Wal-Mart named America's largest company
US giant Wal-Mart Stores was today named as America’s and the world’s largest company, capturing the top spot on the annual Fortune 500 list.
Wal-Mart, number two on the list a year ago, traded places with oil giant Exxon Mobil in the rankings, compiled on the basis of companies’ annual revenue figures. The retailer’s ascendancy was expected after both companies issued their 2001 results earlier this year.
The list, published in the issue of Fortune magazine published today, did have some surprises, most notably the appearance of bankrupt energy company Enron, which moved up two notches to number five, despite its downward spiral.
Fortune itself even questioned why Enron made the list, but noted that the company benefited from the fact that, like other energy traders, it was allowed to include trading contracts in its revenues.
Other energy trading firms also advanced in the rankings.
Wal-Mart became the first service company to lead the 500, which until 1995 was restricted to manufacturing concerns.
From its founding 40 years ago, the company, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, which sells everything from fishing tackle to personal computers, has seen its annual revenues and sales surge, going from dlrs 1 bn (1.6bn) in sales for all of 1979 to sometimes making that much in a single day last year.
