China-based Sinopec (Beijing; www.sinopecgroup.com) has become the world’s largest chemical company in the newly released ICIS Top 100 Chemical Companies, an annual global ranking of the leading chemical producers.
Sinopec has taken the top spot from Germany-based BASF (Ludwigshafen, www.basf.com) which ranked second with $67.5 billion in revenues.
Rounding out the Top 5 are U.S.-based ExxonMobil (Spring, Tex.; www.exxonmobil.com) with $55.4 billion in chemical sales, U.S.-based Dow (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) with $43.0 billion and China-based PetroChina (Beijing; www.petrochina.com.cn) with $42.2 billion.
Chinese companies comprised four of the Top 10 in terms of sales with all posting sales gains, followed by three US companies, two European companies and one Middle East company.
Most chemical producers around the world saw major profit declines in 2024, primarily driven by industry-wide overcapacity paired with weak demand, conditions that persist in 2025.
“It’s been tough sledding with key profitability metrics in 2024 well off their peaks in 2021. The slide is expected to continue in 2025, with overall sales also likely to take a hit in the coming years as a number of producers shut down or divest assets while being cautious on the M&A front,” said Joseph Chang, global editor of ICIS Chemical Business.
“Yet some companies will continue building capacity, bolstering their sales base, particularly in China. Look for Chinese chemical companies to continue moving up in the ICIS Top 100 rankings. In contrast, major US and European companies are likely to see sales shrink as they restructure by selling or shutting down assets,” Chang added.
The ICIS Top 100 Chemical Companies ranking compiles sales, operating profits, net income, total assets, capital expenditures and R&D spending for the world’s leading producers based on 2024 data. The ICIS Top 100 Chemical Companies issue of ICIS Chemical Business is available for download here.
Currency conversions to US dollars for the ranking are based on year-end 2024 exchange rates.