BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. managed to unseat Exxon Mobil Corp. in the 2010 edition of Fortune magazine's "Fortune 500" ranking. Wal-Mart has held the top spot on the ranking seven out the past nine years.
The fall in commodity prices removed half-a-dozen energy production, oil refining, and pipeline companies, and bumped last year's No. 1, ExxonMobil ($285 billion), into second place, far behind the new leader, Wal-Mart ($408 billion).
Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart managed to lift revenues, on top of a big increase in 2008, by attracting [image-nocss] bargain-hungry customers from competitors with remodeled stores and inexpensive private-label goods, offering everything from frozen pizza to patio furniture in one stop. A single trip also meant less spending on gas. The result: Earnings surged 7% to $14.3 billion.
1. Wal-Mart Stores
Rank: 1 (Previous Rank: 2)
Revenues ($ millions): 408,214.0
CEO: Michael T. Duke
2. ExxonMobil
Rank: 2 (Previous Rank: 1)
Revenues ($ millions): 284,650.0
CEO: Rex W. Tillerson
A dozen or so other Major Oil companies, refiner-marketers, truckstop chains and large convenience retailers also made the list, which was also populated by many convenience/petroleum suppliers and retailers from bordering channels:
3. Chevron, San Ramon, Calif.
Rank: 3 (Previous Rank: 3)
Revenues ($ millions): 163,527.0
CEO: John S. Watson
6. ConocoPhillips, Houston.
Rank: 6 (Previous Rank: 4)
Revenues ($ millions): 139,515.0
CEO: James J. Mulva
26. Valero Energy, San Antonio, Texas.
Rank: 26 (Previous rank: 10)
CEO: William R. Klesse
41. Marathon Oil, Houston.
Rank: 41 (Previous rank: 23)
CEO: Clarence P. Cazalot Jr.
78. Sunoco, Philadelphia.
Rank: 78 (Previous rank: 41)
CEO: Lynn L. Elsenhans
79. Hess, New York.
Rank: 79 (Previous rank: 55)
CEO: John B. Hess
125. Murphy Oil, El Dorado, Ark.
Rank: 125 (Previous rank: 92)
CEO: David M. Wood
139. Tesoro, San Antonio, Texas.
Rank: 139 (Previous rank: 91)
CEO: Gregory J. Goff
330. Western Refining, El Paso, Texas.
Rank: 330 (Previous rank: 253)
CEO: Jeff A. Stevens
382. The Pantry, Cary, N.C.
Rank: 382 (Previous rank: 317)
CEO: Terrance M. Marks
440. TravelCenters of America, Westlake, Ohio.
Rank: 440 (Previous rank: 332)
CEO: Thomas M. O'Brien
485. Casey's General Stores, Ankeny, Iowa.
Rank: 485 (Previous rank: 516)
CEO: Robert J. Myers
The closely watched list, which ranks companies based on their 2009 revenue, was rife with evidence of the unsettled economy as homebuilders, automakers and energy companies slipped or disappeared in the ranking while recession-resistant industries such as health care rose, said a report by USA Today.
And the ranking showed the sober reality of the companies' strategy to survive the downturncutting jobs and other costs to improve profits.
Fortune said the list shows the "long-awaited recovery is underway, but it's a slow painful slog."
Overall, total net income for companies on the list grew 350% for the yearthe second-largest gain in the list's 56 years. But revenue for Fortune 500 companies fell 8.7% for the year, the largest percentage decline since 1983.
The Fortune 500 companies shed 821,000 jobs during the year, the biggest loss ever recorded by the list.
Click hereto view the full Fortune 500 list.
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