An interactive tool from City Index reveals which of the world’s biggest brands made their first 1 billion the fastest,and how long it takes them to make it today. What we can reveal is that is It wasn’t Apple Amazon or Google.
This interactive asset from global financial trading provider City Index compares over 30 of the world’s biggest brands including Walt Disney, Google, Apple, Amazon, McDonalds, Fitbit, Starbucks and more. It reveals the company that made their first billion in revenue the fastest since starting up.
The study displays data from financial reports over the past 50 years revealing how many years it took each brand to make their first billion in revenue in their native currency. The data then displays how long it takes them to make a billion in revenue now.
Data reveals Booking Holdings beat Amazon, Google and Facebook to their first 1 billion
It might not be a huge surprise that brands such as Apple and Amazon make 1 billion in a matter of days, but how long did it take them to make their first 1 billion?
Amazon reported their first 1 billion in revenue five years after first launching their site, whereas it took Apple 14 years.
However, according to the study, it was travel retailer, Booking Holdings (Owner of Booking.com and Kayak), who made their first billion in revenue the fastest – in just under three years.
The top 10 quickest brands to make their first billion in revenue:
Booking Holdings – 3 years (28.8 days now)
Amazon – 5 years (2.1 days now)
Google – 5 years (3.3 days now)
Sky Group – 6 years (28.3 days now)
Facebook – 6 years (9 days now)
Expedia Group – 6 years (36.3 days now)
Time Warner Inc – 7 years (11.7 days now)
Spotify – 8 years (89.2 days now)
Fitbit – 8 years (255.9 days now)
Home Depot – 8 years (3.6 days now)
UK retailer Debenhams took the longest to make their first billion in revenue
Despite being one of the most recognisable brands in the UK, it took Debenhams over two centuries (215 years to be exact) to report their first billion in revenue. This makes them, along with Walgreens and Target, one of the world’s slowest brands to reach this milestone.
The top 10 slowest brands to make their first billion in revenue:
Debenhams – 215 years (176.8 days now)
Walgreens – 110 years (2.8 days now)
Target – 87 years (5.1 days now)
IBM – 79 years (4.6 days now)
Hilton – 78 years (39.9 days now)
Walt Disney – 69 years (6.1 days now)
Burger King – 48 years (299.4 days now)
Weightwatchers – 41 years (279.3 days now)
Comcast – 35 years (4.3 days now)
CVS Health – 31 years (2 days now)
Despite the first billion taking a long time, data reveals that they are much faster to make a billion now. It takes Walgreens just 2.8 days and Target 5.1 days to make £1bn in revenue.
While faster than 200 years, it takes Debenhams a sizeable 176 days to make £1bn in revenue. This could be a sign of changing consumer habits on the high street, as online companies don’t see the same revenue struggle that traditional businesses do.
Although companies in the travel and communications sector were the first to hit this milestone, tech companies such as Apple and Amazon are making multiple billions in revenue every single week.
What is the fastest brand in the world to make £1bn in revenue now?
Now that these brands have built up a global presence, who makes their 1 billion in revenue the fastest now?
Walmart tops the chart, reporting £1bn in revenue every 16 hours.
The top 10 quickest brands that make £1bn now:
Walmart – 0.7 days
Apple – 1.4 days
CVS Health – 2.0 days
Amazon – 2.1 days
Walgreens – 2.8 days
Google – 3.3 days
Microsoft – 3.3 days
Home Depot – 3.6 days
Comcast – 4.3 days
IBM – 4.6 days
Fiona Cincotta, a senior market analyst at cityindex.co.uk said, “The markets have changed dramatically over the past 30 years, not just in composition, but also how quickly a firm can grow. From the data, the earlier the business was founded, the longer it took to reach its first billion in revenue.
“While firms founded at the turn of the last century, such as Walgreens or Target, have taken over 100 years to hit the $1bn mark, more recently founded companies such as Facebook or Amazon have hit the milestone in next to no time. Potential for growth in today’s market is significantly greater than before.
“It also comes as no surprise that while tech firms and retailers are among the quickest companies to hit $1bn in revenue, but traditional retailers are the slowest. This is yet another piece of evidence highlighting the struggles that more traditional retailers on the high street are up against as shopper’s habits move away from bricks and mortar stores to online shopping and technology”.
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