Walmart Is Number One; Apple, 6th, on New Fortune 500 List

Walmart is the biggest organization in the world — by revenue, according to the new Fortune 500 list. Walmart made $469.2 billion in the last fiscal year, leading all the organizations in the world, including Exxon Mobil, which made $449.9 billion. Apple was at sixth place, making the top ten for the first time, while Facebook made the list for the first time at 482nd place, with revenue of $5.1 billion. Profits also varied for organizations, with some crossing the tens of billions mark. Financial services companies had $200 billion in total profits. “For the future, the overriding question for the 500 is whether the era of abundant profits will continue,” said Fortune senior editor-at-large Shawn Tully. “Most likely that will hold profit growth to the low single digits in the next year or two, in line with sales, as gravitational forces pull earnings back to the mean.” “For several years, players have been hoarding cash and shunning expansion,” Tully said. “In 2012, they put that cash – and their rapidly appreciating shares – to work in the best year for M&A in over a decade.” You can see the full list here.