Exxon Mobil has retaken the top spot in the yearly Fortune 500 list, passing Wal-Mart Stores after two years in second place. The two companies have been at the top of the list since 2003, when General Motors was second and Exxon Mobil three. It’s the 13th time Exxon Mobil has been ranked as the biggest corporation in the US by the magazine.
“It’s tough to beat the kind of year Exxon Mobil had in 2011,” CNNMoney.com wrote about the results. “Shares rose by 20% and profits surged by 35% to $41.1 billion. Revenues jumped 28% to $452.9 billion, helping Exxon reclaim the top spot in the Fortune 500.”
Fortune magazine’s Shawn Tully provided some context for the numbers:
Starting with the financial crisis of late 2008, companies slashed costs, especially labor, as if a depression were looming. Since the economy began expanding again in late 2009, they’ve been reluctant to hire more workers, who account for almost 70% of their total costs. Today the Fortune 500 employs 25.8 million people worldwide, up by less than 1% since 2007.
