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How the profits of Fortune 500 companies stack up in one chart

A graphic breakdown of the companies—led by Berkshire Hathaway and Apple—that earned the most. Plus, the top performers in sales growth, stock returns, and more.

BYFortune Editors and Nicolas Rapp

June 11, 2020 12:00 PM UTC

COP.07.20.Berkshire-Hathaway-Annual-Meeting

Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., speaks during the virtual Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting seen on a laptop computer in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., on Saturday, May 2, 2020. Buffett, hosting the annual meeting virtually, has largely stayed in the shadows as the coronavirus pandemic hammered the global economy and stock markets. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg via Getty Images

It was another very profitable year for Warren Buffett. His Berkshire Hathaway led the Fortune 500 with $81.4 billion in profits, though that figure comes with a footnote: U.S. accounting rules forced Berkshire to count some $54 billion in gains from its stock holdings as net income. Overall, the Fortune 500 earned $14.2 trillion last year—an all-time record. The graphic below shows the size of the profit (or loss) for every company on this year’s 500. And in the tables that follow we break down the fastest-growing companies on the list, those that use their capital most efficiently, and the ones that have provided the best returns to investors.

Fast growers of the 500

While auto safety supplier Autoliv is technically a U.S. company, the 10-year profit champion seatbelt and airbag maker is based in Stockholm. Salesforce.com continues to ride the growth of the cloud-computing market, which is set to hit $330 billion in 2020. Electric-car leader Tesla, meanwhile, has yet to make an annual profit, but its sales have risen sevenfold in five years to $25 billion.

Growth in profits, 1 year

Rank	Company	500 revenues rank	2019 % growth in EPS
1	CISCO SYSTEMS	63	12,950.0
2	ALLEGHANY	351	2,166.8
3	BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY	6	1,937.1
4	NRG ENERGY	324	1,832.2
5	NETAPP	478	1,510.7
6	ALTICE USA	327	600.0
7	CINCINNATI FINANCIAL	400	591.4
8	BECTON DICKINSON	187	556.7
9	NEWMONT	328	495.3
10	DAVITA	230	472.8
11	CARDINAL HEALTH	16	459.3
12	JACOBS ENGINEERING GROUP	206	419.7
13	MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL	249	379.0
14	XEROX HOLDINGS	347	320.3
15	JABIL	121	269.4
16	DISCOVERY	287	234.9
17	ORACLE	82	230.0
18	JETBLUE AIRWAYS	394	218.3
19	ELI LILLY	145	184.0
20	OLD REPUBLIC INTERNATIONAL	427	183.1
	The 500 median		5.1

Growth in profits, 5 years

Rank	Company	500 revenues rank	2014–19 % annual growth in EPS
1	HD SUPPLY HOLDINGS	478	166.9
2	NRG ENERGY	324	135.9
3	EBAY	295	120.6
4	ADOBE	285	62.5
5	BUILDERS FIRSTSOURCE	425	60.2
6	DELTA AIR LINES	68	56.4
7	MOLINA HEALTHCARE	193	54.8
8	BURLINGTON STORES	424	51.4
9	BANK OF AMERICA CORP.	25	50.2
10	NETFLIX	164	46.3
11	BROADCOM	138	45.4
12	REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS	405	44.0
13	BERRY GLOBAL GROUP	358	42.5
14	FACEBOOK	46	42.4
15	MARKEL	335	42.1
16	ABBVIE	99	36.9
17	STEEL DYNAMICS	299	35.3
18	INTL FCSTONE	100	35.0
19	BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY	6	32.7
20	STRYKER	214	32.5
	The 500 median		9.9

Growth in profits, 10 years

Rank	Company	500 revenues rank	2009–19 % annual growth in EPS
1	AUTOLIV	369	46.0
2	KROGER	23	43.5
3	SOUTHWEST AIRLINES	141	41.8
4	CBRE GROUP	128	41.2
5	BORGWARNER	312	41.2
6	LITHIA MOTORS	252	39.7
7	L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES	250	39.6
8	HOLLYFRONTIER	184	37.2
9	RUSH ENTERPRISES	492	37.2
10	ASBURY AUTOMOTIVE GROUP	428	37.0
11	PACCAR	118	36.3
12	ACTIVISION BLIZZARD	463	36.0
13	ULTA BEAUTY	418	33.8
14	XPO LOGISTICS	196	33.4
15	CARMAX	173	33.3
16	NETAPP	478	33.0
17	ROBERT HALF INTERNATIONAL	482	32.2
18	VIACOMCBS	111	32.1
19	FOOT LOCKER	397	31.1
20	CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL	97	31.0
	The 500 median		10.5

