by Amal Mohy
Here is the list of the top ten largest companies according to the annual ranking of Fortune Global 500:
Walmart
Although its biggest businesses include teen sportswear and candies; Walmart, a discount retailer, ranks the highest in the list of World’s largest companies. With a network of about 4,000 stores in the US, more than 11,000 stores in 27 countries and customers spending billions of dollars, Walmart has higher sales than any other company in the world. Along with its numerous stores, Walmart has expanded its e-commerce investments; however, it competes with ever stronger rivals such as Target and Amazon. Walmart reported revenues of $485.7bn and profits of $16.4bn.
Sinopec
Even if oil prices are collapsing, China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) ranks the second largest company in the world after overtaking Royal Dutch Shell. The energy giant refines and produces petroleum and petrochemical products such as gasoline, diesel and kerosene. China’s largest refiner earned $446.8bn in revenues and $5.2bn in profits.
Royal Dutch Shell
Shell, which ranked second last year and top two years ago, ranks third this year in the world’s largest companies. Although the company has been struggling with declining revenues and profits during the last three years, its CEO, Ben van Beurden, did not hesitate to take over the rival BG Group. Acquisition of BG Group shall make Shell a leading LNG corp. Shell’s revenues reached $431.3bn while its profits were estimated at $14.9bn.
PetroChina or China National Petroleum
China National Petroleum (CNPC), a Chinese state-owned oil and gas corporation based in Beijing, is the fourth largest company in the world. It is worth noting that CNPC is the only non-banking company that was ranked in the top ten in Forbes list of the most valuable businesses in the world. CNPC produces and trades oil, gas and petroleum products across China, Africa, Central Asia-Russia, South America, the Middle East, as well as the Asia-Pacific while also operating a pipeline network of 79,054 kilometres. The declining oil prices have aggressively hit China’s oil giant forcing its profits to drop by 17 per cent. As a result, CNPC recorded only $428.6bn in revenues and $16.4bn in profits.
Exxon Mobil
Exxon Mobil, an American multinational oil and gas company, holds its ranking in the world’s top ten with a fifth position thanks to its established refining and chemicals businesses and mostly since its rivals share the same price woes. Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest oil company, explores and produces oil, gas and coal among other industry businesses. The oil giant plans cost cut measures to save cash after three consecutive years of falling annual revenue. This year, Exxon reported revenues of $382.6bn and profits of $32.5bn.
BP
BP, based in London, is another oil company which was severely hurt by the falling oil prices and now ranks sixth in the list of the world’s biggest companies. The British oil giant still struggles with the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 that killed 11 workers and spilled 3.2 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico ruining hundreds of miles of beaches. The company also deals with reputation issues after two of its employees manipulated a key benchmark for 48 days to make profits in 2008. BP’s Revenues decreased by 9.5 per cent to $358.7bn, meanwhile, its profits slumped to $3.8bn after hiking to $23.4bn in 2014.
State Grid
State Grid, China’s largest state-owned electric utilities company, ranks seventh in Fortune 500’s list of the world’s largest companies. The energy company embodies China’s policies during the recent years to sustain the environment, reduce harm emissions and use alternative energy sources. State Grid operates the world’s biggest solar farm but really needs to improve its product transporting across China. Revenues of State Grid reached $339.4bn; while its profits jumped to $9.8bn, compared to $8bn in the previous year.
Volkswagon
Despite not being an energy company, Volkswagon has made it to the world’s top ten largest companies due its strong businesses in Europe, Australia, and the Asia Pacific region among other spots. The German company will achieve further profits after it produces low cost cars for China, the largest market for such an industry. Volkswagon reached $268.6bn in revenues and increased profits to $14.6bn after recording $12.1bn in 2014.
Toyota Motor
Thanks to its rising sales in North America, Toyota Motor maintains its ranking in the world’s largest companies. Besides, it is the highest Japanese company in the list. Even after struggling with a faulty airbags issue. Toyota’s profits increased slightly to $19.8bn compared to $18.2bn last year. As for its revenues, they were estimated at $247.7bn.
Glencore
Glencore, a Swiss commodities and mining company, also holds its position in the world’s largest companies despite a 5 per cent decline in revenues. Glencore, one of the world’s largest natural resources companies, operates in more than 50 countries. Declines in revenues, which reached $221.1bn, may be due to falling commodity prices. The company is said to have a poor reputation for gender discrimination and safety issues. Glencore also reported profits of $2.3bn in 2015.
