Wal-Mart is No. 1 on Fortune 500 List
NEW YORK - It's official: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is the largest company in the nation and the world. The international discount retailer captured the top spot on the annual Fortune 500 list, a measurement of companies' annual revenue.
Wal-Mart moved up one spot from its position on last year?s list, trading places with oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp.
Wal-Mart is the first service company to lead the 500, which only began including service companies in 1995. Before that, it was restricted to manufacturing concerns.
Wal-Mart had $219.81 billion in revenues, compared to Exxon Mobil's $191.58 billion. The only other retailer in the top 20 was Atlanta-based Home Depot Inc., which rose to No. 18 from 23, with revenues of $53.55 billion.
Wal-Mart also remained the company with most employees on the list, with more than 1.2 million workers worldwide.
The list of the largest publicly held companies has been compiled annually since 1955 by the editors of Fortune.
Wal-Mart moved up one spot from its position on last year?s list, trading places with oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp.
Wal-Mart is the first service company to lead the 500, which only began including service companies in 1995. Before that, it was restricted to manufacturing concerns.
Wal-Mart had $219.81 billion in revenues, compared to Exxon Mobil's $191.58 billion. The only other retailer in the top 20 was Atlanta-based Home Depot Inc., which rose to No. 18 from 23, with revenues of $53.55 billion.
Wal-Mart also remained the company with most employees on the list, with more than 1.2 million workers worldwide.
The list of the largest publicly held companies has been compiled annually since 1955 by the editors of Fortune.