4 minEconomy
Fortune to unveil Europe 500 list at London CEO Forum on September 16
Fortune will publish its annual ranking of Europe's 500 largest companies by revenue on September 16, alongside a CEO Forum in London bringing together leaders from major corporations to discuss growth strategies.
Fortune will release its annual Europe 500 ranking on September 16, a list of the 500 largest companies on the continent by revenue, offering a counterpoint to persistent narratives of European economic stagnation. The index, led last year by Volkswagen, Shell, and Glencore, will be presented at the Fortune CEO Forum in London, where C-suite executives from across Europe and the Middle East will gather to discuss growth and share best practices.
The announcement comes amid ongoing concerns about Europe's economic performance relative to the United States and Asia. Since the financial crisis, GDP growth in the euro area has averaged 0.9% annually, compared with above 2% in the U.S. Critics have pointed to lagging productivity, the uneven progress toward a European capital markets union, and the lingering effects of Brexit as persistent drags on the continent's competitiveness.
Yet the publication argues that the picture is more nuanced than the prevailing gloom suggests. The European Commission's Innovation Scorecard shows innovation performance has increased by 11.6 percentage points since 2019, with the U.K. sitting more than 30 percentage points above the EU average. The continent continues to host leading universities, strong financial centers, and best-in-class manufacturing across sectors from automobiles to wind turbines.
Goldman Sachs, in a research note from late July, said Europe's economic growth had been more resilient than expected given the energy price shock that followed attacks on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The bank cited declining energy dependence, rising defense spending across Europe, robust real household income growth, and resilient labor markets with unemployment at an all-time low as reasons for that resilience.
The forum will feature an unusual mix of participants, including leaders from AI companies Anthropic and OpenAI alongside the CEOs of Ferrari and Volvo Cars U.K. The U.K. chairman of energy giant EDF will sit with board members from NatWest and the in-country CEO of Société Générale. Defense sector policymakers will discuss infrastructure investment with representatives from Honeywell and Tech Mahindra. Organizers say executives representing nearly $2 trillion in wealth will be in attendance.
Former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who in 2024 warned that various strategies to raise growth rates had come and gone without changing the trend, has called for a new stance toward cooperation. Removing obstacles, harmonizing rules, and coordinating policies are essential steps, he argued, expressing confidence that Europe can succeed in moving forward if it takes those measures seriously.
The event and the accompanying data release aim to highlight what Fortune describes as the powerhouses of the European economy, with the 2026 index expected to provide a detailed statistical picture of profits, revenues, and growth across the continent. The publication positions the list as evidence that Europe retains significant economic strengths even as it faces structural challenges requiring policy action.
