2008 FORTUNE 500
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Fortune
America's Largest Companies
The top 20 companies of this year's FORTUNE 500 offer services ranging from energy to financial services to consumer staples.
Last year, Wal-Mart knocked Exxon Mobil from its first place position. Did the discount retail king hold on to its top spot? Click through our gallery to find out. Plus, see if any of your favorite companies made the top 20.
Read About the FORTUNE 500
First Slide: Who Is No. 1?More FORTUNE 500:
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Chris Hondros, Getty Images
Wal-Mart
Rank this year: 1
Rank last year: 1
Revenue (millions): $378,799
Profits (millions): $12,731
The retail giant maintains the top spot on the FORTUNE 500, making it the largest company in the United States for the sixth time in the last seven years.
See More on Wal-Mart
Next: No. 2 Largest CompanyMore on Wal-Mart:
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Steve Helber, AP
Exxon Mobil
Rank this year: 2
Rank last year: 2
Revenue (millions): $372,824
Profits (millions): $40,610
Though it didn't reclaim the No. 1 spot this year, the oil giant remains the most profitable company in the FORTUNE 500, with $40.6 billion in 2007 earnings.
See More on Exxon Mobil
Next: No. 3 Largest CompanyMore on Exxon Mobil:
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AP
Chevron
Rank this year: 3
Rank last year: 4
Revenue (millions): $210,783
Profits (millions): $18,688
The second-largest U.S. oil company posted its highest annual profit ever, with 2007 income of $18.6 billion. Still, like the rest of the industry, its earnings from rising crude prices were pinched by increased refining costs.
See More on Chevron
Next: No. 4 Largest CompanyMore on Chevron:
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Paul Sancya, AP
General Motors
Rank this year: 4
Rank last year: 3
Revenue (millions): $182,347
Profits (millions): -$38,732
GM’s recovery is slow going. High gasoline prices, weak auto sales, layoffs, buyouts and a looming recession helped shrink sales 12% and led to a $39 billion loss. Still, GM remains the world’s largest automaker, though it very nearly lost its top position in global car sales -- which it has held for 76 years -- to Japanese rival Toyota. See More on General Motors
Next: No. 5 Largest CompanyMore on General Motors:
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David Zalubowski, AP
ConocoPhillips
Rank this year: 5
Rank last year: 5
Revenue (millions): $178,558
Profits (millions): $11,891
Not every oil giant was fat and happy last year. In June, the company was forced to pull out of oil-rich Venezuela following an impasse with President Hugo Chavez.
See More on ConocoPhillips
Next: No. 6 Largest CompanyMore on CononoPhillips:
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EyePress / AP
General Electric
Rank this year: 6
Rank last year: 6
Revenue (millions): $176,656
Profits (millions): $22,208
GE had a tough year. First, its financial services and mortgage units were hit by the credit crisis, and then its NBC Universal entertainment unit was slammed by the Writers Guild strike. But year-end earnings were buoyed by big-ticket items such as locomotives, jet engines and water treatment plants -- enough to make it the second-most profitable in the Fortune 500.
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Next: No. 7 Largest CompanyMore on General Electric:
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Tim Boyle, Getty Images
Ford Motor
Rank this year: 7
Rank last year: 7
Revenue (millions): $172,468
Profits (millions): -$2,723
Not only were Ford's U.S. auto sales down by nearly 12% for the year, but the manufacturer was surpassed as the nation's No. 2 automaker by Japanese rival Toyota. It was hit by high gas prices, which put the brakes on demand for its SUVs and pickups, and the cost of cutting its North American workforce by about 33,000 people.
See More on Ford Motor
Next: No. 8 Largest CompanyMore on Ford Motor:
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AP
Citigroup
Rank this year: 8
Rank last year: 8
Revenue (millions): $159,229
Profits (millions): $3,617
Risky subprime loans delivered a huge blow to the financial services giant. The mortgage meltdown forced Citigroup to post the worst fourth-quarter loss in its 196-year history: $10 billion.
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Next: No. 9 Largest CompanyMore on Citigroup:
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Mario Tama, Getty Images
Bank of America Corp.
