Sydney's top companies 2019 revealed

The sale of Westfield Corporation to French retail conglomerate Unibail-Rodamco last year was always going to create a void in the upper reaches of our list of Sydney's top publicly-listed companies, but who would fill the vacancy?

The leading five companies account for almost half of the Top 50's combined market capitalisation of $696 billion, a total Sydneysiders will be happy to know is seven per cent higher than that of Melbourne.

Led by the nation's two largest banks followed by Macquarie Group which has overtaken Woolworths, this top five have a new entrant after Goodman Group added an extra $6 billion to its name since the last list was released.

The rise and rise of the commercial and industrial real estate giant has been driven by high-profile contracts worldwide, while at home it has struck major deals including Amazon's first lease in Sydney.

But founder-led Goodman wasn't the only new business to crack the top 10, as it was joined by pallet purveyor Brambles and pokie manufacturer Aristocrat Leisure.

The latter however may face troubles stemming from a US Department of Justice (DOJ) assertion that all internet gambling is illegal, seeing as it has made headway in the online space.

Tech firms at the vanguard of the global digital revolution have made their mark as well, including logistics software firm WiseTech Global jumping 18 spots and newcomer Altium which has been a market darling with its printed circuit board (PCB) software in use worldwide.

With a fast-growing unicorn status, Altium which has companies like Tesla and Google amongst its customers - jumped five spots on this list just prior to release after it announced promising half year results.

Another boomer was also one of Australia's oldest companies Washington H. Soul Pattison, with its 14-spot jump symbolising the adage "a rising tide lifts all boats" thanks to its major investments in other companies on the list including TPG Telecom, New Hope Corporation and Brickworks.

Brickworks is another new participant along with Link Administration Holdings and nib, while other businesses that shot up through the ranks include WorleyParsons and Evolution Mining.

Despite the doom and gloom surrounding the property sector in Sydney, Dexus Property Group rose five spots to break into the Top 20 in this year's list, bolstered by "strong transactional activity" and "demand for quality properties across the key Australian capital cities".

Its prominent role in the fees-for-no-service (FFNS) scandal and the Banking Royal Commission meant AMP had the biggest fall in the list, while big drops were also seen for Spark Infrastructure, Harvey Norman and Platinum Asset Management.

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