Bay Area's Largest 200 Public Companies Reflect the Region's Changing Economy
People experience new products of Apple after a product launch event in Cupertino, California, the United States, Sept. 9, 2024. Apple on Monday introduced iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, featuring Apple Intelligence, larger display sizes, and new creative capabilities with innovative pro camera features powered by the A18 Pro chip. (Photo by Dong Xudong/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Airdate: Tuesday, September 23, 2026 at 9am
When the San Francisco Chronicle last published its list of the Bay Area’s 200 largest public companies 17 years ago, oil behemoth Chevron ranked no. 1. The company has since left for Houston and now Apple Inc. has seized the top spot. Tech companies now make up 21 of the top 25 companies, with AI and social media companies like Nvidia and Meta joining veterans like Intel and Hewlett Packard in the top 10. This concentration of heavy hitters helped make the Bay Area the largest regional economy in the country, but experts warn our reliance on tech could be a disadvantage in the long term. We’ll dig into how the Bay Area’s business landscape has shifted and what it could mean for jobs and our regional economy.
Guest:
- Roland Li, business reporter, San Francisco Chronicle
- Egon Terplan, regionalism fellow, California Forward – a nonprofit organization that advocates for a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive economy in California.
- Laura Furstenthal, Bay Area office leader and managing partner for the Western region of the United States, McKinsey & Co. – a global consulting firm