The 2011 list of Fortune 500 is out today and surprise, surprise, several oil giants make the cut, just behind Wal-Mart that’s in the No. 1 slot for the second year in a row.
The retail giant tops the list of America’s biggest companies with $421 billion in sales, notwithstanding the softness in the U.S. retail market. But its Exxon Mobile, no 2 on the Fortune 500 this year, that was the real moneymaker, riding the skyrocketing increases in oil prices to rake in a whopping $35.6 billion in profits.
Fellow oil giant Chevron took the third spot with $196 billion in revenues, an increase of 20 percent from last year. ConocoPhillips followed in fourth place, up from 6th position one year ago.
In all, Fortune 500 generated nearly $10.8 trillion in total revenues last year, an increase of 10.5 percent. Total profits soared 81%.
So significant were these gains that Fortune’s editors said, “But guess who didn’t benefit much from this giant wave of cash? Millions of U.S. workers stuck mired in a stagnant job market.”
While it is the case that many 500 companies are growing faster overseas than in the U.S., and corporate profits are derived in large measure from productivity gains, including workforce reductions, Fortune’s editors added, “…We’ve rarely seen such a stark gulf between the fortunes of the 500 and those of ordinary Americans.”
