US exchanges: 52% fewer companies, 8 times the market value
1996 → 2025: 8,090 → 3,908 domestic companies. Their total share value: $8.48T → $68.94T, in current dollars.
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The size of a public market and its company count are different things. This market grew in value while its company count fell. Its membership changed over time.
Both lines use one scale: 1996 = 100. These are indices, not dollars or company counts. Every annual point is shown, including market-value declines.
- Listed domestic companies companies
1996: 8,090
- Listed domestic companies companies
2025: 3,908
- Listed domestic equity capitalisation US$ bn
1996: 8,480.5
- Listed domestic equity capitalisation US$ bn
2025: 68,937.87
WDI/WFE year-end values. Market cap rose 8.13 times; company count fell 51.7%. 1996 is the company-count peak in the available series: a peak comparison, not a typical investment horizon.
Dollars are nominal, without an inflation adjustment. This is neither the return of a fixed portfolio nor the count of all businesses or proof of monopolization. Funds are excluded, multiple share classes count once, and exclusively locally listed foreign companies are included. These series do not separate mergers, delistings, new listings and repricing.
A question for this picture
Was the value growth spread across many companies or concentrated in a few?