Stock Valuation Exercise: the Five Largest Companies

The five are the largest listed companies by market value in October 2026 according to public rankings. Multiples are computed from filings; "vs median" compares the company with the median of its chosen competitors. Competitor lists are our choice and shown on each page.

1. Take the price (the nominal share value) and the number of shares. Multiply: that is the market capitalisation.
2. Split it. Add debt, subtract cash and short-term investments, add minority interests. The result is enterprise value, the price of the whole business.
3. Read the fundamentals. Revenue, operating income, EBITDA, net income and free cash flow over the last twelve months.
4. Make multiples. Divide price or EV by those results: P/E, EV/sales, EV/EBITDA, EV/operating income, P/FCF.
5. Compare. Do the same for the largest competitors and set the company beside their average and median.

• A multiple above or below competitors says nothing alone. Growth, margins and risk differ.
• Reported profits include one-time gains. Alphabet and Amazon profits are inflated by gains on stakes in other companies, so their P/E looks low for a reason that will not repeat.
• No competitor group is a perfect match. We show the mean and the median because one extreme competitor can distort the mean.
• This uses past results. Prices move every day.