Latest news with #Global2000
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
2025 Global 2000 Methodology
JP Morgan Chase ranked No. 1 on the Global 2000 in 2024, 2023 and 2022. Corbis via Getty Images For the 22nd consecutive year, Forbes is ranking the world's largest public companies. We compile our Global 2000 list using data from FactSet to screen for the biggest public companies in four metrics: sales, profits, assets and market value. Our market value calculation is as of April 25, 2025, closing prices and includes all common shares outstanding. All figures are consolidated and in U.S. dollars. We use the latest-12-months' financial data available to us on April 25, 2025. We rely heavily on the databases for all data, as well as the latest financial period available for our rankings. Many factors play into which financial period of data is available for the companies and used in our rankings: the timeliness of our data collection/screening and company reporting policies, country-specific reporting policies and the lag time between when a company releases its financial data and when the databases capture it for screening/ranking. We quality-check the downloaded financial data to the best of our ability using other data sources and available company financial statements. We first create four separate lists of the 2000 biggest companies in each of the metrics: sales, profits, assets, and market value. Each of the 2000 lists has a minimum cutoff value in order for a company to qualify: sales $5.9 billion, profits of $399 million, assets of $14.1 billion and market value of $7.9 billion. A company needs to qualify for at least one of the lists to be eligible for the final Global 2000 ranking. This year 3,385 companies were needed to fill out the four lists of 2000, each company qualifying for at least one of the lists. Each company receives a separate score for each metric based on where in ranks on the metric's 2000 list. We add up all the scores for all four metrics (equally weighted) and compile a composite score for each company based on their rankings for sales, profits, assets and market value. We sort the companies in descending order by the highest composite score and then apply our Forbes Global 2000 rank. The highest composite score gets the highest rank. Publicly traded subsidiaries for which the parent company consolidates figures are excluded from our list. For most countries, the accounting rules for the consolidation of a subsidiary is when the parent's ownership (control) of the subsidiaries stock is more than 50%. Some countries accounting rules allow for the consolidation of a subsidiary at less than 50% ownership. We exclude companies where we don't have access to reliable or timely data—this year, that included Russian companies, which do not have financial data reported on FactSet or other reliable data sources since prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Meet the AI Stock With 100% Potential Upside Over the Next 3 Years
SentinelOne's once-bubbly valuation has dragged on the stock for years. But the company's cutting-edge technology, vigorous growth, and improving margins bode well for the future. It may not take much for SentinelOne to double over the next several years. 10 stocks we like better than SentinelOne › It's hard to find many stocks involved with artificial intelligence (AI) that haven't worked out, but SentinelOne (NYSE: S) is one. The upstart cybersecurity company went public in the summer of 2021. Today, the stock is down over 50% from its initial share price and over 70% from its all-time high. Are things as bad at SentinelOne as the stock's performance might have you believe? I dove deep into the business to find out. What I discovered could be a game-changer for your portfolio. It wouldn't surprise me to see SentinelOne's share price double over the next three years -- that's a 100% return from today's price. Here is why I believe that to be the case. At first glance, SentinelOne seems like a stock that should be knocking it out of the park. The company is part of a new generation of cybersecurity companies with advanced technology that performs far better than the legacy antivirus software programs from a decade or two ago. SentinelOne's proprietary Singularity Platform uses artificial intelligence to detect and respond to security threats autonomously. Singularity's high-end performance has earned SentinelOne industry recognition from Gartner and helped the company win business with multiple Fortune 10 companies and hundreds in the Global 2000. SentinelOne went public in mid-2021 during the COVID-19 recovery, when zero-percent interest rate policies helped inflate a massive stock market bubble. The stock's market cap peaked at over $20 billion shortly after SentinelOne began trading, on just over $200 million in revenue that year. All bubbles burst at some point, and SentinelOne's excessive valuation is the primary reason the stock has performed so poorly, even as the company continues to grow. A company can have a fantastic product, but it won't be a good investment if the price is irrationally expensive. The share price has declined for several years while SentinelOne continues to grow. As a result, the stock's valuation has dramatically shifted. SentinelOne's price-to-sales (P/S) ratio was once over 105, but has plunged to just 7.6 today. The pendulum may have swung too far in the other direction. CrowdStrike, SentinelOne's chief competitor, trades at a P/S ratio of 28.7, while industry peer Palo Alto Networks trades at nearly 15 times its revenue. SentinelOne grew revenue faster than both companies last quarter. Therefore, SentinelOne looks unjustifiably undervalued at face value, but there is a caveat. CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks are more profitable, with superior operating margins. SentinelOne is getting there, though. Its profit margins have improved with revenue growth, and it has been cash flow-positive over the past four quarters. SentinelOne also has no debt and $1.1 billion in cash and investments. There are no obvious financial red flags here. If SentinelOne continues to grow, the profits should come. SentinelOne's technology and growth are too good to think the market won't reward the stock with a higher valuation as margins improve. The company concluded its fiscal year 2025 at the end of January 2025, with $821 million in revenue. Analysts estimate SentinelOne's revenue at $1.0 billion this year and $1.2 billion next year. Doing the math, that's 22% growth this year, then 20% the following year. Suppose SentinelOne grows by just 15% the year after, putting its annual revenue at roughly $1.4 billion three years from now. The stock's market cap is $6.6 billion today. Assuming the company grows to $1.4 billion in annual revenue, the stock would only need a P/S ratio of 9 to 10 to double its market cap over the next three years, depending on the degree of share dilution from stock-based compensation. That doesn't seem at all out of the realm of reasonable. It doesn't mean that it will happen. It's on SentinelOne to continue growing and improving its margins. But there is no shortage of opportunity in cybersecurity, and SentinelOne has shown it can compete. That makes the stock an intriguing and potentially underrated AI stock with tantalizing upside if things go right. Before you buy stock in SentinelOne, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and SentinelOne wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $639,271!