Growth in revenues, 1 year

Rank	Company	500 revenues rank	2019 % growth in revenues
1	CIGNA	13	215.7
2	ANDERSONS	390	168.3
3	UNITED NATURAL FOODS	133	129.6
4	L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES	250	108.0
5	VIACOMCBS	111	91.6
6	WESTINGHOUSE AIR BRAKE TECH.	388	87.9
7	COMMSCOPE HOLDING	381	82.7
8	FISERV	311	74.9
9	KKR	349	74.6
10	KEURIG DR PEPPER	288	49.4
11	TENNECO	185	48.3
12	CINCINNATI FINANCIAL	400	46.5
13	NGL ENERGY PARTNERS	127	39.4
14	MARKEL	335	39.2
15	SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL	466	36.9
16	WAYFAIR	348	34.6
17	NEWMONT	328	34.3
18	CVS HEALTH	5	32.0
19	ALLEGHANY	351	31.3
20	VISTRA ENERGY	270	29.1
	The 500 median		2.9

Growth in revenues, 5 years

Rank	Company	500 revenues rank	2014–19 % annual growth in revenues
1	TESLA	124	50.4
2	XPO LOGISTICS	196	47.9
3	WAYFAIR	348	47.2
4	FACEBOOK	46	41.5
5	CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS	71	38.1
6	BUILDERS FIRSTSOURCE	425	35.3
7	CENTENE	42	35.1
8	CIGNA	13	34.5
9	NETFLIX	164	29.6
10	UNITED NATURAL FOODS	133	28.2
11	JONES LANG LASALLE	179	27.1
12	SALESFORCE.COM	190	26.1
13	AMAZON.COM	2	25.8
14	BEACON ROOFING SUPPLY	434	25.0
15	LENNAR	147	23.4
16	REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS	405	22.8
17	DOLLAR TREE	131	22.4
18	OLIN	481	22.2
19	ADOBE	285	21.9
20	WESTINGHOUSE AIR BRAKE TECH.	388	21.9
	The 500 median		4.0

Growth in revenues, 10 years

Rank	Company	500 revenues rank	2009–19 % annual growth in revenues
1	CENTENE	42	33.2
2	SALESFORCE.COM	190	29.3
3	NETFLIX	164	28.3
4	AMAZON.COM	2	27.6
5	ENERGY TRANSFER	59	25.9
6	LAM RESEARCH	331	24.1
7	CIGNA	13	23.6
8	ALLEGHANY	351	22.5
9	JONES LANG LASALLE	179	21.9
10	LENNAR	147	21.7
11	APPLE	4	21.7
12	ALPHABET	11	21.2
13	UNITED NATURAL FOODS	133	21.1
14	CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS	71	21.1
15	LITHIA MOTORS	252	21.0
16	WESTROCK	177	20.6
17	BOOKING HOLDINGS	210	20.5
18	LKQ	257	19.7
19	CBRE GROUP	128	19.1
20	THOR INDUSTRIES	404	17.9
	The 500 median		5.3

Bringing in the bucks

Apple was knocked out of the top spot in profits after a five-year reign, but the iPhone maker earned more than $50 billion in net income for the third time in five years, for a total of $262 billion over that span. Elsewhere, Visa and Mastercard charged to the top in profit efficiency. And NGL Energy Partners racked up the most revenues per employee.

