The Fortune 500 is a list of the 500 largest companies in the United States, ranked by total revenue. Since 1955, Fortune Magazine has published the annual list and it is considered one of the best-known business rankings. The Fortune 500 list can be found online and in the print edition of the magazine.
Companies on the list come from a variety of industries, such as technology, retail, healthcare and finance. These companies are known as some of the most influential in the world, and the list includes both private and publicly traded companies.
Here’s how companies make the list, the history behind the rankings, and the top 10 companies from the past two years.
What Qualifies a Fortune 500 Company?
To qualify for the Fortune 500 list, a company must be for-profit, publicly traded or privately held, and be a U.S.-based entity with financial statements filed with a U.S. government agency. The company must have revenue that places it among the top 500 U.S. companies.
What is the ranking methodology?
To compile the list, the largest U.S. companies are ranked by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. For example, the 2023 list uses 2023 figures. Each company included must operate in the US and have filed financial statements with a government agency for at least three quarters of the current fiscal year. Revenue figures are taken from company registrations and include both consolidated subsidiaries and income from discontinued operations (excluding spin-off companies that are listed – these are excluded). Profits are shown after taxes and before company preferred dividends.
An editor oversees list preparation and an accounting specialist typically reviews and verifies company results and balance sheets. You can find the names and details of who was involved in creating the list under the ‘credits’ section of the website methodology page on Fortune.
The Top 10 Fortune 500 Companies
Below are the top-ranked companies for 2023 and 2023. Walmart has topped the list for the past eleven years in a row. The 2024 list will be announced at the end of May.
| Rank | Top 10 Fortune 500 Companies 2023 | Top 10 Fortune 500 Companies 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walmart | Walmart |
| 2 | Amazon | Amazon |
| 3 | ExxonMobil | Apple |
| 4 | Apple | CFS health |
| 5 | UnitedHealth Group | UnitedHealth Group |
| 6 | CFS health | ExxonMobil |
| 7 | Berkshire Hathaway | Berkshire Hathaway |
| 8 | Alphabet | Alphabet |
| 9 | McKesson | McKesson |
| 10 | Chevron | AmerisourceBergen |
The History of the Fortune 500 List
Although the magazine was founded in 1929, at the beginning of the Great Depression, the first Fortune 500 list was not published until 1955. Edgar P. Smith, Fortune’s assistant editor, is credited with the idea.
Originally, the list included only mining, manufacturing and energy industry companies. The three largest companies in 1955 were General Motors (with annual sales of $9.8 billion), Exxon Mobil (with $5.6 billion), and US Steel (with $3.2 billion).
In 1995, Fortune announced it would involve service companies such as McDonald’s, Walmart and AT&T. Since the change, service companies have made up the majority of the list.
Where can you find the Fortune 500 companies list?
The Fortune 500 list is usually and may be released in late May each year found online or in the June/July print issue. Non-subscribers can purchase a single print copy if they prefer a physical version.
In short
The Fortune 500 list is a comprehensive and influential guide to the current state of the American economy. Published annually by Fortune magazine, it ranks the top 500 companies in the United States by total revenue. The 2024 list will be released at the end of May.