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $804,688!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 957% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 167% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends CrowdStrike. The Motley Fool recommends Gartner and Palo Alto Networks. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Meet the AI Stock With 100% Potential Upside Over the Next 3 Years was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Los Angeles Times
14-05-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Small Language Models and Proprietary Data Represent the Future of Enterprise AI
At the recent Milken Global Conference, K1's Neil Malik shared why K1's focus has always been on acquiring software businesses that are the ultimate system of record for their enterprise customers. As leaders across finance, technology, and policy gathered last week in Los Angeles for the Milken Institute Global Conference, artificial intelligence remained a defining topic – with the dialogue shifting from future potential to real deployment across global industries. We spoke with Neil Malik, Founder and CEO of K1, about how the firm is navigating this shift by investing in companies that sit at the intersection of proprietary data and AI-driven automation. The enterprise software industry is undergoing a seismic transformation – and artificial intelligence is at the center of it. While many companies are experimenting with AI, the real winners will be those who integrate AI into mission-critical systems of record: platforms that hold proprietary, often regulated, data accessible only through their applications. These systems create a durable competitive advantage. For Neil, this is more than just a thesis – it has been the foundation of K1's investment strategy since the firm's inception. 'Our companies are the systems of record for highly sensitive and, oftentimes, regulated data – and that's what makes their AI capabilities so powerful,' Neil says. 'When you pair proprietary, structured data with mission-critical applications, you can build AI and automation layers on top that aren't just impressive – they're trusted, targeted, and deeply embedded in the customer's daily operations.' By investing in AI-powered enterprise software, K1 is not just adapting to industry change – it's helping shape the next generation of category leaders. 'Our portfolio companies are really benefiting from the recognition of the value of artificial intelligence, and large enterprise customers are now rushing to buy more modern platforms like the ones we offer. As a result, many of our companies are disrupting legacy incumbents.' AI adoption in the enterprise is accelerating, but as Neil noted, K1's portfolio companies are enabling Fortune 500 and Global 2000 businesses to keep pace. Built within the last 10–15 years, these companies are cloud-native by design, allowing them to adopt and deploy AI faster than many of their legacy competitors. The data in these platforms is typically highly sensitive, difficult to move, and not suitable for public AI models. As a result, the embedded applications and automation built within these platforms are increasingly sought after to help unlock insights and value from that data. Some of K1's portfolio companies are seeing near 100% year-over-year growth in bookings tied to AI-powered products – a clear sign that AI is driving topline results, not just operational efficiency. Vertical AI isn't built on prompts – it's built on proprietary data. That's exactly where K1's portfolio companies are focused – embedding AI on top of the critical data. Across the K1 portfolio, companies are advancing AI capabilities, particularly around agentic AI use cases that drive workflow automation and measurable productivity gains for customers. Because many of these companies serve verticals such as financial services, legal, healthcare, and education, they are uniquely positioned to build domain-specific models. These models are trained on clean, compliant, and non-public data – deeply integrated with business-critical processes. For private equity firms focused on enterprise software, the landscape is changing. 'We've had an opportunity to see multiple cycles in the economy over the last 30 years. Our job is to seek predictable and repeatable ways of generating alpha for our clients in and out of these cycles – and we believe advancements in artificial intelligence allow us to accelerate our ability to do just that.' That disciplined approach has helped K1 invest in over 250 software companies, making it one of the largest – and fastest growing – investors in small-cap enterprise software globally. According to sources close to the firm, K1 has had a record 18 months of liquidity, with 13 liquidity events in that time, including two in the last month. Notable recent exits include GoCanvas (acquired by Nemetschek, FRA:NEM), Irwin (acquired by FactSet, NYSE:FDS), Axcient (acquired by ConnectWise, a Thoma Bravo company), and AppLearn (acquired by Nexthink). Importantly, K1's strategy has performed well even in a challenged exit environment. The firm has historically not relied on IPOs to generate returns – instead driving liquidity through strategic sales, even when public markets are quiet. As many in the industry grapple with distribution shortfalls, K1 expects to deliver additional realizations in 2025. And while tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty have slowed decision-making in some sectors, these factors have not negatively impacted K1's portfolio or deal velocity to date – a testament to the mission-critical nature of the software companies the firm backs. K1 is now preparing to begin deploying additional capital, with over $1 billion of opportunities currently in exclusivity.
