Global Powers of Construction 2023

Following the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the geopolitical situation in early 2022, the industry is still suffering from the impacts of commodity price surges, supply chain disruptions, and the re-emergence of significant inflation. These factors have also resulted in a moderate increase in revenue for our Global Powers of Construction (GPoC) in 2023. Despite the sluggish growth, the construction industry remains resilient over the medium to long term and is expected to maintain a steady growth pattern.

The total revenue obtained by the GPoC in 2023 amounted to USD 1.997 trillion, a 3.4% increase from 2022 (8% in local currency). The remarkable performance of several regions, notably the United States with a market value increase of more than 50%, and Europe with a 25.2% increase in USD market value, has positioned the overall market capitalization of our GPoC far above the USD 591,543 million figure recorded in pre-pandemic 2019.

The Global Powers of Construction 2023 analyzes the outlook for the construction industry worldwide and discusses the strategies and performance of the most representative listed global construction groups in 2023. The report examines the main financial indicators of the industry’s major players and provides insights to help companies understand and assess the related challenges and opportunities for the coming years. It also outlines and analyzes certain industry trends that have been shaping construction over the past few years, or are expected to have a major impact in the near future, taking into account new post-pandemic priorities.

Key findings:

• In 2023 the aggregate USD sales of the Top 100 GPoC rose by 3.4%, while market capitalization increased by 18.3%.
• Global construction output is anticipated to grow by 1.6% in 2024, down from a growth rate of 4.1% in 2023, because of challenging macroeconomic conditions, including inflation and geopolitical uncertainties, which are expected to impact advance economies more significantly than emerging markets.
• In 2023, revenue obtained by our Top 30 GPoC from international sales rose to 18.4% of total sales from 17.1% the previous year, still under the 19% pre-pandemic ratio achieved in 2019.
• The construction sector accounts for 37% of global CO² emissions, of which 16% represent embodied carbon – CO² emissions from material sourcing and manufacturing, logistics, and construction activities. Cement production alone is responsible for about 8% of the world´s CO² emissions.
• The Top 30 GPoC dividend yield decreased by 0.4 p.p. to 2.9% in 2023 from 3.3% in 2022.
• None of our Top 30 GPoC reported construction losses in 2023 or 2022.
• Global trends such as rapid urbanization and decarbonization of the economy represent a huge opportunity for our GPoC to go overseas but also to add new activities to their portfolio in addition to the traditional construction business.