Apple Drops to #4 Spot in Annual Fortune 500 Rankings

[MacRumors]

After retaining the #3 spot on the Fortune 500 list for the past two years, in 2018 Apple has dropped one place and now sits at #4 on the list of the top U.S. corporations based on gross revenue. Apple's displacement on the list came due to Exxon Mobil rising from #4 in 2017 to #2 in 2018.

The full top five spots were Walmart at #1, Exxon Mobil at #2, Berkshire Hathaway at #3, Apple at #4, and UnitedHealth Group at #5. Other technology companies on the list include Amazon at #8, AT&T at #9, Verizon at #16, Alphabet at #22, and Microsoft at #30.

Fortune broke down Apple's spot on the list, mainly citing the "overall saturation of smartphones" as a potential reason for the company's inability to rise higher in the rankings. Fortune discussed similar problems for Apple in the company's profile last year, stating at the time that "Apple finally appeared to hit a wall" in reference to its reliance on iPhone sales.

Apple took a small step back, from No. 3 to No. 4, despite a 6% gain in annual sales, but it led the way in profits with more than $48 billion in net income. In short, the Apple juggernaut continues at tremendous scale and despite the overall saturation of smartphones, which make up the vast majority of the company's sales and profits. In an unusual move, Apple introduced three new phones, the upgraded iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, as well as the redesigned iPhone X (pronounced "ten"), powered by facial-recognition technology. Services likes Apple Pay and Apple Music continued to rise too.

Going back eight years, Apple's previous rankings include 5th place in 2015 and 2014, 6th place in 2013, 17th place in 2012, 35th place in 2011 and 56th place in 2010. This year marks 24 years that Apple has been on the Fortune 500 list, with $229.2 billion of revenue and $48.3 billion of profits in the 2017 fiscal year. Although it lags behind the companies in revenue, Apple still beats the top three Fortune 500 companies in terms of annual profits, with Walmart at $9.9 billion, Exxon Mobil at $19.7 billion, and Berkshire Hathaway at $44.9 billion.

Article Link: Apple Drops to #4 Spot in Annual Fortune 500 Rankings

 

[Arcus]

Meh. None of the first three "create" anything. Not impressive.

 

[Geert76]

omg....Apple is doomed 2.0

 

[TheShadowKnows!]

Hurray, hurray! Let's celebrate 38% gross margins!

All together now.
On 1, 2, 3, let's us give it the all-time shout
Go Higher! And Higher!

 

[RevTEG]

Meh. None of the first three "create" anything. Not impressive.

They may not "create" but they do "provide" products that it seems many people need or want.

 

[GaryMumford]

Meh. None of the first three "create" anything. Not impressive.

Not strictly true. Berkshire Hathaway own 5% of Apple and therefore... Ok, I'll get my coat.

 

[dagored]

Apple dropped because in the last few years they have disappointed many customers with their products.

I am still holding out for a more improved laptop to replace my 6 year old Air. Apple has lagged in the notebook line IMHO.

 

[kemal]

It's all because of my frequent trips to Dairy Queen. Medium chocolate cone with cherry dip.

 

[rpmurray]

Why is revenue used instead of profit for these rankings?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Hurray, hurray! Let's celebrate 38% gross margins!

All together now.
On 1, 2, 3, let's us give it the all-time shout
Go Higher! And Higher!

The distance between #4 and #1 could be mostly made up by Apple just doubling their prices. And why would we care? What's important to us is Apple coming in first in such contests. Anyone actually having any price sensitivity could either be run off ("why are you here?") or put in their place by spinning payment plan numbers with ever-longer terms ("just $X more per month").

Double them prices! Double them prices!

Furthermore, if Apple would quadruple their prices, they could probably double the revenue of the current #1. That would not be just taking first place... but doubling the runner up. We could sooooo celebrate such a leap. How much better the world would be if 4X the money flowed to Apple! Our individual lives would be so much better if our favorite corporation was that much richer.

Quadruple them prices! Quadruple them prices!

In either case, since unit costs would remain about the same, all of that doubled or quadrupled revenue would be added profit too... significantly strengthening our old standby of "...but who makes the most profitable _________".

All (hopefully)

 

[TiggrToo]

Apple dropped because in the last few years they have disappointed many customers with their products.

I am still holding out for a more improved laptop to replace my 6 year old Air. Apple has lagged in the notebook line IMHO.

Apple 'dropped'? You sure? Odd how you'd think that because it pretty obvious that the inverse is true. They're at 4th not because they've 'dropped' but because the other three have higher revenue figures. Next time look deeper into the facts before posting.

You must have forgotten I assume where Apple confirmed they had a record first Q1 just a few weeks ago.

Apple's global revenue from 1st quarter 2005 to 2nd quarter 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)

 

[cashville2400]

Still, not a bad place to be.

 

[melgross]

The reasons given for Apple’s drop, are just plain wrong. And, by the way, why did Berkshire also drop a spot? After all, they aren’t selling iPhones.

The real reason is pretty simple, and thus too complex for these analysts to understand.

Fossil fuel company sales are less directed at amount of fuel sold, than the price of that fuel. Last year, the price of a barrel of oil was significantly less. Therefor, the 50% higher price this year inflates the total sales numbers by that large amount, even though the amount of product remained about the same.

