Good morning,
For the 69th time, Fortune today releases the Fortune 500 list, which ranks the largest corporations in the U.S. by revenue. And for the 11th time, Walmart tops the list. We can debate whether revenue is the best way to rank these companies. (Apple would top the list if it was ranked by profits or market value.) And we can debate how much sense a ranking of U.S.-companies makes in a world where most large corporations compete globally. (The Fortune Global 500 comes out later this year.) But despite those debates, the Fortune 500 has remained the iconic corporate ranking that companies strive for and celebrate.
A few things to note about this year’s list:
—Oil companies are back after falling significantly in recent years. ExxonMobil nabs the No. 3 spot, up from No. 6 last year, besting Apple (No. 4). And Chevron nudges its way back onto the top ten (No. 10, up from No. 16). Even more telling, if you compare Fortune 500 firms based on 2022 total return to investors, oil companies lead the way—with PBF Energy grabbing top honors, Occidental taking second, Hess third, and ExxonMobil fourth. (If you take the long view—total return to investors over the last decade—Tesla, No. 50 on the list, comes out on top, and Nvidia, No. 152 on the list, is second.)
—Health care is eating the world (or at least the Fortune 500). UnitedHealth lands at No. 5 again, besting CVS at No. 6, while drug distributor McKesson is No. 9 and its competitor AmerisourceBergen sits at No. 11. If you consider that Walmart, Amazon (No. 2), and Apple also are making major moves into health care, it quickly becomes clear the degree that keeping an aging population healthy has become a major driver of the U.S. economy.
—Texas rules, serving as home to the most Fortune 500 companies (55) for the second year in a row, leading California (53) and New York (50).
—Women are rising—but slowly. 52 women run Fortune 500 companies, up from 44 at this time last year, putting their share over 10% for the first time ever. There are also more Black CEOs running Fortune 500 companies than ever before—but still only eight.
You can explore the full list this morning here and read Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell’s take here. More news below.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com