Forbes
08-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How AI Can Demolish Tech Debt
getty This is the published version of Forbes' CIO newsletter, which offers the latest news for chief innovation officers and other technology-focused leaders. Click here to get it delivered to your inbox every Thursday. As CIOs know, tech debt will keep piling on until it's taken care of. Estimates from HFS Research indicate Forbes Global 2000 companies are carrying $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion worth of tech debt. But bringing AI into the workplace, HFS and Publicis Sapient say in a new report, has the potential to eradicate that tech debt and get enterprises to modernize. The report calls AI the jackhammer that can smash through tech debt, and highlights a path for companies to use AI to fully modernize—something 80% of surveyed leaders believe it can do. 'Enterprises need to stop tinkering with outdated models and start smashing through the barriers holding them back,' HFS Research CEO and Chief Analyst Phil Fersht said in a release. 'This is the moment to rewrite the rules of modernization, and those who don't act decisively risk being left behind in the dust.' The study shows that only three in 10 enterprises feel they have 'fully modernized' their IT applications—nearly the same amount that say they are 'legacy-heavy' (25%) or at risk of obsolescence (4%). About half of the survey respondents said that they're looking to move to AI because existing IT services mostly just maintain these legacy systems. And even though it may seem like every company is already using AI, the study reiterates that it isn't the case. Just 22% of companies said they are actively scaling AI across multiple IT functions. A third are experimenting with AI in select functions now, while 27% are exploring AI in IT, but not yet implementing it. The study recommends that an enterprise's AI transition does away with siloed data and information, instead bringing everything together in a connected value chain that all departments can access. Governance should be built into the foundation through functions like automated controls and real-time monitoring, breaking from traditional steering committees and policy hierarchies. AI stewardship should also be a part of everyone's job description now, the report recommends. People can focus on using AI to complete tasks and pull information, which will make their workflow more efficient and outcomes more effective. Through making information flow more freely and giving more people the responsibility to work with it, the system is much more likely to adapt alongside technology, reducing the possibility of future tech debt issues. Protecting data and advancing cybersecurity isn't just the CIO's responsibility. CFOs also should be a resource here, especially since the data is often used for projections and forecasts—and breaches can be incredibly expensive. I talked to Abhesh Kumar, chief technology officer at financial advisory firm Springline Advisory, about how CIOs and CFOs can come together. An excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter. The days of Google's dominance on Apple devices may be waning, an Apple exec testified in court this week. Eddy Cue, senior vice president of Apple's services unit overseeing the App Store and Safari browser, said that the company is 'actively looking' to add AI-powered search options to Safari, though Cue added he believes Google should remain the default search option. The testimony, which was part of the federal government's ongoing antitrust case against Google, led to a 7.5% drop in the company's stock on Wednesday. It recovered a bit on Thursday, but Google's stock is still more than 5% down this week. This testimony really shouldn't be a surprise to investors. Most big tech companies—especially Apple, Google, Microsoft and Meta—have spent the last year in regulators' crosshairs in both the U.S. and EU. Antitrust litigation in the U.S. and the EU's Digital Markets Act, which aims to level the playing field for companies in the tech space, have been pushing Big Tech to reevaluate their policies that push users into preferred providers for app downloads, web browsing and search, and utility applications. Wednesday's testimony was part of ongoing hearings for U.S. courts to figure out an appropriate remedy after a ruling last year that Google has an illegal monopoly on search. Photo Illustration by Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images OpenAI has reportedly reached a deal to buy vibe coding platform Windsurf for $3 billion, which would be the generative AI powerhouse's largest deal yet, writes Forbes contributor John Werner. Windsurf has an AI-powered tool that lets users use regular language to describe what they want a system to do, and Windsurf writes appropriate code. It's a powerful tool for code development, but Werner points out that Windsurf also has a specific focus on hardware, with a priority on developing custom AI chips and server clusters. The deal has not yet closed, according to Bloomberg, which broke the story. getty President Donald Trump passed 100 days in office for his second term last week, and a group of cybersecurity leaders and experts talked about what that meant at last week's RSAC 2025 conference, writes Forbes senior contributor Tony Bradley. The top takeaway: It isn't good. While Trump has said he wants to put in place policies to help U.S. tech companies continue to be global leaders, panelists said his focus on drastically cutting the federal workforce and undoing many of his predecessor Joe Biden's policies have undermined progress. Jen Easterly, former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said the loss of tech talent at government agencies damages cybersecurity readiness. Trump tends to prioritize loyalty above skill, which panelists said erodes morale and independence of federal cybersecurity functions—and makes other nations reluctant to share information about threats. 