Inside Europe’s biggest companies—and the forces reshaping them

Fortune’s Europe team descended on the London Stock Exchange on Sept. 16 for a special launch of the Fortune 500 Europe list. The ceremonial ringing of the bell to open the market also signified the release of our latest ranking of Europe’s biggest businesses.

The combined revenues of companies on this year’s Fortune 500 Europe list hit a record high of $15.5 trillion, and profits reached $1 trillion.

It was particularly fitting to launch the list in London. For the first time in the four-year history of the Fortune 500 Europe, the U.K. overtook Germany to have the most ranked companies.

This year’s list also showed a continued lack of female representation. Only 8.6% of Europe’s 500 biggest companies are run by women. (In comparison, around 11% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women.) I spoke with Karin Rådström, chief executive of Daimler Truck (No. 72 on the Fortune 500 Europe), who said the persistent underrepresentation of women at the top of European businesses makes her all the more........

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