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The Fortune 500 list is the ultimate measure of success for U.S. companies and Fortune<\/em>\u2019s flagship ranking.<\/p>\n In a letter proposing <\/em>the business magazine to advertisers in 1929, Time<\/em> founder Henry Luce envisioned the publication<\/a> as a way to \u201creflect Industrial Life in ink and paper and word and picture, as the finest skyscraper reflects it in stone and steel and architectural design.\u201d<\/p>\n Created over three decades after Fortune<\/em>\u2019s birth, the Fortune 500 was first a shot-in-the-dark idea by a journalist hoping to elucidate the world of business to a wider audience. The list is now the benchmark for companies around the world and a consistent metric with which to assess the country\u2019s economic health.<\/p>\n With the release of the 2024 Fortune 500<\/a> right around the corner, here are the basics on Fortune<\/em>\u2019s flagship list.<\/p>\n Simply put, the Fortune 500 is a list of the largest 500 U.S. companies, public and private, ranked based on revenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n Investors use the list to track the rise and fall<\/a> of American companies and make conclusions about the country\u2019s economic health, and companies use it as a way to assess its growth and competitive edge from year to year. For academics, industry professionals, and business leaders, the Fortune 500 is a way to learn which businesses and industries are rising.<\/p>\n Not all companies are eligible<\/a> for the Fortune 500. Those eligible include incorporated and operated in the U.S. which file financial statements with a government agency, such as publicly listed companies, and private companies that file with a government agency. Companies incorporated outside the U.S. are not eligible for the list, nor are private companies that don\u2019t file through government agencies.\u00a0<\/p>\n For companies meeting this criteria, there\u2019s a challenge to be eligible for the list. Every year, Fortune sets a revenue threshold for companies to meet to be considered for the list. In 2022, all listees had to have made at least $7.24 billion in revenue.<\/p>\n The Fortune 500 will be released online<\/a> on June 4, 2024. You can find the 2023 list here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fortune<\/em>\u2019s Assistant Managing Editor Edgar P. Smith<\/a> launched the list in 1955, when Fortune<\/em> was under Time<\/em>\u2019s umbrella. It had an early moniker of the \u201cAnnual Directory of the 500 Largest Corporations<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n In the mid-1950s, the U.S. economy was booming, but after decades of economic strife\u2014including the Great Depression and the economic fallout of two world wars\u2014companies were slow to show any optimism, a Fortune<\/em> story from 1995<\/a> recalled. <\/p>\n Despite the explosion of thriving businesses, the success of these companies were poorly documented, Loomis wrote. Fortune<\/em> began compiling a list of the largest U.S. companies for its internal use, but Smith had another idea: \u201cI think that our readers just might be interested in this list,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Compiling the list was a slog for Fortune<\/em>\u2019s staff. After it was released to the public, the attitude towards the Fortune 500 shifted. It was a \u201cbox-office smash, no question.\u201d The list became the touchstone for tracking U.S. businesses and their rippling impact.<\/p>\n \u201cIn its entirety, the 500 has been a wide window on the U.S. economy and a reference point for all,\u201d the Fortune<\/em> story said. \u201cIt has been cited by Presidents and Congressmen, dissected by economists, and viewed by business leaders\u2014still yearning for normality and never quite finding it\u2014as the Bunyanesque yardstick of industrial progress.\u201d<\/p>\n In 1955, General Motors<\/a> topped<\/a> the Fortune 500, reporting over $9.8 billion in revenue and $806 million in profits. It\u2019s stayed on the list every year since\u2014 last year, it sat at No. 21. Other companies in the original top 10 include U.S. Steel, General Electric<\/a>, Chrysler, Armour, Gulf Oil, Mobil and DuPont<\/a>.<\/p>\n Companies such as GM and Mobil\u2014which merged with Exxon in 1999 and ranks No. 3 on 2023\u2019s list\u2014have held their ground on the list for decades. Over 1,800 companies have been listees over the Fortune 500\u2019s 70 years.<\/p>\n Today, e-commerce and retail giants top the Fortune 500, with Walmart<\/a> holding the top spot, where it\u2019s been for 11 years<\/a>. Amazon<\/a> had been Walmart\u2019s runner-up four years in a row.