'We built trust and catalyzed trust and collaboration, and we did it with integrity, we did it with humility, we did it with transparency, and we did it with character. And that's what you all should demand from your government,' Easterly said. Springline Advisory CTO Abhesh Kumar. Springline Advisory In today's business world, data and cybersecurity threats are always multiplying. Abhesh Kumar, chief technology officer of accounting at financial advisory firm Springline Advisory, sees one way to strengthen both a company's use and understanding of data and its security: Having finance and data or technology leaders work together on it. I talked to him about why this is an important partnership and how to make it work. This conversation has been edited for length, clarity and continuity. It was also excerpted in the Forbes CFO newsletter. A longer version is available here. What do you see as some of the biggest hazards in a company in terms of safeguarding their data? Kumar: The short answer, the absolute biggest risk is lack of shared accountability, which arises from lack of shared visibility. But let me elaborate a little bit. We need to view the risk in the context of the fast-evolving threat landscape. So you've got different data assets—whether it's financial data, strategic data, client data, employee data. Unfortunately, most organizations are operating in silos. That means CFOs do not really have full visibility on where the data lies, and they have not really incorporated protecting them or taking any cybersecurity measures as part of their financial risk management. Because of this disconnect, and generally how the CIOs or CTOs and CFOs collaborate, this leads to the presence and increasing expansion of shadow data: Nobody knows where the data is or what kind of data it is, or how it can be tracked back to some of the crown jewels. The increasing diversity of data assets; the emerging sophistication of hackers; and the lack of proactive, collaborative, culturally driven operating models between the CTOs and [CFOs], they all contribute to the explosion in the risk exposure. When you look at cybersecurity threats, they're always changing, with bad actors finding new ways to try to get into data, get into systems, that sort of thing. How does collaboration help, not just for now but for the future? It's always a game of who stays one step ahead of the other. If we are going to take them in isolation and one by one, there will be cases where the attackers will win and the defenders will lose. Where there is joint accountability, when parties—especially senior leaders like CTOs and CFOs—have a good understanding of the threat landscape, they also understand where the data resides, what is the risk exposure, it automatically heightens their preparedness and approach toward proactively putting in place a set of mechanisms to guard that data. This automatically reduces your threat exposure by a lot. Some of these provisions can be technology-based: You could have a NIST-based security assessment, you could have penetration testing, you could have parameter scanning, you could have advanced edge computing-based security. Some of these are technology, some of these have to do with human capital, where there's sponsorship and initiative to build that knowledge. A lot of these hackers find humans as the most vulnerable and easy way to hack the system, so enabling that human capital to be a robust wall in front of these attacks is important. Third is the general culture of being cybersecurity aware, and practice simple things, like locking computers when you're walking away even two minutes away from your desk, do not use public WiFi if you are working on sensitive strategic data files. A culture where parties see the leaders leading by example, and then they emulate it. What advice would you give to a CIO to start working with their CFO? The CIOs have to step up from playing an operational role to a more strategic role. Instead of just putting down the nails and the locks around the place and securing it, they have to elevate the articulation of the problem at the strategic level where it can be communicated to the board: What is the overall risk impact? They almost have to take on a risk manager role from a cybersecurity perspective, and not just be the operator of those security mechanisms. We need to be able to tell a good story: If you don't do this, these are the things that could go wrong, and this is going to cost you in the dollar terms, and have that communication with the board. This is part of stepping up and expanding their point of view from being just a technology or internal service provider to a stakeholder in the business. It's not just about, 'Tell me your data and I'll put it in a vault and secure it,' but 'Help me understand your business and let me be a partner in delivering the business outcome that you're intending [for] your shareholders, the board and other stakeholders.' As generative AI becomes more of a force in everyday life online, companies need to develop strategies for generative engine operation—GEO—that rival what they've had in place for SEO. Here are some ways to start making AI more likely to cite your pages. It's important for leaders to connect with their teams, and if you're having trouble doing that, the underlying reason could be that you don't truly know yourself. Here's how to realign your leadership based on the 3D method—aligning efforts across yourself, your team and the world—and get a better understanding of yourself and your experience. Web applications come and go—even the ones that were once vital to us. Which of these once-indispensable applications sunset this week? A. ICQ B. Vine C. Skype D. Napster See if you got the answer right here.
