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What are the biggest companies in the UK by market cap?

This list ranks the UK’s biggest public companies by market capitalisation — the cumulative value of a company's total outstanding market shares. We’ll also be highlighting other key figures, such as the company's revenue, gross profit, and 1-year return (all based on the previous fiscal year). 

Some other key facts such as the exchange the company is listed on, the founding year and country the company is headquartered in are also covered.

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1. AstraZeneca PLC

• Market cap: £182.77 billion
• Revenue: £43.67 billion
• Gross profit: £31.67 billion
• 1-yr return: - 10.57%
• Exchange: London Stock Exchange
• Year founded: 1913
• Country: United Kingdom

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialisation of prescription medicines.
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• Pharmaceuticals: A leading developer of treatments in major disease areas.
• Global reach: Its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide.

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2. HSBC Holdings PLC

• Market cap: £164.23 billion
• Revenue: £110.12 billion
• Gross profit: N/A 
• 1-yr return: + 42.14%
• Exchange: London Stock Exchange
• Year founded: 1959
• Country: United Kingdom
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HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations, serving customers worldwide from offices in 62 countries and territories.
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• Wealth and personal banking: Provides a range of services from current accounts and mortgages to wealth management and insurance for individuals.
• Commercial banking: Offers banking services to small, medium-sized, and large corporations.
• Global banking and markets: Provides financial services and products to corporate, government, and institutional clients.

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3. Shell PLC

• Market cap: £158.58 billion
• Revenue: £212.38 billion
• Gross profit: £36.13 billion
• 1-yr return: - 0.33%
• Exchange: London Stock Exchange
• Year founded: 2002
• Country: United Kingdom

Shell is a global group of energy and petrochemical companies with a focus on the entire energy value chain.
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• Integrated gas and upstream: Explores for and extracts crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. It also markets and transports oil and gas.
• Downstream and renewables: Turns crude oil into a range of refined products, which are moved and marketed around the world for domestic, industrial, and transport use. It is also investing heavily in low-carbon energy solutions like biofuels, hydrogen, and wind power.

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4. Unilever PLC

• Market cap: £114.06 billion
• Revenue: £50.24 billion
• Gross profit: N/A
• 1-yr return: - 5.63%
• Exchange: London Stock Exchange
• Year founded: 1930
• Country: United Kingdom

Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, and Nutrition products with sales in over 190 countries.
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• Global brands: Owns over 400 brands, including Dove, Ben & Jerry's, Knorr, Lipton, Magnum, and Persil.
• Consumer reach: Its products are used by 3.4 billion people every day.

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5. British American Tobacco PLC

• Market cap: £91.37 billion
• Revenue: £25.6 billion
• Gross profit: £16.58 billion
• 1-yr return: + 46.86%
• Exchange: London Stock Exchange
• Year founded: 1902
• Country: United Kingdom

British American Tobacco (BAT) is a leading, multi-category consumer goods business that provides tobacco and nicotine products to millions of consumers around the world.
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• Traditional tobacco: A leading global seller of cigarettes with brands like Dunhill, Kent, and Lucky Strike.
• New categories: Investing heavily in a portfolio of non-combustible products, including vapour (Vuse), heated tobacco (glo), and modern oral nicotine pouches (Velo).

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6. Rolls Royce Holdings 

• Market cap: £90.23 billion
• Revenue: £19.54 billion
• Gross profit: £4.77 billion
• 1-yr return: + 119.47%
• Exchange: London Stock Exchange
• Year founded: 1906
• Country: United Kingdom

A world-leading industrial technology company that provides complex power and propulsion solutions for critical applications.
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• Civil aerospace: Designs and manufactures engines for large commercial aircraft like the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787.
• Defence: A key supplier of engines for military aircraft and naval vessels worldwide.

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7. Rio Tinto PLC

• Market cap: £78.93 billion
• Revenue: £41.53 billion
• Gross profit: £10.08 billion
• 1-yr return: - 4.47%
• Exchange: London Stock Exchange
• Year founded: 1873
• Country: United Kingdom

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining group that focuses on finding, mining, and processing mineral resources.
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• Key materials: A major producer of iron ore for steel, aluminium for cars and smartphones, copper for wind turbines, and other essential minerals.
• Global operations: Owns and operates open pit and underground mines, mills, refineries, and smelters, as well as a network of railways and ports.

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8. BP PLC

• Market cap: £66.81 billion
• Revenue: £144.2 billion
• Gross profit: £22.79 billion
• 1-yr return: - 1.11%
• Exchange: London Stock Exchange
• Year founded: 1908
• Country: United Kingdom

BP is a global integrated energy company that delivers solutions for heat, light, and mobility.
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• Oil and gas: Focuses on exploration, production, and refining of oil and natural gas.
• Convenience & mobility: Operates a large network of retail service stations.
• Low carbon energy: Investing in renewable energy sources, including bioenergy, hydrogen, and wind and solar power, as part of its transition to a net-zero company.

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9. RELX PLC

• Market cap: £62.96 billion
• Revenue: £9.53 billion
• Gross profit: £5.99 billion
• 1-yr return: - 4.01%
• Exchange: London Stock Exchange
• Year founded: 1903‍
• Country: United Kingdom
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A global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.
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• Risk: Provides data and tools for evaluating risk for industries like insurance and banking.
• Scientific, technical & medical: A major academic publisher through its Elsevier division.

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10. GSK PLC

• Market cap: £58.51 billion
• Revenue: £31.63 billion
• Gross profit: £22.68 billion
• 1-yr return: + 13.88%
• Exchange: London Stock Exchange
• Year founded: 1715‍
• Country: United Kingdom

GSK (formerly GlaxoSmithKline) is a global biopharma company with a focus on uniting science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease together.
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• Vaccines: A world-leading vaccine business, providing protection against a range of infectious diseases.
• Specialty medicines: Develops and manufactures innovative medicines for areas such as HIV, respiratory diseases, and immunology.

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What are the biggest companies by total annual revenue?
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• Shell: £214.24 billion
• Glencore: £180.76 billion
• BP: £148.05 billion
• HSBC: £116.6 billion
• Tesco: £69.92 billion

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What are the biggest companies by workforce?
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• Tesco: 336,430
• HSBC: 211,000
• Glencore: 150,000
• Unilever: 120,040

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Summary

Understanding a company's performance is crucial; it's how you truly know what you own. These metrics directly drive the value of your stocks and funds. When you understand these key drivers, you can navigate market changes with confidence, rather than just reacting to headlines.
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Next we’ll be looking at the biggest companies in Europe by market cap.
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All market data sourced from TradingView and company reports as of 01.09.2025.
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When investing, your capital is at risk. The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than your original investment. Chip does not offer financial advice and this should not be considered as a personal recommendation.