Fortune Global 500

The Fortune Global 500 shrank a little over the past year. After reaching a record high of $33.3 trillion in the 2020 edition, total revenue for the world’s biggest companies fell 4.8% to $31.7 trillion this year. It was the first decline in half a decade. The culprit, of course, was COVID-19, which slammed huge swaths of the global economy as countries went into lockdown. Cumulative sales in both the energy and automotive sectors, for example, fell by more than 10%. And all six of the airlines that appeared in last year’s ranking failed to make the cut this year. Despite the setbacks, the heft of the Fortune Global 500 remains formidable: The combined sales of the companies on the list are equal to more than one-third of global GDP.

BIGGEST COMPANIES BY COUNTRY MEMBERSHIP Methodology

The Top Ten

Walmart

Prev. #1

Retailing

Walmart had a banner 2020, with U.S. e-commerce sales up 79% as pandemic-weary customers consolidated shopping trips to fewer retailers and took advantage of the big-box giant’s strong curbside pickup offering. Its Sam’s Club and international businesses also boomed for similar reasons. With COVID-19 easing, the retailer is looking to protect those market share gains and has embarked on a $14 billion capital expenditure program for 2021, roughly 40% larger than last year’s, even as such spending compromises profits. The program will focus on priorities like an improved supply chain; automation, including in-store robots; grocery order fulfillment; and tech to improve shopping for customers.

State Grid

+1 spotPrev. #3

Energy

Profits at State Grid, the largest of China’s two state-owned electric utility operators, plummeted 81% in the first half of 2020, as the pandemic decimated demand for power. The near-term outlook for the massive grid operator, which supplies nearly 90% of China’s electricity, is hard to forecast. Revenue rebounded as China’s economy recovered, but State Grid’s profit is under pressure from increased capital expenditures and asset cuts that are mandated by Beijing. The utility operator is due to spin off its profit-making property and equipment manufacturing units by the end of the year as part of the government’s plan to commercialize China’s energy networks. Meanwhile, State Grid has committed to spending $70 billion annually over the next five years to build capacity in renewable energy as China shifts to a low-carbon economy.

Amazon

+6 spotsPrev. #9

Retailing

Walmart had better watch out. A company this big shouldn’t be able to grow this fast—but Amazon’s 38% revenue growth in 2020 has the Seattle company creeping closer to the top of the Fortune 500. For years a money loser, Amazon earned $21.3 billion in profit on more than $386 billion in annual sales. As the pandemic forced everyone online, the Everything Store won big. The e-tailer’s Prime delivery and entertainment service gained 50 million subscribers year over year, for a total of more than 200 million global customers. CEO Jeff Bezos picked a banner year to step down from leading day-to-day operations; he handed the title to Andy Jassy, former boss of the ultra-profitable Amazon Web Services unit, in the second half of 2021.

China National Petroleum

Prev. #4

Energy

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the state-owned parent company of the country’s second-largest oil producer, PetroChina, has climbed out of the pandemic-induced demand slump that stripped the oil giant of profits last year. In the first quarter of 2021, PetroChina reported $4.28 billion in earnings, its best quarterly performance in seven years, and is estimating profit of $6.9 billion for the first half of the year. But like many oil majors, CNPC is now attempting to walk the line between revenue and reform as it faces a legislative push to reduce carbon emissions. PetroChina’s solution is to place more emphasis on natural gas, which produces less carbon dioxide than oil when burned. PetroChina predicts gas will contribute 55% of the company’s fossil fuel sales by 2025, up from 43% today.

Sinopec Group

-3 spotsPrev. #2

Energy

China’s state-owned petroleum and chemical giant dropped three places on this year’s Global 500 ranking, following a rough year of reduced demand during the pandemic. But Sinopec is predicting a return to profit in the first half of 2021, issuing guidance for $5.6 billion of net income, compared with a $3.54 billion loss for the same period last year. Surging demand from factories and freight, plus higher oil prices, has helped drive Sinopec’s business. Looking to a carbon-neutral future, Sinopec is putting more focus on hydrogen production. The oil and gas giant aims to produce 500,000 tonnes of “green” hydrogen by 2025 and plans to build 1,000 hydrogen-refueling stations across the country in the same time frame.

Apple

+6 spotsPrev. #12

Technology

The pandemic created challenges and opportunities for Apple. CEO Tim Cook had to close stores and send home engineers. But with Apple customers worldwide working and learning from home, iPad and Macintosh computer sales skyrocketed to their highest levels ever. And fiscal-year revenue hit an all-time record too, of $275 billion. That helped Apple’s stock price soar; it gained 80.7% in 2020. As that year wound down, regulators fixed their sights on Apple for potentially abusing its power over the iOS app store. A House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee report in October concluded that Apple “exerts monopoly power” in its app store to harm competition and increase prices for consumers. Meanwhile, testimony in an antitrust lawsuit filed by Fortnite developer Epic Games will likely increase pressure on legislators to limit Apple’s power.

CVS Health

+6 spotsPrev. #13

Health Care

CVS embedded itself on the front lines of the COVID pandemic as one of the central hubs for distributing vaccines to local communities. In the first quarter of 2021 alone, the company, now fully integrated with health insurer Aetna following a mammoth $69 billion acquisition, produced more than $69 billion in revenues. In 2020, revenue grew $12 billion compared to the previous year. Karen Lynch, who became CEO in February 2021, believes that “millions of new customers will engage with CVS Health for the first time through testing and vaccine administration.” The company’s upbeat guidance for 2021, meanwhile, relies on pharmacy sales, rather than retail, to carry the revenue growth.

UnitedHealth Group

+7 spotsPrev. #15

Health Care

The Minnesota-based health insurer thrived during the pandemic year, climbing two spots on the list. While widespread layoffs led to a decline in the number of individuals covered by its commercial insurance, the firm’s 6.2% revenue growth was powered by greater enrollment in its Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans, and by the strong performance of Optum, its sprawling $136 billion health services business. Despite the costs of covering COVID patients, UnitedHealth’s profits jumped 11.3%, owing to members’ decreased use of health services during the pandemic. In an abrupt leadership change, Andrew Witty, who previously ran the company’s Optum division, became CEO in February 2021.

Toyota Motor

+1 spotPrev. #10

Motor Vehicles & Parts

Toyota took a major step in April with the announcement of a new line of battery electric vehicles (BEV), starting with the bZ4X compact crossover that could debut as early as next year. Even though Toyota helped sensitize car owners to fuel efficiency with the hybrid Prius, it has long pushed hydrogen fuel cell cars like its Mirai as a better zero-emission alternative than BEVs. But by collaborating with partner Subaru on the development of its own BEV lines, with 15 Toyota Group models due by 2025, Toyota has finally moved past its big bet on fuel cells. Investors are likely to welcome the move, given Toyota’s hydrogen solution failed to catch on outside Japan. For the fiscal year ending in March, Toyota has forecast a 14% increase in operating profit and revenue near record levels at 30 trillion yen.

Volkswagen

-3 spotsPrev. #7

Motor Vehicles & Parts

Volkswagen marked 2020 with the launch of the all-important MEB platform, expected to underpin 19 million battery-electric vehicles over its lifetime. However, software problems overshadowed the launch of the VW ID.3 compact hatchback and crossover ID.4, adding to the Tesla fans’ taunts that Volkswagen can’t do tech. In response, in July 2021 CEO Herbert Diess unveiled a new strategy centered around two hardware-based and two software-based platforms to be shared across the group. By limiting complexity, Diess hopes to ensure no competitor can match these economies of scale. As a reward, the CEO received a two and a half year contract extension, meaning the Austrian will run the show until October 2025.