Profits

Rank	Company	500 revenues rank	2019 $ millions
1	BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY	6	81,417.0
2	APPLE	4	55,256.0
3	MICROSOFT	21	39,240.0
4	JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.	17	36,431.0
5	ALPHABET	11	34,343.0
6	BANK OF AMERICA CORP.	25	27,430.0
7	INTEL	45	21,048.0
8	WELLS FARGO	30	19,549.0
9	CITIGROUP	31	19,401.0
10	VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS	20	19,265.0
11	FACEBOOK	46	18,485.0
12	PFIZER	64	16,273.0
13	JOHNSON & JOHNSON	35	15,119.0
14	WALMART	1	14,881.0
15	EXXON MOBIL	3	14,340.0
16	FANNIE MAE	24	14,160.0
17	AT&T	9	13,903.0
18	UNITEDHEALTH GROUP	7	13,839.0
19	COMCAST	28	13,057.0
20	VISA	137	12,080.0
	The 500 median		889.5

Return on revenues

Rank	Company	500 revenues rank	2019 profits as % of revenues
1	VISA	137	52.6
2	MASTERCARD	191	48.1
3	NRG ENERGY	324	45.0
4	BOSTON SCIENTIFIC	296	43.8
5	CONSTELLATION BRANDS	392	42.3
6	BIOGEN	223	41.0
7	ELI LILLY	145	37.3
8	FM GLOBAL	447	36.8
9	TD AMERITRADE HOLDING	486	36.7
10	SIMON PROPERTY GROUP	497	36.5
11	TEXAS INSTRUMENTS	222	34.9
12	AMGEN	135	33.6
13	BOOKING HOLDINGS	210	32.3
14	BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY	6	32.0
15	S&P GLOBAL	451	31.7
16	PFIZER	64	31.4
17	CHARLES SCHWAB	271	31.4
18	MICROSOFT	21	31.2
19	BLACKROCK	219	30.8
20	INTERCONTINENTAL EXCHANGE	459	29.5
	The 500 median		6.7

Return on shareholders’ equity

Rank	Company	500 revenues rank	2019 profits as % of equity
1	COLGATE-PALMOLIVE	203	2,023.1
2	S&P GLOBAL	451	443.2
3	O’REILLY AUTOMOTIVE	314	350.1
4	ELI LILLY	145	319.1
5	NRG ENERGY	324	267.7
6	LOWE’S	44	217.1
7	LOCKHEED MARTIN	57	199.2
8	MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL	157	181.1
9	ROCKWELL AUTOMATION	452	172.1
10	CLOROX	474	146.7
11	MASTERCARD	191	137.8
12	UNITED PARCEL SERVICE	43	135.9
13	NETAPP	478	107.2
14	FANNIE MAE	24	96.9
15	QUALCOMM	126	89.3
16	BURLINGTON STORES	424	88.1
17	ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS	229	83.3
18	SIMON PROPERTY GROUP	497	83.2
19	BOOKING HOLDINGS	210	82.0
20	AMGEN	135	81.1
	The 500 median		13.2

Revenues per dollar of assets

Rank	Company	500 revenues rank	2019 $
1	CORE-MARK HOLDING	240	7.0
2	WORLD FUEL SERVICES	91	6.1
3	GLOBAL PARTNERS	246	4.7
4	AMERISOURCEBERGEN	10	4.6
5	MURPHY USA	262	4.5
6	PERFORMANCE FOOD GROUP	168	4.2
7	NGL ENERGY PARTNERS	127	4.1
8	SPARTANNASH	370	3.8
9	MCKESSON	8	3.6
10	CARDINAL HEALTH	16	3.6
11	COSTCO WHOLESALE	14	3.4
12	SYSCO	56	3.3
13	INTL FCSTONE	100	3.3
14	C.H. ROBINSON WORLDWIDE	208	3.3
15	DEAN FOODS	421	3.3
16	UNITED NATURAL FOODS	133	3.3
17	WAYFAIR	348	3.1
18	VERITIV	412	3.1
19	GRAYBAR ELECTRIC	415	3.0
20	ALBERTSONS COS.	55	2.9
	The 500 median		0.7

