Fiscal year 2008 was according to FORTUNE Magazine the worst year in the history of America’s 500 largest corporations.
• 2008 profits plunged from $645 billion in 2007 to just $98.9 billion in 2008 – an 84.7% decline.
• Eleven of the top 25 largest corporate losses in list history took place last year.
• International insurance giant AIG posted a $99.3 billion loss — the biggest corporate loss in history.
• Thirty-eight companies disappeared from the list altogether.
• Fortune’s newcomers 500 list include: Polo Ralph Lauren, Visa and Mastercard. All three co.’s. rank far behind ExxonMobil which, boosted by higher gas prices, motored past Wal-Mart to arrive at the coveted number one spot.
• 15 women ran Fortune 500 companies in 2008m an all-time high.
• One out of every six Americans – 25.6 million people, work for the nation’s largest companies.
This year’s Top 20 companies, with rank, revenues and profits, +/- (in millions) are:
1. Exxon Mobil (442,851.0; 45,220.0)
2. Wal-Mart Stores (405,607.0; 13,400.0)
3. Chevron (263,159.0; 23,931.0)
4. ConocoPhillips (230,764.0; -16,998.0)
5. General Electric (183,207.0; 17,410.0)
6. General Motors (148,979.0; -30,860.0)
7. Ford Motor (146,277.0; -14,672.0)
8. AT&T (124,028.0; 12,867.0)
9. Hewlett-Packard (118,364.0; 8,329.0)
10. Valero Energy (118,298.0; -1,131.0)
11. Bank of America Corp. (113,106.0; 4,008.0)
12. Citigroup (112,372.0; -27,684.0)
13. Berkshire Hathaway (107,786.0; 4,994.0)
14. International Business Machines (103,630.0; 12,334.0)
15. McKesson (101,703.0; 990.0)
16. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (101,491.0; 5,605.0)
17. Verizon Communications (97,354.0; 6,428.0)
18. Cardinal Health (91,091.4; 1,300.6)
19. CVS Caremark (87,471.9; 3,212.1)
20. Procter & Gamble (83,503.0; 12,075.0)
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