Apr 1, 2002 4 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the discounter that has become the dominant force in American retailing, is now the largest company in the nation and the world, capturing the top spot on the annual Fortune 500 list. Wal-Mart, No. 2 on the list a year ago, traded places with oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. in the rankings compiled on the basis of companies’ annual revenue figures. The retailer’s ascendancy was expected after both companies issued their 2001 results earlier this year.

The list of America’s 500 biggest companies, published in the issue of Fortune magazine that reaches newsstands Monday, has some surprises, most notably bankrupt Enron Corp. moving up two notches to No. 5 despite its downward spiral.

Fortune itself questioned why Enron stayed on the list, but noted that the company benefited from the fact that, like other energy traders, it was allowed to include trading contracts in its revenues. Other energy trading firms also advanced in the rankings.

Wal-Mart became the first service company to lead the 500, which until 1995 was restricted to manufacturing concerns.

Since its founding 40 years ago, the Bentonville, Ark.-based company, which sells everything from fishing tackle to personal computers, has seen its annual revenues and sales surge, going from $1 billion in sales for all of 1979 to sometimes making that much in a single day last year.

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 Home Depot Inc., which rose to No. 20 from 23, with revenues of $53.55 billion.

Wal-Mart remained the company with most employees on the list, with more than 1.2 million worldwide.

The editors of Fortune have compiled the list of the largest publicly held companies annually since 1955.

GM, which had held the top spot for 15 years until 2000, stayed at No. 3 with revenues of $177.26 billion.

Despite Exxon Mobil’s slip to No. 2, energy companies fared well in 2001, with ChevronTexaco at No. 8, rising from No. 20 because of the merger of Chevron Corp. and Texaco Inc.

American Electric Power Co. Inc. shot up to No. 13 from 146 while Duke Energy Corp. rose to No. 14 from 17th place.

Carol Loomis, a member of Fortune’s board of editors, said Enron made the list because the magazine used Enron’s restated earnings from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, which gave it revenues of $139 billion. Despite filing for bankruptcy Dec. 2, the company wasn’t ineligible for consideration.

“And that figure is what makes it fifth on our list,” she said.

The magazine also took into account the fact that energy companies are permitted to list the gross value of energy trading contracts as revenues.

Energy companies generally benefited from increased revenue because of dwindling supplies, continued utility deregulation and a continued effort by OPEC to keep oil prices higher. Exxon Mobil lost ground in part because a drop in demand due to the recession hurt its fourth-quarter revenue.

Mergers again lifted some companies, including AOL Time Warner Inc., which jumped to 37th place from 271 thanks to the combination of Time Warner and America Online. The company had $38.23 billion in revenues, making it the largest Internet and entertainment company on the list.

Continued woes in the telecommunications industry hurt several companies’ rankings, including Verizon Communications Inc., which fell to No. 11 from 10th.

Computer companies were led by IBM, which fell to No. 9 from eighth place.

Microsoft Corp. rose to 72nd place from 79, and Cisco Systems Inc., which makes equipment for the Internet, advanced to No. 92 from 107, despite continued slowness in the dot-com market.

The top 10 also included Ford Motor Co. at No. 4, a position it held last year. General Electric Co. dropped one place to No. 6, while Citigroup Inc., the nation’s largest financial services company, fell to No. 7 from No. 6.

Philip Morris rounded out the top 10 after moving up one spot from No. 11.

The highest ranked new company on the list is No. 52 Mirant Corp., an energy trader spun off by Southern Co. in April 2001.

Total profits for the 500 corporations fell 53 percent compared to 2000’s 8.4 percent increase, to $206 billion. The magazine’s editors said it was the largest drop in profits since the magazine started compiling the list.

Revenue grew by 3 percent to a combined $7.4 trillion, compared to $7.2 trillion in 2000.

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