Apple Retains #3 Spot in Annual Fortune 500 Rankings

[MacRumors]

One year after rising to claim the third spot on the annual Fortune 500 list, Apple hasn't moved places in 2017 and remains #3 on the list of the top U.S. corporations based on gross revenue. Going back seven 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.

A few rankings surrounding Apple have shifted around in 2017, however, with Berkshire Hathaway and Exxon Mobil swapping places this year. In 2016, Berkshire Hathaway sat at #4 on the Fortune 500 while Exxon Mobil was #2, and this year Berkshire Hathaway climbed to second place while Exxon Mobil dropped below Apple to sit in fourth place.

Otherwise, Walmart is still #1, with the rest of the list rounded out by companies like CVS (#7), AT&T (#9), Alphabet (#27), Microsoft (#28), Disney (#52), Netflix (#314), and Tesla (#383).

A chart of Apple's Fortune 500 history, including its lowest spot at #325 in 2002​

Apple's profile on the Fortune 500 list this year talked about the company's recent sales troubles with Apple Watch and iPad, as well as an increasing reliance on iPhone sales, stating that, "Apple finally appeared to hit a wall." References were also made to Apple's look forward into an self-driving vehicle system and its focus on software services.

After more than a decade of solid growth fueled first by the iPod music player and then by the even more popular iPhone, Apple finally appeared to hit a wall, with lackluster sales--relatively speaking--for other products such as the iPad and Apple Watch and a heavy reliance on upgraded phone models. But the most profitable publicly-traded company in the world is investing heavily in software and its efforts in new areas of opportunity, including automobiles, remain in development (and under wraps). Apple was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Cupertino, Calif.

This year marks 23 years that Apple has been on the Fortune 500 list, with $215.6 billion of revenue in the 2016 fiscal year, down 7.7 percent from the previous year. Apple's annual profit also dipped down to $45.6 billion -- a 14.4 percent decrease -- but still remained more than the annual profits of Walmart ($13.6 billion) and Berkshire Hathaway ($24 billion).

Article Link: Apple Retains #3 Spot in Annual Fortune 500 Rankings

 

[TheRealTVGuy]

So Wal-Mart is #1, The Concord is grounded and so is Super-Sonic flight, and NASA's next generation spacecraft looks less like an advanced shuttle and more like something from the 1960's.

Good job humanity, good job...

/rant.

 

[Sunny1990]

This is what happens when you run a doomed company. It cracks the top 10 in the Fortune 500.

 

[zombierunner]

Not bad Walmart!

 

[Godzilla71]

Clearly on a downward spiral.

 

[manhattanboy]

The iPhone is still the cash king. I tend to agree with the article though that Apple post Jobs has not really been the same company.

 

[polterbyte]

Yeah, but are they happy?

 

[I7guy]

Still quite an accomplishment given some of recent (maybe deserved) criticism by the interwebs.

 

[manhattanboy]

Clearly on a downward spiral.

Having high revenue, while good for the business investors, may not always be the best in the long run. For example, if I am running a health care insurance like #6 United on that list, I can increase my revenues by just denying care to everyone, which is probably what is happening, sadly If United has to pay for all of those peoples worsened conditions in the years to come that could have been treated more cheaply if caught earlier, then longer term revenue will fall unless they figure out a way to jettison the sick, which is again likely what will happen
As a more concrete example, Verizon today disclosed a settlement where they have to repair many thousands of dangerous telephone poles, that they previously did not want to repair to increase their short term revenue.
That is part of the reason why pure revenue growth looked at in isolation is not a good prognostic indicator of the company's future success. For example, Apple could raise the cost of the next iPhone to start at $1000 and go up to $2000. They would invariably increase their revenue, but likely their user base would diminish, and downstream effects from that contraction could potentially be more damaging than any short term gain in revenue.

 

[DVD9]

1) Walmart -Bloodsucking serf creating retailer
2) Berkshire Hathaway - Bloodsucking Wall Street parasite
3) Apple - Built on Chinese slave labor
4) Exxon Mobil
5) McKesson - Medical industry middleman bloodsucker
6) UnitedHealth Group - Health insurance bloodsucker
7) CVS Health - Pharmacy store brick and mortar
8) General Motors - Viva Mexico! (where they make their cars)
9) AT&T - Internet/CableTV monopolist
10) Ford Motors - Viva Mexico! (where they make their cars)

Make America Great Again

Good luck with that.

 

[Glideslope]

United Health Care #6? Guess those Premium Rates can stay they same this year, not.