<\/p>\n In 1995, Walmart\u2014first opened in 1962\u2014was the rookie with the highest ranking on the 500, coming in at No. 4.\u00a0<\/p>\n Today\u2019s Fortune 500 companies are also making more than the $9.8 billion GM reported in 1955. GM made nearly $172 billion<\/a> in revenue in 2023, and Walmart reported $611 billion<\/a> in 2023 revenue.<\/p>\n In 2023, the Fortune 500 companies had their highest ever combined revenue of $18.1 trillion<\/a>, with the top 10 firms earning over $3.7 trillion<\/a>, or about 20% of the list\u2019s total revenue.<\/p>\n A cadre of fewer than 50 companies<\/a> have graced the list every year since the beginning. Besides GM and ExxonMobil<\/a>, they include pharmaceutical giants such as Pfizer<\/a> and Merck<\/a>, as well as familiar food and drink brands like PepsiCo<\/a>, Coca-Cola<\/a>, Kraft Heinz<\/a>, and General Mills<\/a>.<\/p>\n On the other end of the spectrum, the Fortune 500 saw some fresh faces<\/a>, including Airbnb<\/a> and Lululemon. In total, the 15 new companies joining the list made $146.2 billion<\/a> in revenue and had an average growth rate of over 50%.<\/p>\n Skechers, ServiceNow<\/a>, EQT<\/a>, and Coupang<\/a> were among the list\u2019s other newbies.<\/p>\n For the first twenty years of the list\u2019s existence, the CEOs representing the Fortune 500 companies were demographically homogeneous. That began to change in 1972, when\u00a0Katharine Graham became CEO of the Washington Post<\/em>, and subsequently the first woman CEO<\/a> of a Fortune 500 company. Fifteen years later, Clifton Wharton became the first Black CEO<\/a> of a Fortune 500 company after taking over at TIAA<\/a>. Former Xerox<\/a> CEO Ursula Burns became the first Black woman<\/a> to helm a Fortune 500 company in 2009.<\/p>\n Last year marked the first time that women made up over 10%<\/a> of CEOs of the country\u2019s most powerful companies, with 52 companies of the 500 run by women.\u00a0<\/p>\n While the Fortune 500 had its near-record<\/a> high percentage of Black CEOs last year, making up eight of the list\u2019s 500 companies, that\u2019s still only 1.6% of the listees.\u00a0<\/p>\n Executives agree that there\u2019s not a quick fix to building diversity among the highest ranks of these companies, with few people of color in management tracks.<\/p>\n \u201cThe tracks that lead to the CEO jobs are primarily P&Ls,\u201d Michael Hyter, chief diversity officer at consulting firm Korn Ferry<\/a>, said in 2021<\/a>. \u201cThere are a lot of people of color in support roles [accounting, marketing]\u2014lots. That\u2019s not what gets you into the CEO job.\u201d<\/p>\n Since the introduction of the Fortune 500, Fortune<\/em> has introduced additional lists to accommodate the growth of businesses worldwide. Fortune 500 China<\/a> and the Global 500<\/a> celebrate the biggest companies in China and across the world, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n Others, such as the Most Powerful Women<\/a> list and 40 Under 40<\/a> honor individuals separating themselves from the pack.<\/p>\n Find all of Fortune<\/em>\u2019s rankings here<\/a>.<\/p>\n For the second year in a row, Texas<\/a> has the most Fortune 500 companies of any other state. Home to ExxonMobil and pharmaceutical manufacturer McKesson<\/a>, the state\u2019s Fortune 500 listees racked up 26% of the list\u2019s revenue,\u00a0 totalling $2.6 trillion.<\/p>\n The Lone Star State has become popular among CEOs for its low cost of living and lack of corporate or individual state income tax.<\/p>\n States such as Wyoming and Montana<\/a> are home to zero Fortune 500 companies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nWhat is a Fortune 500 company?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How do companies get on the Fortune 500?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
When will the new Fortune 500 list come out?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
When did the Fortune 500 launch?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How much has the Fortune 500 changed over 70 years?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Who else has been on the list every year?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Who were the 2023 Fortune 500 freshmen?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Have CEOs leading Fortune 500 companies gotten more diverse?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What other lists does Fortune have?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Which U.S. state has the most Fortune 500 companies?<\/strong><\/h2>\n