2018.01.11; Revealed: The world's 10 largest companies by revenue

Published by DB,


Revealed: The world's 10 largest companies by revenue

Four of the largest companies in the world by revenue, from L-R: Apple, Volkswagen, Walmart and Royal Dutch Shell
20 July 2017 • 2:42pm

Fortune magazine has published its Fortune Global 500 list, an annual ranking of the world's largest corporations by revenue.

American companies dominate the list, with 132 in the top 500, followed by 109 Chinese companies and 51 from Japan.

While China added six new companies from the previous year, Japan lost one and the US lost two, the list shows.

The top 10 list consists almost entirely of Chinese and American firms - just three are from different countries: Germany, Japan and The Netherlands. The largest British firm on the list by revenue - BP - comes in at number 12.

Clifton Leaf, Fortune's editor-in-chief, said: "Real innovation can happen - and, indeed, is happening - everywhere, not just in the familiar valleys and alleys of the tech establishment. One has only to look at the geographic breakdown in the 2017 Fortune Global 500. The companies in this latest ranking are based in no less than 232 cities in 34 countries.

"At the same time, the centre of gravity of the global business enterprise continues to drift eastward. More than a fifth of those on the latest list - 109 companies - call China home, up from only 29 companies a decade ago."

Number one on the top 10 list, retailer Wal-Mart - which owns Asda in the UK - has topped the Fortune Global 500 for the past four consecutive years, and has claimed the top spot a total of 12 times since 1995.

The Fortune Global 500 top 10 list by annual revenue

  1. WalMart Stores (US) - $485.8bn
  2. State Grid (China) - $315.1bn
  3. Sinopec (China) - $267.5bn
  4. China Natural Petroleum (China) - $262.6bn
  5. Toyota Motor (Japan) - $254.7bn
  6. Volkswagen (Germany) - $240.2bn
  7. Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands) - $240bn
  8. Berkshire Hathaway (US) - $223.6bn
  9. Apple (US) - $215.6bn
  10. Exxon Mobil (US) - $205bn

Banking was the industry with the most number of companies on the list, at 55, followed by automakers/parts suppliers with 34, and petroleum refiners with 28.

There was an improvement in the number of female CEOs in the Fortune Global 500 list, with 14 women represented - up from 12 in 2016.

Companies were ranked by total revenues for their respective fiscal years ending on or before March 31, 2017.