Revenues per dollar of equity

Rank	Company	500 revenues rank	2019 $
1	COLGATE-PALMOLIVE	203	134.1
2	AMERISOURCEBERGEN	10	62.4
3	INTL FCSTONE	100	55.4
4	AK STEEL HOLDING	467	42.0
5	ALBERTSONS COS.	55	41.7
6	ASCENA RETAIL GROUP	473	41.3
7	LOWE’S	44	36.6
8	MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL	157	29.8
9	GLOBAL PARTNERS	246	28.6
10	MCKESSON	8	26.5
11	O’REILLY AUTOMOTIVE	314	25.5
12	SYSCO	56	24.0
13	CARDINAL HEALTH	16	23.0
14	UNITED PARCEL SERVICE	43	22.7
15	CORE-MARK HOLDING	240	22.5
16	OWENS & MINOR	332	20.9
17	WORLD FUEL SERVICES	91	19.5
18	LOCKHEED MARTIN	57	19.1
19	CDW	178	18.8
20	RITE AID	150	18.3
	The 500 median		2.3

Revenues per employee

Rank	Company	500 revenues rank	2019 $ millions
1	NGL ENERGY PARTNERS	127	18.5
2	INTL FCSTONE	100	16.4
3	FANNIE MAE	24	16.0
4	FREDDIE MAC	41	10.9
5	VALERO ENERGY	32	10.1
6	AMERISOURCEBERGEN	10	8.4
7	PHILLIPS 66	27	7.6
8	PBF ENERGY	125	7.1
9	PLAINS GP HOLDINGS	98	6.7
10	WORLD FUEL SERVICES	91	6.7
11	KKR	349	6.6
12	CHENIERE ENERGY	329	6.4
13	EOG RESOURCES	186	6.0
14	NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL	102	5.4
15	BRIGHTHOUSE FINANCIAL	457	4.9
16	ENTERPRISE PRODUCTS	101	4.5
17	REINSURANCE GROUP	225	4.5
18	ENLINK MIDSTREAM	483	4.5
19	CALPINE	319	4.5
20	HOLLYFRONTIER	184	4.3
	The 500 median		0.6

Shareholders win big with Big Tech

Microsoft wasn’t the first technology behemoth to surge past $1 trillion in market value over the past couple of years. (Apple and Amazon each got there first.) But the software and cloud giant landed on top in market capitalization for a second straight year, wowing investors with its $39 billion profits, while Facebook jumped into the top five. Also, for a second year in a row, Netflix took the crown for best 10-year stock return in the Fortune 500.

Biggest companies by market value

Rank	Company	500 revenues rank	3/31/20 $ millions
1	MICROSOFT	21	1,199,549.7
2	APPLE	4	1,112,640.8
3	AMAZON.COM	2	970,680.1
4	ALPHABET	11	798,905.3
5	FACEBOOK	46	475,455.2
6	BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY	6	442,897.1
7	JOHNSON & JOHNSON	35	345,704.9
8	WALMART	1	321,803.3
9	VISA	137	316,199.1
10	JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.	17	276,750.1
11	PROCTER & GAMBLE	50	271,639.8
12	MASTERCARD	191	242,794.1
13	UNITEDHEALTH GROUP	7	236,555.2
14	INTEL	45	231,661.9
15	VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS	20	222,220.0
16	AT&T	9	209,387.5
17	HOME DEPOT	26	200,665.0
18	MERCK	69	195,140.5
19	COCA-COLA	88	189,983.0
20	BANK OF AMERICA CORP.	25	185,226.9
	The 500 median		12,483.1

Biggest companies by equity

Rank	Company	500 revenues rank	2019 $ millions
1	BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY	6	424,791.0
2	BANK OF AMERICA CORP.	25	264,810.0
3	JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.	17	261,330.0
4	ALPHABET	11	201,442.0
5	CITIGROUP	31	193,242.0
6	EXXON MOBIL	3	191,650.0
7	WELLS FARGO	30	187,146.0
8	AT&T	9	184,221.0
9	CHEVRON	15	144,213.0
10	STATE FARM INSURANCE COS.	36	116,231.9
11	MICROSOFT	21	102,330.0
12	FACEBOOK	46	101,054.0
13	APPLE	4	90,488.0
14	GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP	60	90,265.0
15	WALT DISNEY	49	88,877.0
16	COMCAST	28	82,726.0
17	MORGAN STANLEY	61	81,549.0
18	INTEL	45	77,504.0
19	WALMART	1	74,669.0
20	TRUIST FINANCIAL	217	66,384.0
	The 500 median		6,128.4

