The magazine “Fortune” this Monday (23) released its traditional list of the 500 largest companies in the United States. The 68th edition of the rankings showed no change at the top, but The overall inflation outlook, despite the crises in logistics chains and the persistence of the pandemic, showed 2021 a very positive year for companies.,
Walmart facade in Encinitas, USA, in a file image — Photo: Mike Blake/Reuters/File photo
The companies’ combined profit was $1.84 trillion, a new record, surpassing 2019’s $1.22 trillion. Profit margins were also at a record high, reaching 11.4% last year, up from a previous top of 8.9% in 2013. Profit per employee was US$61,821, also a record surpassing US$41,884 in 2019.
Together, the 500 largest companies, in terms of revenue, also made up a record value of US$16.1 trillion – as of the publication.
The top five companies on the list were unchanged from the year-over-year comparison. Walmart ranks first, followed by Amazon, Apple, CVS Health and UnitedHealth. ExxonMobil climbed four places to the sixth position on the back of higher crude oil prices. Berkshire Hathaway, Alphabet, McKesson and Amerisource Bergen round out the top 10.
See the top 10 rankings by revenue (value in US$ million):
- Walmart: $572.75
- Amazon: $469.82
- Apple: $365.82
- CVS Health: $292.11
- UnitedHealth Group: $287.6
- Exxon Mobil: $285.64
- Berkshire Hathaway: $276.09
- Alphabet: $257.64
- McKesson: $238.23
- AmerisourceBergen: $213.99
Other companies in the oil sector also figure in the top 100, rising above the final list driven by the commodity. Chevron is the 16th largest US company, up 11 places from 2021. Marathon Petroleum is up 13 places to 19th. ConocoPhillips jumped 79 positions, making it the 77th largest company.
Entrepreneur Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker Tesla climbed 35 places from the Fortune 500 to 65th. Facebook’s parent company Meta climbed seven places to 27th place, while Pfizer, supported by sales of COVID-19 vaccines, climbed 34 places to 43rd place.
The airline also saw a major rally in the list, with Delta Air Lines rising 65 places to 113rd place, while American Airlines took 60 places to 114th in the rankings. United Airlines climbed 54 places to 146th. Southwest Airlines climbed 102 places to 234th.
