Wal-Mart maintains No. 1 spot
NEW YORK -- Wal-Mart Stores shrugged off weak consumer spending to remain atop the 2008 Fortune 500 list, edging Exxon Mobil Corp. for the second straight year in the magazine's annual ranking of the nation's largest publicly traded companies.
Fortune compiled its list based on companies' 2007 revenues. Wal-Mart raked in $378.8 billion in revenue last year, up 7.9 percent from 2006, and had $12.7 billion in profits, according to the list released Monday. The discount retailer has topped the list six times in the past seven years, having been unseated only by Exxon Mobil.
Though consumer spending fell sharply last year, Wal-Mart weathered the slowdown better than other retailers as shoppers have been trading down to cheaper stores amid a difficult economy, falling home values and increased unemployment.
Because the list is based on revenues rather than profits, Wal-Mart was able to come in ahead of Exxon Mobil, which was a close second with $372.8 billion but which far outdistanced the retailer in earnings, with $40.6 billion.
Collectively, revenues for all companies listed reached $10.6 trillion last year, up 7.1 percent from 2006. However, profits dropped 17.8 percent over the same period, falling to $645.2 billion amid rising expenses including the price of oil.
Skyrocketing energy prices also helped other oil producers claim several of this year's top spots. ChevronTexaco Corp. moved up one place to No. 3 with $210.8 billion in revenue and $18.7 billion in profits. ConocoPhillips stayed the same at No. 5.
Declining U.S. auto sales battered General Motors Corp., which fell one position to No. 4 on revenue of $182.3 billion and a loss of $38.7 billion.
General Electric Co. came in sixth, followed by Ford Motor Co. in seventh place, Citigroup at No. 8 and Bank of America Corp. at No. 9. AT&T cracked the top 10, moving from No. 27 to 10th place.
Companies capitalizing on a global commodities boom were among the biggest winners of 2007. Freeport-MacMoran Copper & Gold shot from No. 398 in 2006 to No. 140, the biggest leap among all companies.
Among the biggest losers were home builders and saving institutions, which were buffeted by fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis that began rattling global markets late last year. Falling the most on the list was title insurance company Fidelity National Financial, which slipped 171 spots to No. 435.
New additions to the list included Kraft Foods Inc., Symantec Corp., PetSmart and BlackRock, while those knocked from the list included H&R Block, Hilton Hotels, Radioshack Corp. and Lucent Technologies.
SILVER STATE FORTUNES
Nevada didn't add to its ranks of Fortune 500 companies between 2007 and 2008. The state did gain one company in the Fortune 1000, though. Here is a list of the Nevada businesses Fortune has recognized among the nation's biggest in 2008:
244. Harrah's Entertainment: 10.8 billion in revenue in 2007. The gaming giant, which employs more than 80,000 , moved up slightly in 2008 thanks to gains in its sales. It posted 10.8 billion in revenue in 2007 and ranked No. 244 on the Fortune 500's 2008 list, up from $9.8 billion in revenue in 2006 and No. 254 on Forbes' 2007 roster. Harrah's officials recently announced they'll adopt the Caesars Entertainment nameplate later this year.
323. MGM Mirage: $7.8 billion in 2007, Increased revenue couldn't push MGM Mirage ahead of its 2007 rank. The company, which owns 11 hotels on the Strip, took in $7.8 billion in 2007 and landed at No. 323. A year ago, it made $7.6 billion and appeared at No. 315.
592. Sierra Pacific Resources: $3.6 billion in 2007. The Nevada Power Co. parent ranked No. 592, just ahead of 2007's showing at No. 593. Revenue ticked up from $3.4 billion in 2006 to $3.6 billion in 2007.
681. Las Vegas Sands Corp.: $3 billion in 2007. Booming business in Macau helped push the parent company of The Venetian and Palazzo from No. 801 in 2007 to No. 681 in 2008. Revenue jumped from $2.2 billion in 2006 to $3 billion in 2007.
731. Wynn Resorts Ltd: $2.7 billion in revenue in 2007. Wynn Resorts, which owns the Wynn Las Vegas and operates in Macau, is making its debut on the Fortune 1000 list at No. 731. It reported $2.7 billion in revenue in 2007.
748. International Game Technology: $2.6 billion in 2007. This maker of slot machines and gaming monitoring systems landed at No. 748 this year, pushed down a few spaces from last year's No. 741 thanks in part to surges by Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts. Its revenue increased from $2.5 billion in 2006 to $2.6 billion in 2007.
851. Southwest Gas Corp: $2.2 billion in 2007. Slightly higher revenue guided the natural-gas utility up a couple of spots, from No. 853 in 2007 to No. 851 in 2008. Revenue rose from $2 billion in 2006 to $2.2 billion in 2007.
873. Amerco: Revenue has been flat, staying at around $2.1 billion in 2006 and 2007. Reno-based Amerco has struggled in recent years, nearly going bankrupt in 2002 and firing and suing its financial auditors of 24 years in 2003. The U-Haul holding company faced additional bad news in 2007 following a spate of negative publicity about the likelihood of accidents involving U-Haul trailers. Revenue has been flat, staying at around $2.1 billion in 2006 and 2007. The company dropped from No. 829 to No. 873.
898. Boyd Gaming Corp: $2 billion in 2007, and the company dropped from No. 768 to No. 898. Both revenue and Fortune 1000 rank have slid noticeably for the local-gaming giant, which owns Sam's Town, The Orleans, the Gold Coast and the Suncoast. Sales slipped from $2.4 billion in 2006 to $2 billion in 2007, and the company dropped from No. 768 to No. 898.
917. Sierra Health Services: $1.9 billion in 2007. Nevada's largest managed-care insurer completed a merger with UnitedHealth Group of Minnesota, the nation's largest insurer, in February, a scant four days before the Nevada Insurance Commissioner's approval of the deal expired. Sierra Health, which has since stopped trading publicly, earned $1.9 billion in 2007, up from $1.7 billion in 2006. Its Fortune 1000 rank changed from No. 943 a year ago to No. 917.
