For the third year in a row executive search and leadership assessment firm Heidrick & Struggles released its list of companies termed “Superaccelerators” that they identify as having met four rigorous measures of sustained organic growth and profitability.
Of the world’s 500 most highly valued companies, only 19 companies met the key standards, down from 25 companies in 2017 and 23 in 2016. Eleven of the 19 companies this year were newcomers.
In order to be included in the 2018 Superaccelerator list, a company must meet four “rules of 20” as one of the 500 most valued global companies. Each must:
- Reside in the top 20% of the 500 for revenue growth, both in the past three and the past seven years,
- Generate no more than 20% of its growth through acquisitions,
- Receive no more than 20% of its revenue from its own government,
- Not have experienced a decline in its profit margin by more than 20% as a percentage of revenue year after year as it grew in scale.
“The Superaccelerator companies have demonstrated the proven ability to achieve enduring, profitable growth in an era of rapid change and market disruption,” said Andrew LeSueur, Global Managing Partner, Heidrick Consulting in a press statement. “They come from a variety of industries and, this year, more than two thirds are from outside the United States.”
U.S. based companies no longer dominate the list, as they did in the list’s first two years. This is due to an overall shift toward Asia Pacific companies. The number of U.S Superaccelerators dropped precipitously to six from 16 in each of the prior years. While China took a step up to eight overall, seven from the mainland and one from Hong Kong—up from six from Greater China in 2017 and just three in 2016. Asia Pacific had 11 overall, up from nine, and Europe had two versus none the prior year.
The six U.S. based companies on the list were: Alphabet Inc., Visa, Booking Holdings, Inc., Charles Schwab, Celgene Corp., and Red Hat Inc.
The 2018 Superaccelerators ranked by market capitalization in US dollars as of May 31, 2018, with industry, home-base, and years appearing on the list are:
(asterisk indicates company is a first-time superaccelerator)
1- Alphabet Inc., Technology, U.S. 2016-17-18
2- Tencent Holdings Limited, Consumer, China 2016-17-18
3- Visa Inc., Financial Services, U.S. 2016-17-18
4- Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd., Financial Services, China 2016-17-18
5- Kweichow Moutai Co., Ltd.*, Consumer, China 2018
6- Medtronic plc*, Healthcare, Ireland 2018
7- AIA Group Limited*, Financial Services, Hong Kong, China 2018
8- Booking Holdings Inc.*, Consumer, U.S. 2018
9- HDFC Bank Limited, Financial Services, India 2016-17-18
10- Charles Schwab, Financial Services, U.S. 2017-17-18
11- Celgene Corporation, Healthcare, U.S. 2017-17-18
12- Country Garden Holdings*, Real estate, China 2018
13- Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA*, Healthcare, Germany 2018
14- Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd*, Technology, Japan 2018
15- China Evergrande Group*, Real estate, China 2018
16- NetEase, Inc., Technology, China 2017-18
17- S.F. Holding Co., Ltd.*, Logistics, China 2018
18- Kotak Mahindra Bank*, Financial Services, India 2018
19- Red Hat, Inc.*, Technology, U.S. 2018
