Greek philosopher Heraclitus is credited with saying, “Change is the one constant in life.” Although he lived 1000’s of years ago, this quote continues to be relevant today, even inside the business world.

In just the past 40 years, we have now seen the business and investing world completely transform, resulting in a changing of the guard of the world’s biggest publicly traded corporations (by revenue). Here’s a have a have a look at what has modified over the past 4 a few years.

The most important corporations in 1984

Source: Fortune 500. Revenue rounded to the closest 10 million.

The one aspect that stands out about that time was the dominance of oil and vehicles. IBM was the leading tech company, nonetheless it aside, oil and vehicles were the best dogs in town.

The most important corporations today

Source: Fortune 500. Revenue rounded to the closest 10 million.

Probably essentially the most noticeable aspect of today’s biggest corporations is the rise of retail and technology (with Amazon inside the sweet spot of the two). Oil continues to be a heavy-hitter as a result of globe’s dependence, but consumers have shown they appreciate the one-stop-shop nature of corporations like Walmart and Amazon.

Walmart has a stronghold on the brick-and-mortar side, and Amazon has revolutionized e-commerce. Will these corporations be leading the pact 40 years from now? Only time will tell. One thing stays certain, though: Change is all but inevitable.

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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Idiot’s board of directors. Stefon Walters has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Idiot has positions in and recommends Amazon and Walmart. The Motley Idiot recommends General Motors and International Business Machines and recommends the subsequent options: long January 2025 $25 calls on General Motors. The Motley Idiot has a disclosure policy.

These Were the 5 Biggest Firms in 1984, and Here Are the 5 Biggest Firms Now was originally published by The Motley Idiot