Rank this year: 9
Rank last year: 9
Revenue (millions): $119,190
Profits (millions): $14,982
Bank of America wasn't hit quite as hard by the credit crisis as other financial institutions in 2007. But it did have the misfortune of taking a $2 billion stake in Countrywide, the nation's biggest subprime lender, in August.
See More on Bank of America
Next: No. 10 Largest CompanyMore on Bank of America:
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Spencer Platt, Getty Images
AT&T
Rank this year: 10
Rank last year: 27
Revenue (millions): $118,928
Profits (millions): $11,951
The new AT&T, which jumps 17 spots on the Fortune 500, is the phoenix reborn from four different telecoms: the old AT&T, Cingular, BellSouth and SBC.
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Next: No. 11 Largest CompanyMore on AT&T:
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Getty Images
Berkshire Hathaway
Rank this year: 11
Rank last year: 12
Revenue (millions): $118,245
Profits (millions): $13,213
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett's stable of more than 70 companies had a highly profitable year, posting returns double that of the benchmark S&P 500. Two of Buffett's biggest 2007 acquisitions: a $5 billion stake in Burlington Northern and a $1.6 billion piece of Sanofi-Aventis.
See More on Berkshire Hathaway
Next: No. 12 Largest CompanyMore on Berkshire Hathaway:
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J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
Rank this year: 12
Rank last year: 11
Revenue (millions): $116,353
Profits (millions): $15,365
CEO Jamie Dimon helped the firm weather the mortgage crisis better than its Wall Street counterparts by steering clear of collateralized debt obligations, the securities that have otherwise slammed the financial industry. The bank's solid footing -- along with a $29 billion guarantee from the Federal Reserve -- helped it bail out Bear Stearns in a controversial deal this March. More on J.P. Morgan Chase
Next: No. 13 Largest CompanyMore on J.P. Morgan Chase:
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American International Group
Rank this year: 13
Rank last year: 10
Revenue (millions): $110,064
Profits (millions): $6,200
The world's largest insurance group was forced to take an $11 billion writedown last year on its weakened credit derivatives portfolio, resulting in a fourth-quarter loss of $5.3 billion -- its biggest ever.
See More on AIG
Next: No. 14 Largest CompanyMore on AIG:
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David Paul Morris, Getty Images
Hewlett-Packard
Rank this year: 14
Rank last year: 14
Revenue (millions): $104,286
Profits (millions): $7,264
The turnaround of HP under Chief Executive Mark Hurd is in full swing. Not only did the tech giant outpace competitor Dell in computer sales, it also outsold Sun Microsystems and IBM in the server market.
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Next: No. 15 Largest CompanyMore on H-P:
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Fabian Bimmer, AP
International Business Machines
Rank this year: 15
Rank last year: 15
Revenue (millions): $98,786
Profits (millions): $10,418
Capitalizing on the "International" part of the company's name, IBM's focus on overseas business helped boost 2007 numbers. IBM generated 63% of its revenue from overseas sales last year, helping it overcome U.S. economic woes.
See More on IBM
Next: No. 16 Largest CompanyMore on IBM:
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Valero Energy
Rank this year: 16
Rank last year: 16
Revenue (millions): $96,758
Profits (millions): $5,234
The independent oil refiner, which also owns over 5,000 gas stations, has been one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. in recent years.
See More on Valero
Next: No. 17 Largest CompanyMore on Valero:
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AP
Verizon Communications
Rank this year: 17
Rank last year: 13
Revenue (millions): $93,775
Profits (millions): $5,521
The second largest telecom in the United States has relied on its fast-growing wireless business to offset its quickly disintegrating core home phone business, which saw subscribers shrink by 11% last year.
See More on Verizon
Next: No. 18 Largest CompanyMore on Verizon:
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AP
McKesson
Rank this year: 18
Rank last year: 18
Revenue (millions): $93,574
Profits (millions): $913
The health care services provider is also a pharmaceutical wholesaler, delivering more than $1 billion worth of medicines to pharmacies and hospitals each week -- about one-third of all medications consumed in the United States.
See More on McKesson
Next: No. 19 Largest CompanyMore on McKesson:
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Cardinal Health
Rank this year: 19
Rank last year: 19
Revenue (millions): $88,363.90
Profits (millions): $1,931.10
The drug wholesaler and medical supply manufacturer sold off its pharmaceutical technologies and services division last April to the Blackstone Group for $3.3 billion, which helped to nearly double annual profit.
