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Exxon Back At No. 1 On 'Fortune 500' List; Wal-Mart Knocked To No. 2

By Mark Memmott
Published May 7, 2012 at 6:45 AM MDT
At an Exxon Mobil gas station in Chicago; July 29, 2010.
John Gress
/
Getty Images
At an Exxon Mobil gas station in Chicago; July 29, 2010.

After two years in second place, Exxon Mobil is back on top of the Fortune 500.

With 2011 revenues of $452.9 billion, the oil and energy giant edged out Wal-Mart Stores, which brought in $447 billion, Fortune magazine just reported.

Wal-Mart took the top spot from Exxon Mobil two years ago and held on to it again last year. Soaring oil prices are a major factor in Exxon's move back to No. 1.

Exxon far outpaced Wal-Mart when it comes to profits: Earning $41.1 billion to Wal-Mart's $15.7 billion.

Other Fortune 500 highlights:

-- Bank of America was the only company to fall out of the top 10, slipping from No. 9 a year ago to No. 13. But it had a profitable year: earning $1.4 billion in 2011, following a $2.2 billion loss the year before.

-- Hewlett-Packard moved back into the top 10, rising one notch to No. 10.

-- General Motors moved up three spots, to No. 5, with revenues of $150.3 billion in 2011.

-- Apple came in at No. 17 on the list. But it was No. 3 in terms of profits — earning $25.9 billion on revenues of $108.2 billion.

-- Chevron is No. 3 on the Fortune 500, with $245.6 billion in revenues, but is No. 2 in terms of profits, with $26.9 billion last year.

-- Microsoft's $69.9 billion in revenues placed it at No. 37 on the Fortune 500 list. But it earned $23.2 billion last year, making it No. 4 in terms of profits.

-- Ford, which ranked No. 9 among the 500 thanks to its $136.2 billion in revenues, earned $20.2 billion (fifth-most among the companies).

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags
EconomyOil and GasBankingApple
Mark Memmott
Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
See stories by Mark Memmott
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