United States $3.4 Trillion Asset Manager Capital Group Global Equity Study – Value Watch: 1,600 Largest Listed Companies with $35.3 Trillion Market Value in 2014 Generated $36.7 Trillion in Total Profits Over 12 Years (2014 to 2025) Representing 104% of 2014 Market Value, 12 Years of Profit to Payback Market Value of Largest 1,600 Listed Companies, 12 to 13 Year Payback Period on Track to be Repeated
12th July 2026 | Hong Kong
United States asset manager Capital Group ($3.4 trillion AUM) Global Equity Study – Value Watch – 1,600 largest listed companies with $35.3 trillion market value in 2014 generated $36.7 trillion in total profits over 12 years (2014 to 2025) representing 104% of 2014 market value. It took 12 years of profit to payback market value of largest 1,600 listed companies (2014 to 2025). The 12 to 13 year payback period is on track to be repeated. Announcement (8/7/26): “Global companies have now generated enough profit to exceed their entire stock market value from the start of 2014, showing that strong earnings growth has repeatedly justified rising equity valuations over the past decade, according to Value Watch – part of the Capital Group Global Equity Study. The Equity Study assesses global companies’ market value by how long it takes for companies to earn back their value in actual profits, addressing a central question for investors today: are current valuations supported by the profits companies are likely to deliver? The world’s 1,600 largest listed companies were collectively worth US$35.3 trillion at the start of 2014. Between 2014 and 2025, they generated US$36.7 trillion in cumulative profits, effectively earning back their entire 2014 market value in under twelve years. At the beginning of 2014, global equities traded on a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.9 times. On a static basis, investors would have expected to wait until 2029, almost sixteen years, for cumulative profits to match the starting valuation. Instead, strong earnings growth shortened that period by around four years. Companies generated profits more quickly than implied by their starting valuations. The same pattern can be seen over other periods. It took 13 years for companies to earn back their US$24.9 trillion 2010 valuation. More recently, companies have already earned back 45% of their US$54.7 trillion 2020 pre-pandemic value, suggesting the 12-13 year payback mark is on track to be repeated. Moreover, one in seven companies have already earned back their entire 2020 valuation … … Geographical Divergence – 1) Geographical differences mainly reflect the sector mix, though country-specific dynamics are relevant too. 2) US companies earned back their 2014 market value in 12 years – despite a high starting valuation led by strong profit growth. 3) In Europe, recent recovery for energy and financial companies enabled the region to catch up after slow growth in the 2010s, with payback achieved over the 13 years since 2013. 4) Looking East, China’s payback period has beaten the global average, earning back 2017’s market value of US$3.8 trillion in just 8 years. The shorter payback period is driven by relatively high and stable earnings among Chinese banks and lower starting valuations. By 2024, Chinese companies earned a cumulative profit of US$4.2 trillion. 4) The Hong Kong listed companies in Capital Group’s index earned back their 2013 market value of US$442 billion in 13 years. By the end of April 2026, combined market value in Hong Kong had risen to US$655 billion. 5) In Singapore, companies earned back their 2016 market value of US$172 billion in 10 years. As of April 2026, the market value of Singapore-listed companies has grown to US$491 billion. Singapore’s banks have seen rapid earnings growth in the last four years so they have now recouped market values depressed by low global interest rates in the 2010s. Most of them have now covered their 2017 market value with cumulative profits.”
“ United States $3.4 Trillion Asset Manager Capital Group Global Equity Study – Value Watch: 1,600 Largest Listed Companies with $35.3 Trillion Market Value in 2014 Generated $36.7 Trillion in Total Profits Over 12 Years (2014 to 2025) Representing 104% of 2014 Market Value, 12 Years of Profit to Payback Market Value of Largest 1,600 Listed Companies, 12 to 13 Year Payback Period on Track to be Repeated “
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Katharine Dryer, Equity Asset Class Lead, Europe and Asia at Capital Group: “A company’s valuation depends not only on the multiple investors pay, but also on whether future profit growth can justify it. Over the past decade, strong earnings growth has repeatedly supported higher market valuations. Today, global equities are valued at US$113.8 trillion, or around 21 times expected 2026 profits, raising the hurdle for investors. Starting from higher valuations, growth must do more of the work — but companies that deliver can still justify demanding multiples. For active investors like Capital Group, it is not about avoiding higher valuations, instead, our portfolio managers and analysts are focused on where growth is durable and still being underestimated. In a market where outcomes become more sensitive to earnings delivery, active management can add value by identifying between companies that meet earnings expectations and those that fall short. Active managers play a critical role in price discovery, valuation discipline and the provision of long-term capital across market cycles. That role is essential to healthy public markets — for investors, issuers and all market participants.”
Capital Group – As Capital Group approaches its 100th anniversary in 2031, its long-term strategy remains firmly rooted in its mission to improve people’s lives through successful investing. With over 9,000 associates and 34 offices around the world, Capital Group manages US$3.4 trillion in assets for millions of wealth management and institutional clients around the world*
United States $3.4 Trillion Asset Manager Capital Group Global Equity Study – Value Watch: 1,600 Largest Listed Companies with $35.3 Trillion Market Value in 2014 Generated $36.7 Trillion in Total Profits Over 12 Years (2014 to 2025) Representing 104% of 2014 Market Value, 12 Years of Profit to Payback Market Value of Largest 1,600 Listed Companies, 12 to 13 Year Payback Period on Track to be Repeated
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