Largest Private Companies You Wish You Could Buy Their Stock

We all know how IPOs (Initial public offerings) can turn a big company into a worldwide conglomerate. IPOs allow companies to recruit money from the public and to expand their operations in the local market and the global market. But what about the largest private companies that didn’t have to take this step?

Not all companies need to recruit funds through IPOs; some companies have grown so well without public offerings and continued to expand and grow globally, creating value for a lot of people and generating generational wealth for their families. Some of these companies are well-known names in every household in the world, and some won’t ring a bell for the average person. 

Today, we’re going to look at largest private companies that are so big that you might not even imagine private hands are still holding them and you wish you could buy their stocks.

Largest Private Companies:

IKEA

The iconic Swedish furniture company is a name everyone in the world knows. With 462 stores worldwide, it’s hard to believe it’s a private company. IKEA, which was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943, is evaluated by over 23 billion U.S. dollars, according to Statista.

In the year 2023, the Swedish furniture company opened a staggering 71 new locations across the world. With the expansion in recent years to new countries like India, Mexico, the Philippines, and Colombia, there is still much more growth to expect from the Swedish furniture company.

Huawei

The Chinese conglomerate entered the mobile market by storm in 2010 and already holds 4% of the world’s mobile market. Huawei’s market share reached up to 20 per cent in previous years. 

Yet investing in research and development in the face of U.S. restrictions is taking its toll. Huawei’s operating profit margin shrunk from over 10% in 2018 to less than 7% in 2022, when annual net profit fell to just $5.1 billion U.S. dollars. On the exact 25 times trailing earnings multiple as iPhone maker Apple, Huawei would be worth $128 billion U.S. dollars.

Although the company founder has always stated that he would never make an IPO, it all depends on the Chinese government’s interest will be at stake.

Vitol

Vitol is a multinational energy and commodity trading company. It was founded in Rotterdam in 1966 by Henk Viëtor and Jacques Detige and is now based in Switzerland.

Vitol is currently the largest private company in the world, with a net profit of almost $15 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. This impressive figure is due to the energy crisis and has allowed Vitol to outperform its competitors. In 2022, Vitol achieved revenues of $506 billion U.S. dollars, up from $279 billion U.S. dollars in 2021.

Bosch

When you need to buy a new refrigerator, cooktop or washing machine, Bosch is always an option. But did you know it’s a private company?

The German conglomerate that was founded in 1886 employs more than 400,000 employees, and its business scope varies from automotive parts like breaking systems and batteries to hand blenders. According to the company’s website, the Bosch Group generated sales of 91.6 billion euros and grew by 8% after adjusting for exchange rate effects in 2023.

Fidelity Investments

Fidelity Investments, which was formerly known as Fidelity Management & Research or FMR, is a multinational financial services company based in the United States. Currently, Fidelity is one of the biggest asset management firms in the world, and what’s even more impressive is that it is a privately owned company.

As of 2023, the company had more than 45 million brokerage accounts with over $4.5 trillion U.S. dollars in assets under management and nearly $12 trillion U.S. dollars in assets under administration, including mutual funds, ETFs, and even a spot Bitcoin ETF. 

Cargill

Cargill, Inc. is a global food corporation headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota. The company was founded in 1865 and is incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. They are primarily involved in trading, purchasing, and distributing grain and other agricultural commodities.

As of 2023, Cargill generated approximately $177 billion U.S. dollars in revenue. Not only is it a privately held company, but it’s also the largest in the United States in terms of revenue.

Summing Up

In conclusion, while private companies have the potential to generate immense wealth, there aren’t a lot of private companies that reach these scales and net worths. 

As investors, you can take inspiration from the strategy these companies have taken to reach their position, analyze their industry and maybe find an opportunity with other great companies that are traded publicly and have already made an IPO.  

So don’t get upset. You can still invest in many other great companies and maybe even find the next winning stock if you’re lucky enough.