Key Takeaways

  • Many of the world’s most successful companies — including Google, Amazon, and Nike — operate as LLCs or use LLC subsidiaries to gain flexibility and liability protection.
  • LLC structures are widely adopted across industries such as technology, retail, food and beverage, entertainment, and finance.
  • LLCs appeal to businesses of all sizes because they combine limited liability protection with simpler compliance and tax flexibility compared to corporations.
  • Real-world LLC examples demonstrate how businesses leverage this structure for strategic advantages, from managing risk to optimizing taxes.
  • Understanding how top brands structure their LLCs can help entrepreneurs make smarter decisions about their own business formation.

There are many well known LLC companies that people may not realize are LLCs. LLCs, or limited liability companies, have many advantages when running a business, which is why they're a popular business entity. Here are some examples of famous LLCs.

Well Known LLC Companies

The company Alphabet may not be known to many people by the name itself, but it has a famous subsidiary - Google. It was started in 2015 and has many companies in different areas, such as wearable technology and medical research.

China Mobile claims to be the largest mobile network in the world and has the biggest mobile customer base. It's the top telecommunications services provider in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and mainland China.

Berkshire Hathaway may not involve technology, but it's a large company that started back in 1888 when it was a textile company. It now has many different sectors, including railroads, insurance companies, and utilities. This is partly owned by the famous investor Warren Buffet.

Exxon Mobil is another famous LLC and is the largest gas and oil company in the world. It dropped from being in the top spot to number five last year. This company got formed when Exxon and Mobil merged together in 1999.

Johnson and Johnson is a large company that's been around for awhile. It sells pharmaceutical goods in many countries.

General Electric, also known as GE, is one of the older companies on this list, starting in 1878 when Thomas Edison established the Edison Electric Light Company. It is the only company in the Dow Jones Industrial Index that was on the original index back in 1896.

Why Major Companies Choose the LLC Structure

Large corporations and small startups alike often opt for the limited liability company (LLC) structure because it offers unique benefits that balance flexibility and protection. Unlike corporations, LLCs require less ongoing compliance and provide “pass-through” taxation, which means profits and losses flow directly to the owners’ individual tax returns. This avoids double taxation, which is common in traditional C corporations.

LLCs also provide liability protection — shielding personal assets from business debts or lawsuits — while allowing a flexible management structure. For multinational enterprises, forming subsidiaries as LLCs enables them to isolate risk in specific product lines, ventures, or geographic markets. For smaller businesses, the LLC structure simplifies ownership, governance, and tax obligations while maintaining professional credibility.

Famous LLCs in Technology

One of the most well-known LLCs is Apple, which was started when Steve Jobs built the first Apple computer in his parents' garage. It's been called the most valuable company in the world and is estimated to have a net worth of $605 billion. Unfortunately, the iPhone started to see deceased sales in 2016.

Microsoft is the most famous rival to Apple and was started in a garage as well, where Paul Allen and Bill Gates put their first computer together. This was founded a year earlier than Apple in 1975.

Amazon was originally started in 1995 in a garage when it was an online bookstore. It now delivers everything imaginable, from food to clothes to electronics. The site is used so much that when it went down last year for 49 minutes, the company missed out on an estimated $5.7 million in sales.

Another online giant, Facebook, started as a college experiment in 2004. It had almost 1.79 billion active users each day in May 2020. Almost 85 percent of these were outside of Canada and the US.

AOL, or America Online, was originally known as Quantum Computer Services when it was first founded in 1985. In 2006, it renamed itself to AOL. It was one of the major internet providers in the 90s.

In 1996, BackRub was the name of the top search engine in the world. Serge Brin and Larry Page decided to rename the company to Google in 1998, as it's now known. They came up with the name based on the word "googol," which represents the number one followed by 100 zeros. They choose this to show how there was an infinite amount of items to search for on the web.

