megacap

Megacap is a colloquial term used in financial markets to describe companies with extremely large market capitalizations. It is not an official category in most financial classifications, but investors use it to distinguish the very largest firms from large-cap stocks.

There is no universal threshold for megacap status. Common references place the cutoff around several hundred billion dollars in market value, often cited as roughly $200–300 billion or more. The threshold can shift with market conditions and depending on the analyst’s framework.

Megacaps are typically globally active, with diversified revenue streams, high liquidity, and substantial free cash flow. They often have significant influence on stock indices such as the S&P 500 due to their large weights. Their performance can disproportionately affect overall market returns, and they tend to attract more analyst coverage and investor attention.

Well-known megacaps include technology and consumer giants such as Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Nvidia, along with others like Meta Platforms. The megacap segment spans multiple sectors but is most prominent in technology and communications services.