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Recent Press Releases (U.S. and international) for magazine issues and staff changes may be found below. Please note that for many issues there exists only a highlights sheet, while for others there may also be a full press release. The cover of FORTUNE's current issue is pictured at right. Please contact the appropriate communications staff member with any questions.
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WAL-MART TOPS FORTUNE GLOBAL 500; OIL GIANT EXXON MOBIL FALLS TO SECOND SPOT Refining industry represents more than 14% of Global 500's $21 trillion in revenue; Chinese oil company Sinopec breaks into top 20 New York, July 11, 2007 — FORTUNE announced today that Wal-Mart Stores reclaimed the top spot on the latest FORTUNE Global 500 list after an 11% increase in revenue — remaining the only retailer in the top ten. Rounding out the top ten are No. 2 Exxon Mobil (U.S.); No. 3 Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands); No. 4 BP (Britain); No. 5 General Motors (U.S.); No. 6 Toyota Motor (Japan); No. 7 Chevron (U.S.); No. 8 DaimlerChrysler (Germany); No. 9 ConocoPhillips (U.S.); and No. 10 Total (France). The list and accompanying stories will appear in the July 23 issue of FORTUNE, available on newsstands July 16 and online at www.fortune.com July 12. "Just a few years ago FORTUNE was predicting that high-flying tech companies would soon displace the oil and auto giants that had been hogging the limelight at the top of the Global 500," says FORTUNE reporter Telis Demos in his introduction to the list. "Well, look who's still riding high: Six of the top ten companies on this year's list are pumping petroleum, and three more are making vehicles that burn it. True, Wal-Mart regained its title as the world's largest company, at $351.1 billion in revenue... But the big story was oil." While petroleum ruled the top ten, banking had a strong year. Ten of the top 25 companies are financial services firms, led by ING Group in the No. 13 spot. And thanks to a global M&A boom that paid out $11 billion in fees, the securities industry grew 45% by revenue in 2006. That lifted Morgan Stanley (No. 61), Merrill Lynch (No. 70), and Goldman Sachs (No. 72) into the top 75 for the first time. Finance's strong showing wasn't limited to Wall Street; Europe and Asia's financial companies also prospered. Spain's BBVA (No. 163), Italy's UniCredit Group (No. 97), and Germany's Commerzbank (No. 216) all completed cross-border acquisitions. Chinese banks, led by Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (No. 170), which boasted the world's largest public offering in 2006, also made a big splash. While the U.S. remains the world's locomotive of economic growth — its 162 companies on the Global 500 account for more than a third of total revenue — developing economies are increasingly driving growth in many sectors, including commodities, mining, and construction. Construction-materials companies such as Ireland's CRH (No. 293), France's Lafarge (No. 295), and Switzerland's Holcim (No. 372) all rose at least 30 places in the ranking because of building booms in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, China, and India. China, the world's fourth-largest economy by GDP, added four companies to the list, more than any other country, bringing its total to 24. The new entrants include China Minmetals (No. 435) and China National Offshore Oil (No. 469). After Toyota, Asia's next three largest corporations are now Chinese. But Japan still boasts nearly three times as many companies above the Global 500's $14.9 billion revenue threshold. Overall, revenues for the Global 500 companies were up 10.4% over the previous year, and profits were up 25.9%. # # # 2006 FORTUNE Global 500 facts: Make-up of the top ten companies:
Highest Profits (in billions):
Top Ranked by Performance:
New to the List:
*Company emerged from bankruptcy, Feb. 1, 2006. Net income includes a large credit from bankruptcy reorganization. Additional data on the FORTUNE Global 500, including profits, assets, stockholders equity, and employee stats for each Global 500 company; country-by-country rankings; industry leaders; top performing companies; company contact information; and the complete 2007 list is available July 12 exclusively at www.fortune.com/global500. About FORTUNE # # # CONTACT: Katy Reitz
Erin Clinton
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