In 1996, the electronics store Sound of Music was founded and specialized in high fidelity stereos. It pulled in $58,000 profits and $1 million in revenue in the first year alone. The most profitable store got hit by a tornado in 1981, after which they had a "Tornado Sale" of the damaged stock in the parking lot. The sale was advertised by promising "best buys" on all the items. This sale was extremely profitable, and the store was renamed in 1983 to Best Buy.

Tech Giants That Use LLC Structures

Some of the most influential technology companies in the world are organized as LLCs or operate major subsidiaries through LLCs. These examples show how even massive enterprises leverage the structure for flexibility, tax planning, and liability protection:

  • Google LLC: Originally incorporated as a corporation, Google restructured into Google LLC under Alphabet Inc. to streamline its operations and reduce legal exposure for specific business units[.
  • Amazon Web Services LLC (AWS): Amazon’s cloud computing arm is structured as an LLC, giving it operational autonomy and helping Amazon separate liability from other parts of its business.
  • Meta Platforms LLC (subsidiaries): Meta operates several of its ventures and investments through LLC subsidiaries to manage risk and simplify tax reporting.
  • Microsoft Operations LLC: Microsoft uses LLC subsidiaries for many of its regional operations, allowing for more efficient legal and financial management across jurisdictions.

These examples illustrate that LLCs are not just for small businesses — they’re integral to the strategies of multi-billion-dollar tech companies.

Other Famous LLCs

There are many other famous LLCs, including the following:

  • Blackberry
  • Pepsi-Cola
  • Sony
  • Nike
  • Hertz Rent-a-Car
  • eBay
  • IBM

There are many well known LLC companies that started out small and now are huge names in the industry.

LLC Examples in Retail, Food, and Entertainment

Beyond technology, many iconic brands across various sectors operate as LLCs, demonstrating the structure’s versatility:

  • Nike USA LLC: Nike uses LLC entities to manage its domestic operations, giving it tax advantages and reducing liability exposure.
  • Subway LLC: The sandwich giant is organized as an LLC, which simplifies its franchise operations and allows profits to pass directly to owners without corporate taxation.
  • Chick-fil-A LLC: This fast-food leader benefits from the LLC’s flexibility while maintaining family ownership and control.
  • Sony Music Holdings LLC: A leading entertainment company using LLC subsidiaries for record labels and media divisions to optimize liability protection.
  • Bank of America Merrill Lynch Ventures LLC: Financial institutions also use LLCs to structure investment funds and isolate risk from their primary operations.

These llc examples demonstrate how companies in diverse industries use the LLC structure to support growth, manage risk, and streamline operations.

How LLCs Support Franchises and Small Businesses

While many LLC examples involve Fortune 500 companies, the structure is equally popular among small businesses and franchises. Companies like Planet Fitness LLC and 7-Eleven LLC use the structure to manage franchise networks while limiting liability. Entrepreneurs launching local restaurants, consulting firms, or e-commerce businesses often choose LLCs because they offer credibility with customers and partners without the regulatory complexity of a corporation.

Moreover, forming an LLC can make it easier to attract investors, as ownership percentages and profit distributions can be customized through the operating agreement. It’s also a common step for businesses preparing for future growth — many eventually convert to corporations once they seek venture capital or public listing, but they begin as LLCs to take advantage of the simpler tax and governance rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What are some famous LLC examples?
    Examples include Google LLC, Nike USA LLC, Subway LLC, and Amazon Web Services LLC — all use the LLC structure for flexibility and liability protection.
  2. Why do large companies use LLCs?
    LLCs offer tax advantages, limited liability, and flexible management, making them ideal for structuring subsidiaries, managing risk, and simplifying operations.
  3. Are LLCs only for small businesses?
    No. While popular with small businesses, LLCs are also used by global corporations to structure specific divisions or subsidiaries efficiently.
  4. Can an LLC have multiple owners?
    Yes. LLCs can have one or many members (owners), and ownership shares can be customized in the operating agreement.
  5. Do LLCs pay corporate taxes?
    Most LLCs are “pass-through” entities, meaning they don’t pay corporate taxes — profits and losses pass directly to the members’ individual tax returns.

If you need help with finding llc examples, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.