See More on Cardinal Health
Next: No. 20 Largest CompanyMore on Cardinal Health:
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Richard Drew, AP
Goldman Sachs
Rank this year: 20
Rank last year: 24
Revenue (millions): $87,968
Profits (millions): $11,599
The Wall Street powerhouse seems to have beaten the credit crunch, for the most part. It posted record sales and profit, thanks to its booming trading business -- and the fact that it mostly stayed away from the mortgage-backed securities that got its counterparts in trouble. See More on Goldman Sachs
Next: More Fortune 500More on Goldman Sachs:
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More on AOL: Retailers in Crisis -
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Shoppers Spy Trouble
Have you entered a retailer's store lately and wondered how they are staying in business? Maybe it was the lack of fellow shoppers or the state of the store's displays that made you think the store was in trouble. We asked AOL users to tell us which stores they would not be surprised to see shut their doors for good. We culled through over 5,000 responses and came up with these common and/or interesting observations.
Gallery: Retail Stores in Trouble
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Recent Comments
Tastles2001 08:24:59 PM Apr 23 2008
IF YOU REALLY WOULD LIKE THE PRICE OF OIL DROP, DO NOT BUY OIL FROM EXXON STATION , SINCE THEY ARE THE LEADER OF ALL THIS MADNESS, IF WE ALL GO ELSE WHERE AND BUY OIL, EXXON WOULD HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO LOWER THERE PRICE AND ALL ELSE WOULD FOLLOW, LETS ALL TRY
Yankeedoug1121 07:19:46 PM Apr 23 2008
this ****** is not what average dick and jane tax payer wants to read they sick of oil comps. and g.w.burying the tax payer!
Rcuenca4 07:10:44 PM Apr 23 2008
Why are Saudi Arabiaâs gas prices still only 91 centsâ¦What the real price of oil?
Rcuenca4 07:08:00 PM Apr 23 2008
Ruddmanfan 02:26:13 PM Apr 23 2008
Report This! why cant the government put a stop to these criminals
Easy answer the criminals are the ones who put the goverment in place. Bush is getting out of office and the gas prices are soring...and nobody is stoping the oil companies
Ravenwood420 06:27:22 PM Apr 23 2008
I'm going to start taking off after I get gas. When I get caught, hopefully somebody will understand that I'm not the one who's really a criminal here.
Epstcb 06:21:43 PM Apr 23 2008
WHAT? gas should be no higher than $2.00 a gallon? Are you crazy? I remember when it went to 2.00 a gallon and it was not acceptable. The oil companies now bainwashed you into thinking that 2.00 is good you moron! We should be paying no more than $1.00 a gallon
Seventeencats 05:56:30 PM Apr 23 2008
eh, one other great way to cut down your family expenses is to use birth control and stop having a baby get created every time you drop your drawers. am tired of hearimg, "my family has two workers ane we still can't buy gas because we have 7 kids or 5 kids to feed and clothe and also pay house or rent payments". we didn't have rugrats and even if gas should go to $50 a gallon, we still won't be hurting financailly....and there's only one person here working, not two. i work for all the the cats, dogs, and horses that we own, they don't pay me any salary. sure, it costs money to feed our furry/hairy kids but i also know how to manage the finances here. you people need to learn MATH. if ya can't pay to have kids, use my tip about using birth control. i feel no sorrow for any of ya.
Seventeencats 05:52:59 PM Apr 23 2008
eh, one other great way to cut down your family expenses is to use birth control and stop having a baby get created every time you drop your drawers. am tired of hearimg, "my family has two workers ane we still can't buy gas because we have 7 kids or 5 kids to feed and clothe and also pay house or rent payments". we didn't have rugrats and even if gas should go to $50 a gallon, we still won't be hurting financailly....and there's only one person here working, not two. i work for all the the cats, dogs, and horses that we own, they don't pay me any salary. sure, it costs money to feed our furry/hairy kids but i also know how to manage the finances here. you people need to learn MATH. if ya can't pay to have kids, use my tip about using birth control. i feel no sorrow for any of ya.
