Latin America is home to some of the world’s largest companies. As emerging markets such as Brazil, Chile, Mexico, etc. continue to account for a larger share of the world’s GDP, companies from these regions grow to take the top spots in global rankings.
The Top 25 Companies in the Latin American region based on 2012 revenues are listed in the table below:
| 2013 Rank | Company | Country | Sector | Revenues (in millions of US $ for 2012) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Petrobras | Brazil | Energy | 137,694.90 |
| 2 | Pemex | Mexico | Energy | 127,019.70 |
| 3 | PDVSA | Venezuela | Energy | 124,459.00 |
| 4 | America Movil | Mexico | Tech | 59,778.00 |
| 5 | Vale | Brazil | Mining | 45,760.50 |
| 6 | Telefonica | Spain | Tech | 40,255.90 |
| 7 | BR Distribuidora | Brazil | Energy | 39,210.70 |
| 8 | Ecopetrol | Colombia | Energy | 37,735.20 |
| 9 | Odebrecht | Brazil | Holding | 37,404.70 |
| 10 | JBS | Brazil | Food | 37,042.70 |
| 11 | Walmart de Mexico | Retail | Retail | 32,242.60 |
| 12 | Grupo Ultra | Brazil | Energy | 26,385.80 |
| 13 | Techint | Argentina | Holding | 25,477.00 |
| 14 | Casino | France | Retail | 25,391.50 |
| 15 | CBD | Brazil | Retail | 24,920.20 |
| 16 | Volkswagen | Germany | Auto | 24,152.20 |
| 17 | CFE | Mexico | Energy | 23,987.80 |
| 18 | Pet. Ipiranga | Brazil | Energy | 22,917.90 |
| 19 | Copec | Chile | Energy | 22,761.20 |
| 20 | Eletrobras | Brazil | Energy | 19,348.60 |
| 21 | Cencosud | Chile | Retail | 19,116.30 |
| 22 | Carrefour | France | Retail | 18,695.50 |
| 23 | Gerdau | Brazil | Steel | 18,586.60 |
| 24 | Femsa | Mexico | Beverage | 18,379.80 |
| 25 | Braskem | Brazil | Chemicals | 17,378.70 |
Data Source: Latin 500: Latin America’s Top 500, Latin Trade
A few observations:
- The list is dominated by companies in the energy sector especially the top spots going to oil firms from Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela.All the three firms are controlled by the state.
- Some foreign firms also appear in the list since they have big presence in Latin America.French retailers Casino and Carrefour(CRRFY), German auto maker Volkwagen(VLKAY) and Spanish telecom operator Telefonica(TEF) are global multinationals.
- U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart(WMT) is large enough in Mexico to appear in the above ranking.Since entering the country in 1991, Walmart has 2,498 retail units in Mexico.
- Oil company Ecopetrol (EC) of Colombia has grown rapidly in the past few years with new discoveries and increasing production levels. At one point Ecopetrol’s market capitalization even took over Petrobras(PBR) the largest oil company in the region and one of the largest in the world.
Investors looking to add some Latin American stocks can use the companies in the list as a starting point. Since all these are large-cap companies with revenues in the billions of dollars they less risky than medium and small cap companies.
You can download the full list of Latin 500 Companies for 2013 here.(in pdf)
Disclosure: Long PBR
