Finance is the most dominant sector by revenue, new Fortune 500 Europe list shows

Finance is still the heavyweight on Fortune’s new Europe 500 ranking. One in every four euros of total revenue comes from financial companies, and they also pull in 40% of all profit while employing 14% of the workforce. That is not a side role. It is the center of gravity.

The list shows 105 finance companies, with Banco Santander at No. 9 and BNP Paribas at No. 10. HSBC, sitting at No. 11, is the most profitable company on the ranking, with $22 billion in profits for 2025. It is one of only 25 companies on the list to clear $10 billion in profits.

Europe’s top sectors are concentrated in a few places. Financials, energy, and motor vehicles and parts together make up more than half of total revenue. Energy is also a serious profit engine, producing 14% of overall profit, and it ranks second to finance in employment.

But the broader picture is a little less comfortable than the headline revenue numbers suggest. Margins have now narrowed for two straight years, sliding to 6.5% from 7.1% on the 2024 list, even as revenue and profit growth hit records. Guido Cozzi of the University of St. Gallen tied that to stagflation pressure on Europe’s corporate sector.

There is also a leadership story buried in the ranking. BP is the only top-10 company with a woman CEO, Meg O’Neill, who took over on April 1 and is also No. 16 on this year’s Fortune Most Powerful Women list. BP is the only one of the major oil companies with women in both the CEO and CFO jobs; Kate Thomson became finance chief in February 2024. At Shell, No. 2 on the list, Sinead Gorman has been CFO since April 2022.