But things have not been easy for Wal-Mart: Sales at its U.S. stores have dropped for seven straight quarters, despite gains in worldwide revenues and profits. To fight back, CEO Michael Duke is restocking shelves with lower-priced products dropped by his predecessor, Lee Scott. He's also jumping on the anti-obesity bandwagon: Thousands [image-nocss] of packaged food items are being reconfigured to cut their salt and sugar content.
Oil giant ExxonMobil (Rank: No. 2 this year and last) may not be the biggest U.S. company, but it is by far the most profitable: Driven by higher prices for crude--as well as big gains in its natural gas and chemicals businesses--profits at ExxonMobil topped $30 billion, a 58% jump.
With its eye on growth, the company recently launched a massive joint venture in Qatar and an offshore well in eastern Russia. It also is making a big push into alternative energies, investing in biofuels and expanding operations designed to cut greenhouse gases.
Other industry players among the top 10 are Chevron Corp. (No. 3 this year and last) and ConocoPhillips (No. 4; last year, No. 6).
Additional industry companies included:
24. Valero Energy (Previous rank: No. 26)
29. Marathon Oil (No. 41)
68. Sunoco (No. 78) (See related story in this issue of CSP Daily News.)
74. Hess (No. 79)
103. CHS (No. 91)
113. Murphy Oil (No. 125)
128. Tesoro (No. 139)
133. World Fuel Services (No. 205)
298. Western Refining (No. 330)
363. Pantry (No. 382)
385. TravelCenters of America (No. 440)
Other industry-related players included:
25. Kroger
32. Walgreen
43. PepsiCo
49. Kraft Foods
61. Supervalu
70. Coca-Cola
93. Tyson Foods
111. McDonald's
154. Altria
166. General Mills
188. Dollar General
191. Sara Lee
199. Kellogg
200. ConAgra Foods
214. Yum Brands
229. Starbucks
302. Family Dollar Stores
312. Campbell Soup
325. Hormel Foods
390. Dollar Tree
402. Hershey
404. Dr Pepper Snapple Group
412. Core-Mark Holding
Click hereto view the full Fortune 500 list.
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