Fortune Global 500: China Grows, but U.S. Still Top Nation

Global ranking boasts record 17 female CEOs

Walmart
Walmart

The Fortune Global 500 list was released on Monday, and despite China growth, the United States still claims the largest presence.

The magazine’s annual ranking of the world’s largest corporations by revenue was topped by U.S. companies, with 128 spots. Chinese companies took 95 slots, and Japan owned 57 positions.

China added six new companies from the previous year, while the U.S. lost four and Japan decreased by five. There are 150 European companies on this year’s list, compared to 151 last year.

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The FortuneGlobal 500 has a record 17 female chief executive officers, including newcomers Mary Barra (General Motors), Nishi Vasudeva (Hindustan Petroleum), Arundhati Bhattacharya (State Bank of India) and Lynn Good (Duke Energy).

Banking was the industry with the most companies on the list, with 55, followed by petroleum refining with 40 and motor vehicles and parts with 33. Petroleum refining led all industries by revenue, followed by banks and motor vehicles and parts.

Apple claimed No. 15 on the list, up four spots from last year.

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Vodafone led all companies in profits, taking the title from last year’s leader Exxon Mobil. Most of the company’s profits came from discontinued operations.

Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil, General Motors and Mitsubishi are the only other companies to ever top the Global 500.

Here is the Top 10 (full rankings are here):
1. Wal-Mart Stores (U.S.)
2. Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands)
3. Sinopec Group (China)
4. China National Petroleum (China)
5. Exxon Mobil (U.S.)
6. BP (Britain)
7. State Grid (China)
8. Volkswagen (Germany)
9. Toyota Motor (Japan)
10. Glencore (Switzerland)

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Fortune editors wrote: “Global Business is Back. After limping through a worldwide financial crisis and economic slowdown, the 500 largest companies ranked by revenues shattered all sorts of performance records in 2013: They racked up combined revenues of $31.1 trillion, up 2.5 percent from 2012, and profits soared 27 percent to nearly $2 trillion. China’s 95 companies (up from 89 last year) posted $5.8 trillion in revenues. The U.S. has four fewer companies on the list than last year but remains (for now) the country leader, with 128 corporations on the list–including No. 1 Wal-Mart Stores–­reporting $8.6 trillion in revenues.”

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