The largest companies of 1956 were large by all measures — sales, market capitalisation, employment, and operating assets. No longer. Walmart and Hon Hai (better known as Foxconn) are today’s largest private sector employers, along with businesses like Compass, which might be regarded as global gangmasters.
Apple’s market capitalisation today exceeds $800bn, and Alphabet is not far behind. For both these companies, operating assets account for about $30bn of that value. Modern businesses like these employ very little capital, and such assets as they do use mostly need not be owned by the company that operates from them.
As a source of capital for business, equity markets no longer register on the radar screen.
Needull in a haystack 