Saudi Aramco is the most profitable company ever—and closing in on Walmart as the world’s biggest company by revenue

—Walmart once again topped the list, for the 10th year in a row, but Saudi Aramco was a surprisingly close No. 2 and also the most profitable company ever on the list, earning $159 billion last year. Energy profits also propelled Exxon Mobil (No. 7) and Shell (No. 9) back into the top 10.

—The number of U.S. companies on the list rose to 136—the highest since 2010.

—China’s tech champions took a beating, with JD.com (No. 52) falling six spots on the list, Alibaba (No. 68) falling 13 spots, and Tencent (No. 147) falling 26 spots. 

—Only 29 of the 500 companies are headed by women—but that is up five from a year ago.

—The combined revenues of the Fortune Global 500 were $41 trillion, equal to more than one-third of global GDP. Together they employ more than 70 million people.

—118 of the companies on the list are owned by governments—two-thirds of them in China.

The top 10 on the 2023 list:

1. Walmart (U.S.)
2. Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia)
3. State Grid (China)
4. Amazon (U.S.)
5. China National Petroleum (China)
6. Sinopec (China)
7. Exxon Mobil (U.S.)
8. Apple (U.S.)
9. Shell (U.K.)
10. UnitedHealth Group (U.S.)

You can explore the full list more closely here. And you can read how Saudi Aramco’s profits are driving Saudi Arabia’s demand for global attention here. The country’s daily oil production—produced at a low cost of about $8 a barrel compared with average costs of $53 a barrel in the U.S.—is fueling 10% of the word’s oil consumption.

More news below.

Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com

TOP NEWS

U.S downgrade

Fitch Ratings downgraded the U.S. on Tuesday to “AA+” status, one grade below the highest possible ranking. The agency cited expanding fiscal deficits and an “erosion of governance” relative to the U.S.’s peers. Fitch is the second ratings agency to downgrade the U.S., following S&P Global Ratings in 2011. Bloomberg

Uber profit

Ride-hailing app Uber Technologies reported $326 million in operating profit on Tuesday, the company’s first ever after nearly $31.5 billion in combined losses since 2014. Uber has slashed costs in recent years, laying off workers, shelving non-core businesses, and reining in discounts. Despite the surprise profit, Uber shares sank by almost 6% on Tuesday after the company warned of price competition from fellow ride-hailing firm Lyft. Financial Times 

BlackRock in China

Congress’s Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party is probing asset manager BlackRock and index provider MSCI on their ties to Chinese companies blacklisted by the U.S. government. In a letter sent to both companies on Monday, the committee accused the two firms of sending “massive flows of American capital” to China, “undermining American values.” The committee has also announced an investigation into U.S. venture capital firms funding A.I. and quantum computing startups in China. The Wall Street Journal 

AROUND THE WATERCOOLER

YouTube’s Shorts already rivals TikTok with 2 billion views per month. Now it has ‘collabs,’ stickers for audience participation and other new features by Alexandra Sternlicht

ServiceNow’s CFO Gina Mastantuono on how the company won its first spot on the Fortune 500—and has vowed to avoid any layoffs this year by Sheryl Estrada 

Americans could live an extra 19 years—if they pick the right employer by Erin Prater

Commentary: We’re now finding out the damaging results of the mandated return to the office–and it’s worse than we thought by Gleb Tsipursky

Asia’s former richest woman—now property mogul—Yang Huiyan has given 55% of her company to charity, a payout worth $826 million by Orianna Rosa Royle

Bud Light rival Heineken says businesses need to ‘stand for their values’ in the wake of AB InBev’s transgender row by Prarthana Prakash

This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.