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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Which companies are over 100 years old? This selection names 25 businesses whose reported origin years range from Beretta in 1526 to Kikkoman in 1917. The dates come from the source article’s table; they are not a uniform set of incorporation dates or proof that each firm has traded continuously under the same legal identity.
How to read these company ages
The years below reproduce the founding-year, country, and industry claims in the WebNots article. A company’s reported founding year can refer to an early business, a product or brand origin, a predecessor, or a later company formed through mergers. The table does not explain a consistent method for selecting or verifying the dates, so it should be read as a historical list rather than a definitive ranking of the world’s oldest operating companies.
Company histories illustrate why the distinction matters. Nestlé says its foundations were laid in 1866, while Coca-Cola dates its origin to the first glass served in 1886. Those descriptions are not necessarily dates of incorporation for the present legal entities.
The 25 companies, by reported founding year
Countries and industries below are as stated in the WebNots article; the dates are attributed to that article, not independently verified as legal incorporation dates.
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| Company | Reported year | Country in source | Industry in source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beretta | 1526 | Italy | Firearms manufacturing |
| Schweppes | 1783 | Switzerland/UK | Beverages |
| Peugeot | 1810 | France | Automotive |
| Brooks Brothers | 1818 | USA | Apparel |
| DuPont | 1802 | USA | Chemicals |
| Colgate-Palmolive | 1806 | USA | Consumer goods |
| Levi Strauss & Co. | 1853 | USA | Apparel |
| The New York Times Company | 1851 | USA | Media/publishing |
| BASF | 1865 | Germany | Chemicals |
| Nestlé | 1866 | Switzerland | Food & beverage |
| General Mills | 1866 | USA | Food processing |
| Tata Group | 1868 | India | Conglomerate/various |
| Heineken | 1873 | Netherlands | Beverages (beer) |
| J.P. Morgan Chase | 1871 | USA | Finance |
| Siemens | 1847 | Germany | Engineering/technology |
| Coca-Cola | 1886 | USA | Beverages |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1886 | USA | Pharmaceuticals/healthcare |
| Nintendo | 1889 | Japan | Gaming/entertainment |
| General Electric (GE) | 1892 | USA | Industrial/energy/healthcare |
| Crédit Agricole | 1894 | France | Finance/banking |
| Shell | 1907 | UK/Netherlands | Oil & gas |
| L’Oréal | 1909 | France | Cosmetics/beauty |
| Ford Motor Company | 1903 | USA | Automotive |
| IBM | 1911 | USA | Technology/computing |
| Kikkoman | 1917 | Japan | Food (soy sauce) |
The table is sorted by reported year, not by present-day corporate age or operating status. It includes companies from multiple regions and sectors, but the selection provides no stated inclusion criteria or method for determining which long-lived firms qualify.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the dates do—and do not—tell you
They identify a reported origin, not necessarily a legal start date
A date attached to a familiar company name can describe the beginnings of a predecessor, an early business, or a product story rather than the formation of the company that exists today. Coca-Cola’s official history places its origin on May 8, 1886, when the first glass was poured at Jacobs’ Pharmacy in Atlanta; the company says about nine drinks a day were sold in its first year. That is an origin account, not evidence in itself about the legal continuity of every later corporate structure.
Nestlé likewise describes its foundations as laid in 1866. That wording signals historical roots, and should not be converted into a claim that its current legal entity was incorporated that year.
Age alone does not establish uninterrupted operation
A long-ago founding date does not show that a business has remained active every year since. Endress+Hauser’s 2023 article says Kongō Gumi, founded in 578, was active until 2006. The example is a reminder that a historic origin and continuous operation are separate claims.
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The list is not evidence of a longevity advantage
The 25 dates do not show that older companies are more successful, safer investments, or more likely to survive than younger ones. General commentary on heritage brands points to factors such as customer needs, quality, trust, innovation, and adaptation, but that is not a company-by-company explanation of how the firms in this table endured. A separate Credit Suisse Research Institute report describes its own listed-company database and generational assumptions; its findings cannot be applied to this selection.
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