Wal-Mart pushes out Exxon Mobil to reclaim Fortune 500 top rank

17 April 2007

New York: The world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, has reclaimed the top rank in the 2007 list of Fortune 500 from Exxon Mobil Corp, topping the list five times in the last six years.

The rankings are based on revenues earned during 2006

The US-based retail giant posted a more than 11 per cent increase in revenue to $351.1 billion and profits of $11.3 billion, according to Fortune's annual ranking of the largest US companies.

Wal-Mart is closely followed by 2006 title-holder Exxon Mobil, which had $347.3 billion in revenue and the highest profit in history by a US company of $39.5 billion.

Collectively, the Fortune 500 companies had profits of $785 billion in 2006, the highest since the list's inception in 1954 and marking a nearly 30-per cent jump over 2005.

According to Fortune various economic factors, including lower labour costs, a weakening US dollar and soaring productivity accounted for the record gains.