That shot the company up two places. If the price of oil drops again, which it likely will, at some point, then it will drop a place or two.

 

[dagored]

Apple 'dropped'? You sure? Odd how you'd think that because it pretty obvious that the inverse is true. They're at 4th not because they've 'dropped' but because the other three have higher revenue figures. Next time look deeper into the facts before posting.

You must have forgotten I assume where Apple confirmed they had a record first Q1 just a few weeks ago.

Apple's global revenue from 1st quarter 2005 to 2nd quarter 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)

View attachment 762417

Less sales, higher prices. Fewer customers.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Hurray for this being a greater than zero-sum game - everyone's a winner (except, you know, the losers, but the winners win more than the losers lose.)

Just 6 weeks away from it being a year since I bought AAPL. Plan on selling it and putting the money into something more stable shortly - was a nice 30% return in a year though.

Also, Tesla jumped from 383 last year to 260 this year.

 

[TiggrToo]

Less sales, higher prices. Fewer customers.

They changed position in a revenue ranking based upon other blue chips. You however decided, without any evidence to the contrary, to declare this an actual drop in their revenues\profits\whatever due to some form of imaginary set of circumstances.

(Post re-edited after @dagored edited theirs to add an actual reply)

 

[Rogifan]

Apple dropped because in the last few years they have disappointed many customers with their products.

I am still holding out for a more improved laptop to replace my 6 year old Air. Apple has lagged in the notebook line IMHO.

Less sales, higher prices. Fewer customers.

Apple dropped even though revenues went up because Exxon’s went up more. I get why Berkshire has to be on this list but it seems a bit disingenuous. Berkshire is just a holding company, basically a conglomerate of different companies that have nothing to do with each other.

 

[michael.richard1982]

This is what you get for ignoring pro users. We made the apps that sell your iGizmos and you've put us in the back seat.

This is only the beginning of the downfall.

 

[_Refurbished_]

The reasons given for Apple’s drop, are just plain wrong. And, by the way, why did Berkshire also drop a spot? After all, they aren’t selling iPhones.

The real reason is pretty simple, and thus too complex for these analysts to understand.

Fossil fuel company sales are less directed at amount of fuel sold, than the price of that fuel. Last year, the price of a barrel of oil was significantly less. Therefor, the 50% higher price this year inflates the total sales numbers by that large amount, even though the amount of product remained about the same.

That shot the company up two places. If the price of oil drops again, which it likely will, at some point, then it will drop a place or two.

Exxon is going to take a huge hit in the next few years. Electric is the future.

We will be reliant on fossil fuels for a while, but our reliance is about to drop significantly and so will their spot on his list. Soon it won’t matter what the price of oil is going for.

 

[TiggrToo]

This is what you get for ignoring pro users. We made the apps that sell your iGizmos and you've put us in the back seat.

This is only the beginning of the downfall.

I'm sure that record first quarter Apple 'suffered' is really acting as a massive wake up call for them - Tim Cook must be lying in bed awake each and every night wondering just how's he going to save the company now they're in such a terrible predicament...

I can see why Warren Buffet brought so much Apple Stock - the company's doomed. Doomed I tell ye, doomed!

 

[TheShadowKnows!]

The distance between #4 and #1 could be mostly made up by Apple just doubling their prices. And why would we care? What's important to us is Apple coming in first in such contests. Anyone actually having any price sensitivity could either be run off ("why are you here?") or put in their place by spinning payment plan numbers with ever-longer terms ("just $X more per month").

Double them prices! Double them prices!

Furthermore, if Apple would quadruple their prices, they could probably double the revenue of the current #1. That would not be just taking first place... but doubling the runner up. We could sooooo celebrate such a leap. How much better the world would be if 4X the money flowed to Apple! Our individual lives would be so much better if our favorite corporation was that much richer.

Quadruple them prices! Quadruple them prices!

In either case, since unit costs would remain about the same, all of that doubled or quadrupled revenue would be added profit too... significantly strengthening our old standby of "...but who makes the most profitable _________".

All (hopefully)

Mate. Just so you know.

Your tongue-in-cheek posts just crack me up.
[Sometimes, they make me spill my morning coffee!]

As all good satire, like yours, they have a modicum of truth, which makes them even so much more fun.

 

[barkomatic]

The high standards we place on companies and people are funny. Apple is an outrageously successful and profitable company but will still be regarded as a "failure" because they slipped a spot on this list.

 

[TiggrToo]

This is what you get for ignoring pro users. We made the apps that sell your iGizmos and you've put us in the back seat.

This is only the beginning of the downfall.

Just to further highlight just how an awful position Apple is in...

OMG - look that that awful terrible trending stock price. What WAS Warren Buffet thinking about? That's it, i'm flogging all my iDevicen before the company sinks!

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Why is revenue used instead of profit for these rankings?

Profits are often negative or close to zero for companies that are still aggressively growing.

 

[Geardo_Ranger]

Well, if Apple could create buying frenzy again for the MAC again like they did in the past it could possibly help. If I remember correctly from the last Earnings call IPhone, Wearables, and the services market is their largest driver in sales and revenue.

And yes I know MAC sales still grow year over year compared to all other retailers, but these are small single digit numbers. Lets fix the MAC lineup and get into the double digits growth.