Striking figures from the latest Fortune 500 list

Now in its 69th year, the Fortune 500 list ranking the biggest US companies by revenue includes a number of particularly striking figures.

The top 10 companies alone posted $3.7 trillion in revenue and, as noted in the June/July edition of Fortune magazine, “were omnipresent in American life from the grocery aisle to the doctor’s office to the gas pump.”

Topping the list of the Largest US Corporations for 2022, the year of reference, is Walmart with revenues of $611,289.0 million. The company ranked No.1 for the 11th straight year and is the first US company ever to top $600 billion in annual revenue.

Rounding up the top five were Amazon.com which posted revenues of $513,983.0 million; Exxon Mobile with posted revenues of $413,680.0 million; Apple with $394,328.0 million; and UnitedHealth Group which posted revenues of $324,162.0 million.

When it comes to the Most Profitable Companies, meanwhile, Apple topped the list with profits of $99,803.0 million followed by Microsoft with $72,783.0 million and Alphabet with $59,972.0 million. In fourth and fifth spot were Exxon Mobil with profits of $55,740.0 million; and JPMorgan Chase with profits of $37,676.0 million.

To put it all in context, Cyprus’ GDP for 2021, the most recent year for which official figures are available, was $28.41 billion and, according to IMF estimates, is anticipated to reach approximately $30.86 billion this year. The GDP of the US in 2021 was $23.32 trillion

When compared by their number of employees, meanwhile, the Fortune 500 companies are once again led by Walmart, with 2,100,000 employees in 2022, and Amazon.com with 1,541,000. Third on the list is Home Depot with 471,600 employees, Fedex with 464,400, and Target with 440,000.

It should be kept in mind that the population of Cyprus in 2021 was 1.244 million, so less than the number of people employed by either Walmart of Amazon.com.