Biggest companies by employees

Rank	Company	500 revenues rank	2019 number of employees
1	WALMART	1	2,200,000
2	AMAZON.COM	2	798,000
3	YUM CHINA HOLDINGS	361	450,000
4	KROGER	23	435,000
5	HOME DEPOT	26	415,700
6	BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY	6	391,500
7	FEDEX	47	389,500
8	INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES	38	383,800
9	UNITED PARCEL SERVICE	43	377,640
10	TARGET	37	368,000
11	STARBUCKS	114	346,000
12	UNITEDHEALTH GROUP	7	325,000
13	COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY	194	292,500
14	CVS HEALTH	5	290,000
15	WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE	19	287,000
16	TJX	80	286,000
17	ALBERTSONS COS.	55	267,000
18	PEPSICO	51	267,000
19	LOWE’S	44	260,000
20	WELLS FARGO	30	259,800
	The 500 median		26,190

Total return to shareholders, 1 year

Rank	Company	500 revenues rank	2019 %
1	FANNIE MAE	24	194.3
2	FREDDIE MAC	41	183.4
3	ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES	448	148.4
4	BUILDERS FIRSTSOURCE	425	132.9
5	SONIC AUTOMOTIVE	301	129.4
6	TENET HEALTHCARE	174	121.9
7	LAM RESEARCH	331	118.3
8	WORLD FUEL SERVICES	91	104.8
9	CAESARS ENTERTAINMENT	363	100.3
10	TARGET	37	99.3
11	BLACKSTONE GROUP	420	96.6
12	LITHIA MOTORS	252	94.6
13	XEROX HOLDINGS	347	92.5
14	GROUP 1 AUTOMOTIVE	264	92.3
15	APPLIED MATERIALS	218	89.8
16	APPLE	4	89.0
17	LEIDOS HOLDINGS	289	88.7
18	HOWMET AEROSPACE	226	83.5
19	COTY	366	79.2
20	WESTERN DIGITAL	198	78.7
	The 500 median		28.9

Total return to shareholders, 5 years

Rank	Company	500 revenues rank	2014–19 annual rate %
1	ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES	448	76.6
2	NVIDIA	292	64.8
3	NETFLIX	164	46.0
4	AMAZON.COM	2	42.9
5	BURLINGTON STORES	424	37.0
6	WAYFAIR	348	35.4
7	ADOBE	285	35.3
8	CDW	178	33.7
9	LAM RESEARCH	331	32.1
10	MICROSOFT	21	30.4
11	BUILDERS FIRSTSOURCE	425	29.9
12	CINTAS	441	29.4
13	MASTERCARD	191	29.1
14	BROADCOM	138	28.7
15	BOSTON SCIENTIFIC	296	27.8
16	LEIDOS HOLDINGS	289	27.7
17	FISERV	311	26.7
18	S&P GLOBAL	451	26.6
19	ZOETIS	472	26.0
20	UNITEDHEALTH GROUP	7	25.7
	The 500 median		8.0

Total return to shareholders, 10 years

Rank	Company	500 revenues rank	2009–19 annual rate %
1	NETFLIX	164	45.0
2	CHENIERE ENERGY	329	38.1
3	BROADCOM	138	35.5
4	LITHIA MOTORS	252	34.9
5	UNITED RENTALS	340	32.8
6	XPO LOGISTICS	196	31.6
7	REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS	405	31.6
8	ULTA BEAUTY	418	30.3
9	AMAZON.COM	2	30.0
10	NVIDIA	292	29.9
11	CONSTELLATION BRANDS	392	28.8
12	CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS	71	28.6
13	MASTERCARD	191	28.5
14	CINTAS	441	28.3
15	ROSS STORES	202	28.3
16	CENTENE	42	28.1
17	O’REILLY AUTOMOTIVE	314	27.7
18	APPLE	4	27.3
19	UNITEDHEALTH GROUP	7	27.3
20	SHERWIN-WILLIAMS	180	26.7
	The 500 median		12.8

A version of this article appears in the June/July 2020 issue of Fortune with the headline “How the companies stack up.”