FORTUNE 500 EUROPE

Our first-ever ranking of the largest companies in Europe by revenue shows that Old World companies are reaching new heights. They're setting the global agenda in energy, finance, the auto industry, and elsewhere.

- Prarthana Prakash

ECONOMIC ENGINES

Germany, Britain, and France - the three nations with Europe's largest economies - are home to 227 of the companies on the Fortune 500 Europe, or 45%. The remainder are dispersed among 21 other countries, a sign of the region's economic diversity.

IN RAW statistical terms, Europe's economy trails those of the U.S. and China. But Europe does just as much as its larger counterparts to drive the global business agenda. The region's biggest companies are planetary powerhouses in energy, banking, and the auto industry; its affluent consumers help determine what the world makes and buys, and its regulators are setting benchmarks for sustainability, data privacy, and antitrust practices that are reshaping business strategy worldwide.