Beijing, August 8 (Zhongxin Financial Reporter Zuo Yukun) On August 3, the 8 Fortune Global 2 list was announced, and many changes have occurred compared with previous years.
The combined operating income of this year's Fortune Global 500 companies is about $41 trillion, up 8.4% from the previous year. The barrier to entry (minimum sales revenue) also jumped from $286.309 billion to $6.5 billion. However, affected by the global economic downturn, the combined net profit of all companies on the list this year decreased by 2.9% year-on-year, to about $<>.<> trillion.
What has happened to the status of the world's most profitable companies? Is there a pattern to follow the ups and downs of industries?
Infographic: Walmart Shopping Plaza.
The top 10 list has changed
In this year's Fortune Global 500, the "big brother" has not changed, and Wal-Mart has become the world's largest company for the tenth consecutive year. Saudi Aramco rose to second place for the first time, while China's State Grid Corporation continued to rank third.
Looking at the top ten companies on the list, there are 5 American companies, namely Walmart, Amazon, ExxonMobil, Apple, and United Health Group; There are three Chinese enterprises, namely State Grid Corporation of China, China National Petroleum Corporation and China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation Limited. The remaining two seats are occupied by businesses from Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.
A number of companies have made significant progress compared to the top 2022 list in 2023: ExxonMobil in refining, Shell Inc. and Healthcare United Health are the top 3 new entrants in the top 6 in 7. Saudi Aramco moved from No. <> to No. <>, and ExxonMobil moved up from No. <> to No. <>.
On the contrary, there are "sad people": Amazon fell out of the top three, from 2nd last year to 4th this year; China State Construction Group Co., Ltd. dropped from 9th to 13th; Germany's Volkswagen dropped out of the top 8 for the first time in a decade, falling from 15th to <>th.
Data map: A wind farm in Baicheng, Jilin. State Grid Jilin Electric Power Photo
China still ranks first in the number of Fortune Global 500 companies
Focusing on the Chinese companies in the list, plus Taiwanese companies, there are 142 Chinese companies on the list this year, and the number of large companies continues to be the highest among countries.
But at the same time, the number of companies on the list this year, Chinese mainland (including Hong Kong) fell for the first time in nearly 15 years, down one from the previous year to 135. By comparison, the U.S. has a total of 136 companies on the list this year, 12 more than the previous year and more than Chinese mainland companies on the list.
Of the 135 Chinese mainland (including Hong Kong), excluding 7 new entrants and 4 unchanged rankings, 35 rose but 89 declined. In other words, of the 128 companies that can be counted to rise or fall in ranking, 69% have fallen in the ranking.
Among them, there are many companies that we are familiar with. Huawei dropped 15 places to 111, falling out of the top 100; Xiaomi Group's ranking also fell from 266th last year to 360th, and electronic consumer companies rose to the challenge. However, from an international point of view, the world's major PC manufacturers Lenovo, Dell, and HP have all declined to varying degrees in their rankings in the top 500.
At the same time, among the top three white electricity in China, Midea Group and Haier Zhijia have fallen in ranking, falling 33 places to 278th and 14 places to 419th respectively, while Gree Electric Appliances fell from 487th last year to this year. From a global perspective, home appliance companies such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics of South Korea and Sony and Panasonic of Japan have also declined in the rankings.
There have also been some changes in the consumer electronics space. Not only did the US e-commerce company Amazon slip in the rankings, but China's JD.com and Ali also encountered a similar situation. Among them, JD.com ranked 52nd, compared to 46th the previous year. Alibaba ranks 68th, up from 55th last year. Meituan debuted on the list, ranking 467th.
The technological innovation and breakthrough of new energy vehicles have created two dark horses. In this year's list, there are 500 Chinese automobile companies on the world's top 9 list, ranking among the world's largest automobile companies. Among them, BYD jumped from 436th to 212th, which is the Chinese company with the most improvement in the ranking; CATL entered the list for the first time, ranking 292nd.
Infographic: Auto show view. Photo by Luo Yunfei
Which industries are more profitable
In this year's list, banks (42), insurance (42), automobile and auto parts manufacturing (34), petroleum refining (32), and metals (24) industries have the largest number of companies on the list. However, affected by the global economic downturn, the combined net profit of all companies on the list this year decreased by 6.5% year-on-year, to about $2.9 trillion.
In this situation, there are still many companies that have achieved significant profit growth. Globally, Aramco's profits rose 51 percent, topping the profit list with about $1590 billion. There are three tech companies in the top five profit list: Apple is in second place in the profit list; Microsoft rose to third place in the profit list; Google's parent company Alphabet and the U.S. Postal Service ranked fourth and fifth respectively in terms of profits.
However, the continued rise in energy costs has caused many energy and utility companies on the list to experience profit declines or even losses. A total of 32 companies on this year's list failed to turn a profit, with Berkshire Hathaway topping the list of losses, with a loss of more than $228.100 billion. The other three companies that lost more than $<> billion were Uniper, Korea Power and EDF.
Looking at the situation in China, the 135 Chinese mainland (including Hong Kong) companies on the list are divided into 15 business sectors, of which only 4 enterprises have a sales return of more than 5%, namely finance, transportation, telecommunications and high-tech sectors.
Two of the top 535 Chinese companies in the profit list are Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank, with ICBC making more than US$<>.<> billion in profits. (End)