UK companies are thriving right now – in the US
The market capitalisation of UK companies listed in the US reached $2.2 trillion in Q1 2025, an increase of 6% compared to the same period last year, a new report from professional services firm PwC shows.
The inaugural report looks at the size, geography and sector composition across the EMEA region of Foreign Private Issuers – international companies outside of the United States who are listed on the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq.
The analysis shows the number of UK companies listed in the US at the end of Q1 2025 totalled 91, the most in Europe. The Healthcare sector accounted for more than a quarter of UK companies listed in the US with a total of 24 firms. The Consumer sector followed with 16 and followed by Financials and Industrials & Materials both with 14.
Industrials & Materials held the largest market capitalisation among sectors at the end of Q1 2025 with $468.4 billion, followed by Consumer with $433.2 billion and Financials at $407.8 billion.
Overall, there were 415 EMEA headquartered companies listed in the US at the close of Q1 2025. Israel, with 110, has the greatest number of companies by territory, followed by the UK with 91.
A collection of other countries combined to make 70 with Ireland next with 34 issuers. With $2.2 trillion, the UK contributes the most to EMEA’s market cap followed by Ireland with $1 trillion and Switzerland with $600 billion.
“A flurry of May IPO activity and increasing numbers of UK and EMEA companies planning a Wall Street debut in the next 12 to 24 months suggest that caution over macroeconomic concerns, including US trade policy, is not hampering optimism for companies and investors playing the longer game,” said Jenny Harper (Partner and US Capital Markets Leader at PwC UK).
“There remains a significant base of pent-up capital in the US, so companies are focusing on readiness to be at the front of the queue when conditions are right,” she said.
This was echoed by Justin Montgomery (Director of US Capital Markets at PwC UK) who noted that over the past few years, the group has seen a shift in the types of UK and EMEA companies looking to the US to raise capital.
“We now have large, multinational industrials who are shifting their listings to the US to take advantage of US index inclusion, along with a new crop of exciting, fast growing technology companies who see US investors who understand their businesses and are willing to invest in their growth story,” he said.
