Lisbon, Nov. 5, 2025 (Lusa) - Mota-Engil, the only Portuguese company in the “top” 100 of the largest global construction companies, rose 19 places to 52nd in the ranking between 2023 and 2024, according to a study released by consultancy firm Deloitte on Wednesday.
According to the “Global Powers of Construction” (GPoC) report, in 2024 Mota-Engil moved up to position 52, after having occupied position 71 the previous year, with a total sales volume of $6.439 billion (around €5.605 billion) and a market capitalisation of $925 million (€805 million).
The study indicates that the 100 largest global companies in the construction sector generated total sales of $1.978 trillion last year, with more than half of this revenue (51.2%) coming 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 100 companies in the ranking fell slightly (- 1%), but maintained a "relatively stable" distribution, despite the 5% decrease in revenue in US dollars obtained by Chinese companies and an increase in other relevant geographical areas.
With 42 companies in the ranking, Europe maintains the largest regional representation, with the aggregate sales of European construction companies growing by 6.2% to $435.9 billion (€379.437 billion). However, their market capitalisation fell by 4.9%, penalised above all by three French groups (VINCI, Bouygues and Eiffage).
The seven Spanish groups “stood out for their dynamism”, with an 11.9% increase in sales, driven mainly by construction companies ACS and Acciona.
The report also indicates that European companies continued to lead the way in internationalisation in 2024: 66% of their revenues were generated in foreign markets, up from 63% in 2023.
In the international sales ranking, Vinci maintained its lead for the 3rd consecutive year, with $44.8 billion (€38.994 billion), corresponding to 57.8% of its turnover.
In 2024, the revenue of the 30 largest companies with international sales increased to 21.3% of total sales, the highest proportion in the last five years, up from 18.4% in 2023.
Even so, the study points out that the sector "faces structural challenges" such as labour shortages, volatile raw material prices, supply chain constraints and pressure to adopt more sustainable practices.
On the shareholder front, the combined market capitalisation of the 100 largest companies grew by 13.3%, from $703.2 billion to $796.5 billion (around €669.7 billion). The United States and India were the main drivers of this appreciation, with increases of $60.3 billion and $25 billion €$52.478 billion and €21.757 billion) respectively.
After the slowdown recorded in 2024, attributed to "geopolitical uncertainty", Deloitte predicts that the construction sector should grow by 5.5% per year between 2025 and 2030, sustained by urbanisation, an ageing population, digitalisation and decarbonisation.
"These factors should drive significant investment in transport, energy, telecommunications and digital assets, supported by the adoption of technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) and management solutions based on artificial intelligence," he explains.
However, he says, “in the short term the outlook remains uncertain”: “In 2024, global construction output grew by 3.1%, down on the previous year, and is expected to slow to 2.3% in 2025, due to risks of recession and trade tensions, despite falling inflation and easing monetary policies,” he concludes.
PD/ADB // ADB.
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