Falling oil prices have cost the world's energy giants billions of dollars after their share prices have steadily declined in the last two years. According to the International Energy Agency data, the price of Brent crude oil fell to below $30 in January of this year, the lowest level since July 2009. It was over $110 in January 2014. As a consequence, prominent tech companies and online retailers have strengthened their leading market capitalization positions, leaving the energy giants behind.
According to data from leading international auditing and advisory firm Price Water House Cooper (PwC), the market cap of the world's top oil companies of which the shares open to public decreased by 20 percent as of the first quarter of this year compared to March 31, 2014. The total market value of Exxon Mobil, PetroChina, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, Total, BP and Schlumberger, the seven oil companies standing among the world's top 100 firms, was $1.22 trillion as of March 31, 2016 decreased from $1.53 trillion at the same time in 2014. In the same period, oil prices, as the main cause of decline in the market cap of the energy companies, fell by 63 percent during the same period. The price of crude oil decreased to $39 from $107 in the same period. The fall of British energy giant BP's market cap decreased by almost 40 percent. BP's market cap was around $94 billion at the end of the first quarter of this year, declined from $156 billion in 2014.Total, another major energy corporation, also experienced difficulties. The world's fifth most valuable oil company lost 27 percent of its market cap. Total's market value decreased from $154 billion to $112 billion. The French energy company sold all of its operations in Turkey in April of this year. Turkey's Demiroren Holding paid 325 euros million for this acquisition. Stressing the fall in oil prices, international credit agency Moody's decreased the credit ratings of Royal Dutch Shell, Total, and Chevron in April of this year. The price of crude oil has been relatively flat over the past six months but it still sits below $50 per barrel.
- The rise of the tech companies. The tech, e-trade, and retail companies, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Facebook, Tencent Holding, Amazon and Wal-Mart, advanced their market cap by 33 percent and strengthened their leading positions in the same period. The total market value of these seven companies increased to $2.57 trillion from $1.92 trillion in 2014. The market cap of Apple, indicated as the world's top valuable corporation according to the most of the market studies, was $604 billion at the end of the first quarter of this year. The leading tech company was followed by Alphabet-Google and Microsoft with $518 billion and $437 billion of market values, respectively. The market value of Facebook increased by 86 percent to $325 billion from $175 billion. The company's shares were offered to the public in May, 2012 for the first time. The social media giant made one of the most sensational corporate acquisitions of the recent years by purchasing WhatsApp, a messaging application used via smartphones, at a price of almost $19 billion in February 2014. The market value of Amazon, which provides worldwide retail services, advanced by 69 percent in the same period. The pioneer e-trade company, established in Seattle, U.S. in 1994, increased its market cap to $280 billion as of March, 2016.
