Wal-Mart is No 1 again: Fortune 500
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
US RETAILER Wal-Mart Stores has dethroned oil giant ExxonMobil from the top position in the Fortune 500 list of America's biggest companies, the magazine announced on Monday.
The magazine said Wal-Mart saw an 11.2 per cent increase in its 2006 revenues to US$351.1 billion dollars, eclipsing the US$347.3 billion raked in by ExxonMobil.
Wal-Mart has been the top company on the list for five of the past six years.
However, ExxonMobil's profit was more than triple that of the retailer at US$39.5 billion compared to US$11.3 billion.
The Fortune ranking is based on revenues. Other rankings of the largest companies may be based on profits or stock market capitalisation. Fortune also publishes a list of the top global companies.
Despite its struggles and a loss of some US$2 billion, General Motors held onto the number three spot with annual revenues of US$207.3 billion.
Fourth on the list was oil giant Chevron (US$200.6 billion), followed by ConocoPhillips (US$172.5 billion), General Electric (US$168.3 billion), Ford Motor Co (US$160.1 billion), Citigroup (US$146.8 billion), Bank of America (US$117 billion) and American International Group (US$113.2 billion).
The Fortune 500 companies collectively generated profits of US$785 billion, a 29 per cent increase over 2005.
"Put simply, American companies are enjoying the most sumptuously profitable period in the 500's 53-year history," the magazine said. "These happy numbers are largely due to a sort of harmonious convergence, a perfect economic calm."
"Virtually every conceivable force, from mild labor costs to a falling dollar to soaring productivity, has favoured big companies," Fortune added
Revenues for the 500 firms increased 8.9 per cent last year to US$9.9 trillion.
The Fortune 500 lists includes 31 non-public companies and 16 mutual insurers. Twelve have a female chief executive and seven have an African-American CEO.
The most profitable companies in 2006 were ExxonMobil, United Airlines parent UAL, Citigroup, Bank of America, and General Electric.
The largest companies by market value were ExxonMobil, General Electric, Microsoft, Citigroup and AT&T.
New York City had more than twice as many Fortune 500 companies than second-place Houston, with 45 and 22 headquarters, respectively.
The magazine also noted the dramatic effect of soaring productivity, saying it took a 3.6 per cent increase in the collective workforce of the companies from 2000 to 2006 to generate a profit increase of almost 80 per cent.
Fast-growing Bank of America broke into the top 10, displacing IBM, which fell out of the top 10 to 15th place after selling its personal computer division to China's Lenovo.
One of the biggest gainers on the list was Google, up 112 spots to rank 241st. US Airways Group, which resulted from a merger of America West and the old US Airways as it came out of bankruptcy, gained 208 spots to number 216. AFP
The magazine said Wal-Mart saw an 11.2 per cent increase in its 2006 revenues to US$351.1 billion dollars, eclipsing the US$347.3 billion raked in by ExxonMobil.
Wal-Mart has been the top company on the list for five of the past six years.
However, ExxonMobil's profit was more than triple that of the retailer at US$39.5 billion compared to US$11.3 billion.
The Fortune ranking is based on revenues. Other rankings of the largest companies may be based on profits or stock market capitalisation. Fortune also publishes a list of the top global companies.
Despite its struggles and a loss of some US$2 billion, General Motors held onto the number three spot with annual revenues of US$207.3 billion.
Fourth on the list was oil giant Chevron (US$200.6 billion), followed by ConocoPhillips (US$172.5 billion), General Electric (US$168.3 billion), Ford Motor Co (US$160.1 billion), Citigroup (US$146.8 billion), Bank of America (US$117 billion) and American International Group (US$113.2 billion).
The Fortune 500 companies collectively generated profits of US$785 billion, a 29 per cent increase over 2005.
"Put simply, American companies are enjoying the most sumptuously profitable period in the 500's 53-year history," the magazine said. "These happy numbers are largely due to a sort of harmonious convergence, a perfect economic calm."
"Virtually every conceivable force, from mild labor costs to a falling dollar to soaring productivity, has favoured big companies," Fortune added
Revenues for the 500 firms increased 8.9 per cent last year to US$9.9 trillion.
The Fortune 500 lists includes 31 non-public companies and 16 mutual insurers. Twelve have a female chief executive and seven have an African-American CEO.
The most profitable companies in 2006 were ExxonMobil, United Airlines parent UAL, Citigroup, Bank of America, and General Electric.
The largest companies by market value were ExxonMobil, General Electric, Microsoft, Citigroup and AT&T.
New York City had more than twice as many Fortune 500 companies than second-place Houston, with 45 and 22 headquarters, respectively.
The magazine also noted the dramatic effect of soaring productivity, saying it took a 3.6 per cent increase in the collective workforce of the companies from 2000 to 2006 to generate a profit increase of almost 80 per cent.
Fast-growing Bank of America broke into the top 10, displacing IBM, which fell out of the top 10 to 15th place after selling its personal computer division to China's Lenovo.
One of the biggest gainers on the list was Google, up 112 spots to rank 241st. US Airways Group, which resulted from a merger of America West and the old US Airways as it came out of bankruptcy, gained 208 spots to number 216. AFP
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