The “Global Powers of Construction” (GPoC) report indicates that in 2024, Mota-Engil rose to the 52nd position after previously being ranked 71st, with a total sales volume of $6.439 billion (approximately €5.605 billion) and a market capitalization of $925 million (€805 million).
The study shows that the 100 largest global construction companies generated a total of $1.978 trillion in sales last year, with more than half of this revenue (51.2%) originating from Chinese companies, followed by Europe (22.0%), Japan (9.1%), the United States (8.8%), and South Korea (4.7%).
Compared to 2023, the total revenue obtained by the top 100 companies decreased slightly (-1%), maintaining a “relatively stable” distribution despite a 5% drop in US dollar-denominated revenues from Chinese companies and an increase in other significant geographic areas.
With 42 companies in the ranking, Europe maintains the largest regional representation, with aggregate sales of European builders growing 6.2% to $435.9 billion (€379.437 billion), though their market capitalization declined by 4.9%, primarily due to the performance of three French groups (VINCI, Bouygues, and Eiffage).
The seven Spanish groups “stood out for their dynamism,” with a sales increase of 11.9%, mainly driven by builders ACS and Acciona.
The report also notes that European companies continued to lead in internationalization in 2024, with 66% of their revenues obtained in external markets, compared to 63% in 2023.
In the international sales ranking, Vinci maintained leadership for the third consecutive year, with $44.8 billion (€38.994 billion), representing 57.8% of its business volume.
In 2024, the revenue of the top 30 companies with international sales rose to 21.3% of total sales, the highest proportion in the past five years, compared to 18.4% in 2023.
Nevertheless, the study points out that the sector “faces structural challenges” such as labor shortages, volatility in raw material prices, supply chain constraints, and pressure to adopt more sustainable practices.
In terms of shareholding, the combined market capitalization of the 100 largest companies increased by 13.3%, from $703.2 billion to $796.5 billion (€669.7 billion). The United States and India were the main drivers of this valuation, with increases of $60.3 billion and $25.0 billion (€52.478 billion and €21.757 billion), respectively.
Following a slowdown in 2024 attributed to “geopolitical uncertainty,” Deloitte forecasts that the construction sector will grow by 5.5% annually from 2025 to 2030, driven by urbanization, an aging population, digitalization, and decarbonization.
“These factors are expected to spur significant investments in transportation, energy, telecommunications, and digital assets, supported by the adoption of technologies such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) and AI-based management solutions,” it details.
However, it notes, “short-term prospects remain uncertain”: “In 2024, global construction production grew by 3.1%, down from the previous year, and is expected to slow to 2.3% in 2025 due to recession risks and trade tensions, despite decreasing inflation and easing monetary policies,” it concludes.
