Wal-Mart Stores Inc solidified its position atop the Fortune 500 list as America's need for affordable household goods boosted the retailer's revenue last year.
Wal-Mart held the top spot for a second consecutive year and Fortune editors conjectured that the discount merchant's worldwide growth might help it secure the position permanently.
The magazine's annual rankings, based on publicly traded US companies' revenues for the year, showed the usual jockeying in the top 5. At No.2, General Motors Corp rose from No.3, switching places with Exxon Mobil Corp, while Ford Motor Co retained fourth place and General Electric Co moved up one to fifth.
PHOTO: AP
Enron Corp, the energy trader that made it to No. 5 in the previous list, dropped off after filing for bankruptcy.
Two financial powers were among the 2002 top 10. Citigroup moved up one spot to sixth, and American International Group gained three spots to ninth.
ChevronTexaco Corp was seventh, IBM eighth and Verizon Communications Inc 10th. Each moved up a spot from the 2001 list.
The list of the largest publicly held companies has been compiled annually since 1955 by the editors of Fortune. The latest rankings are published in the magazine's April 14 issue.
Profits for the 500 plunged 66 percent to a collective US$69.6 billion after a record drop in 2001. The magazine's editors said the latest decline was largely caused by accounting changes, which have made many companies far more conservative in their financial reporting.
But the effects of the sluggish economy were nonetheless apparent -- aggregate revenue slid for only the sixth time in the list's 49-year history, down 6 percent to US$6.95 trillion.
Wal-Mart, however, saw revenue increase 12 percent to US$246.5 billion, US$60 billion ahead of GM.
"Wal-Mart has done more than retain its title as king of the mountain. It is rewriting notions of how big corporations are supposed to behave," Fortune writes in its introduction to the list, which appears in the April 14 issue.
A retailer with a different demographic, tony Neiman Marcus Group, concluded the list, ranking No. 500 with revenue of US$2.95 billion.
Among the 36 newcomers to the list was ubiquitous coffee purveyor Starbucks Corp, which arrived as No.465.
The highest-ranked new company on the list was AT&T Wireless Services, at No.119.
Other prominent newcomers were beer maker Adolph Coors Co, No.422, and Ace Hardware, No. 490.
Among the notables joining Enron in departing the 500 was WorldCom Inc, the bankrupt telecom giant that was 42nd in last year's rankings.
The largest movers on the list were a collection of energy companies, troubled by the heavy debt and uncertainty that overtook the sector following Enron's collapse.
Duke Energy Corp fell from No.14 to No.118.
Dynegy Inc, the energy trader that once planned to acquire Enron, fell from No.30 to No.336. Mirant Corp. slipped from No.52 to No. 259.
Aquila Corp fell from No.33 to No. 477. Allegheny Energy, the troubled Maryland-based utility, dropped from No.185 to No.496.
One of the biggest jumps on the list was the result of the merger of Conoco and Phillips Petroleum, completed in August. The combined company, ConocoPhillips Inc, moved to 12 from Phillips' No.81 ranking.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft