [$45B]

7. Energy ($7–10T)

  • Top Firms:

    • Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia) – [$604B]

    • ExxonMobil (US) – [$344B]

    • Chevron (US) – [$246B]

    • Shell (UK/Netherlands) – [$381B]

    • BP (UK) – [$241B]

    • TotalEnergies (France) – [$237B]

    • State Grid (China – electricity) – [$460B]

    • Gazprom (Russia) – [$110B]

    • Rosneft (Russia) – [$125B]

    • PetroChina (China) – [$370B]

    • Renewables: NextEra Energy (US) – [$27B], Enel (Italy) – [$103B], Iberdrola (Spain) – [$57B]

8. Transportation & Logistics ($6–8T)

  • Top Firms:

    • United Parcel Service (UPS, US) – [$91B]

    • FedEx (US) – [$88B]

    • Deutsche Post DHL (Germany) – [$102B]

    • A.P. Moller–Maersk (Denmark – shipping) – [$52B]

    • China COSCO Shipping – [~$55B]

    • Delta Air Lines (US) – [$58B]

    • Lufthansa (Germany) – [$37B]

    • Emirates (UAE) – [$33B]

9. Infrastructure ($4.5–9T)

  • Top Firms:

    • Ferrovial (Spain – tolls/airports) – [$8B]

    • Transurban (Australia – tolls) – [$2.5B]

    • China Communications Construction (China) – [$105B]

    • Vinci (France) – [$73B]

    • ACS (Spain) – [$38B]

10. Education ($5–7T)

  • Top Firms:

    • New Oriental Education (China) – [$3B]

    • TAL Education (China) – [$1.5B]

    • Pearson (UK) – [$4B]

    • Byju’s (India) – [~$1.5B]

11. Agriculture ($3.6T)

  • Top Firms:

    • Cargill (US, private) – [~$177B]

    • Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) (US) – [$102B]

    • Bunge (US) – [$67B]

    • COFCO (China) – [~$93B]

    • Syngenta (China) – [~$33B]

    • Olam (Singapore) – [$35B]

    • Nutrien (Canada) – [$28B]

12. Media & Telecom ($2–4T)

  • Top Firms:

    • Comcast (US) – [$121B]

    • AT&T (US) – [$121B]

    • Verizon (US) – [$134B]

    • China Mobile – [$127B]

    • Vodafone (UK) – [$48B]

    • Netflix (US) – [$34B]

    • Disney (US) – [$89B]

    • Tencent (China) – [$88B]

13. Real Estate Services ($1–2T)

  • Top Firms:

    • CBRE (US) – [$31B]

    • JLL (US) – [$21B]

    • Brookfield (Canada) – [$93B]

    • Dalian Wanda (China) – [~$22B]

    • Simon Property Group (US) – [$5B]

14. Tourism & Hospitality ($2–4T)

  • Top Firms:

    • Marriott International (US) – [$24B]

    • Hilton Worldwide (US) – [$10B]

    • Airbnb (US) – [$9B]

    • TUI Group (Germany) – [$20B]

    • Accor (France) – [$5B]



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