Techday NZ
23-04-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Most firms overestimate data resilience, risking USD $400 billion
Veeam has launched the Data Resilience Maturity Model (DRMM) to provide a framework for organisations to assess and improve their data resilience capabilities. The DRMM is based on joint research from Veeam and management consultancy McKinsey, examining global approaches to data resilience among large enterprises. The research identified a significant gap between business leaders' perception of their organisation's data resilience and the actual maturity of their systems and processes. The report shows that while 30% of global Chief Information Officers (CIOs) believe their organisations are above average in data resilience, fewer than 10% actually reach that standard. According to the findings, over 74% of global organisations operate at the two lowest levels of data resilience maturity and do not follow best practices. IT downtime remains a critical business problem, with the Global 2000 collectively incurring over USD $400 billion in losses annually through outages, reputational harm, and operational disruption. For individual companies, this translates to losses of up to USD $200 million per year. Anand Eswaran, Chief Executive Officer of Veeam, stated: "Data resilience is critical to survival—and most companies are operating in the dark. The new Veeam DRMM is more than just a model; it's a wake-up call that equips leaders with the tools and insights necessary to transform wishful thinking into actionable, radical resilience, enabling them to start protecting their data with the same urgency as they protect their revenue, employees, customers, and brand." The DRMM provides a method for organisations to objectively assess their resilience, offering insights for aligning people, processes, and technical capabilities with their overall data strategy. This alignment aims to reduce risk exposure and enable organisations to focus on business-critical objectives, while maintaining their competitive edge. The framework is described as the only industry model developed by a consortium of experts that covers cyber resilience, disaster recovery, and operational continuity across three domains: data strategy, people and processes, and technology. Among the key findings, organisations at the highest level of data resilience maturity—the Best-in-Class horizon—recover from outages seven times faster, experience three times less downtime, and suffer four times less data loss than those in lower tiers. The research highlights that over 30% of CIOs in the least resilient companies mistakenly assess their resilience as above average, exposing their businesses to significant risk. Eswaran also commented: "Data resilience isn't just about protecting data, it's about protecting the entire business. This is the difference between shutting down operations during an outage or keeping the business running. It's the difference between paying a ransom or not. It provides the foundation for AI innovation, compliance, trust, and long-term performance – including competitive advantage." The model categorises organisations across four maturity horizons in terms of resilience: Basic (reactive and manual, with high exposure), Intermediate (reliable but fragmented, lacking automation), Advanced (strategic and proactive without full integration), and Best-in-Class (autonomous, AI-optimised, and fully resilient). George Westerman, Principal Research Scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management, affirmed the wider business relevance of data resilience. He said: "As organisations increasingly recognise the growing risks associated with data outages and cyber threats, the report underscores the importance of a collective commitment from executives beyond the IT department, to data resilience. Data outages can severely impact customer-facing capabilities and erode shareholder trust of an organisation. But even more, they can be a signal of immature IT management processes that have led to overly complex, hard to manage, IT infrastructure. The Digital Resilience Maturity Model highlights ways that businesses can equip themselves to handle today's challenges while being ready for tomorrow's opportunities." The research underpinning DRMM was derived from a survey of 500 senior IT, information security, and operations leaders from large enterprises, along with insights from over 50 interviews with C-level executives and IT leaders. Real-world case studies cited in the findings include a healthcare system that saved USD $5 million per outage and a global bank that has not experienced a single cyber incident after embedding the model into practice using Veeam's platform. According to the DRMM research, data resilience investments deliver significant returns, with each USD $1 spent yielding between USD $3 and USD $10 in value through improved system uptime, reduced incident costs, and enhanced agility. Consequently, data resilience has become the second most important strategic priority for IT leaders, behind only cost optimisation. Organisations have the option to participate in executive workshops offered by Veeam to help progress up the maturity curve, reduce risk exposure, and enable new operational innovations. The Veeam report emphasises the imperative for businesses to prioritise data resilience as a central component of their overall strategy, acknowledging the wide-ranging operational, financial, and reputational risks posed by data loss and downtime.