 

[lunarworks]

1) Walmart -Bloodsucking serf creating retailer
2) Berkshire Hathaway - Bloodsucking Wall Street parasite
3) Apple - Built on Chinese slave labor
4) Exxon Mobil
5) McKesson - Medical industry middleman bloodsucker
6) UnitedHealth Group - Health insurance bloodsucker
7) CVS Health - Pharmacy store brick and mortar
8) General Motors - Viva Mexico! (where they make their cars)
9) AT&T - Internet/CableTV monopolist
10) Ford Motors - Viva Mexico! (where they make their cars)

Make America Great Again

Good luck with that.

It's telling that you have nothing bad to say about Exxon Mobil.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

It's amazing how big Walmart is.

Still expect to see Tesla bigger than Walmart in under a decade.

 

[picaman]

#1 among companies that actually make things.

 

[IJ Reilly]

The Fortune 500 has always been a weird bird. Based only on revenue, the built-in bias is towards companies in low-margin businesses (e.g., retailers, automakers). They don't even have to be profitable to be on the list. As the article rightly points out, Apple is the most profitable company in the world, and that's still the name of the actual game.

 

[BigJayhawk]

At #3 on the Fortune 500 list (continuing to rise higher than ever under Jobs) Apple post-Jobs is merely more profitable than the #1 and #2 Fortune 500 Companies COMBINED. (Maybe enough room to add in #4 and/or #5 but I did not check.)

I am a HUGE Steve Jobs fan but really? OF COURSE, Apple is "different" without Steve but that should be a given considering his unprecedented impact on HUMANITY. But, I'd say after his first two life scares (employment and health) that prior to his death he got pretty serious about building a TEAM that would replace elements of his successful persona with a bunch of individuals to aggregate to that success level.

The iPod / iPhone / iPad were REVOLUTIONARY WORLD CHANGERS. If those could come along just every day (even if Jobs were still alive) they wouldn't be so "revolutionary" even for Steve.

 

[GeneralChang]

Tim must be so frustrated. Based on what I've been reading online, he's been trying his hardest to kill the company for years. /s

 

[macs4nw]

Clearly on a downward spiral.

Got the sarcasm. It's interesting this ranking is based solely on revenue, and worth noting that Apple still ranks #1 by profits.

 

[44267547]

Apple is on fire right now. Their stock is up.
Their latest product releases are huge hits and their future product releases look very promising from WWDC 2017. They are transitioning into a stunning new campus.

This company deserves the best, because they work hard at it and bring the customer top of the line hardware and services.

 

[DVD9]

It's telling that you have nothing bad to say about Exxon Mobil.

Exxon drills for oil that produces gasoline they sell at retail outlets which powers my car so I can go buy groceries , eat and continue to live.

 

[macs4nw]

Apple is on fire right now. Their stock is up.
Their latest product releases are huge hits and their future product releases look very promising from WWDC 2017. They are transitioning into a stunning new campus.

This company deserves the best, because they work hard at it and bring the customer top of the line hardware and services.

It was surprising that despite their preoccupation with the upcoming big move, they still managed to come up with such an impressive roster of worthwhile hardware refreshes and promising new software features.

 

[44267547]

It was surprising that despite their preoccupation with the upcoming big move, they still managed to come up with such an impressive roster of worthwhile hardware refreshes and promising new software features.

I was reading that this was the most hardware Apple Has launched during any WWDC and it was totaled around $34,000 worth of hardware with upgraded specifications and new product releases. But some will still find a way to complain that Apple doesn't care about their product line.

 

[lunarworks]

Exxon drills for oil that produces gasoline they sell at retail outlets which powers my car so I can go buy groceries , eat and continue to live.

Exxon is a bloodsucker that pollutes the environment, does its best to block green technology through lobbying and propaganda, and is part of a cartel that charges incredible markups to amass trillions of dollars for the global elite.

 

[69Mustang]

The Fortune 500 has always been a weird bird. Based only on revenue, the built-in bias is towards companies in low-margin businesses (e.g., retailers, automakers). They don't even have to be profitable to be on the list. As the article rightly points out, Apple is the most profitable company in the world, and that's still the name of the actual game.

I'll have to disagree with you here. 1. It's not based only on revenue. 2. There's no built in bais towards low margin business. If you simply click the very first link in the article, the information about profit is the very first tab. There's even a filter for you to delve even deeper, like ranking the companies by market cap.
For more than 6 decades they have ranked companies using basically the same criteria: reporting the numbers.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

The only names that should be on this list are those that are committed to their nation and morals.