Apple comes in third on this year’s Fortune 500 list, a ranking of companies based on revenue.
Apple lagged behind Walmart and ExxonMobil in terms of revenue. However, it massively outperforms both in terms of profitability. Interestingly, No. 4 on the list — Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway firm — is also one of Apple’s biggest investors.
Fortune notes that 2018…
“…will be remembered as the year that Apple first achieved a market value of $1 trillion, as well as when growth in iPhones, Apple’s largest single product by far, began to slow. Before the introduction of the iPod—the iPhone’s precursor—Apple was a once-exciting computer maker. Now, only a retailer and an oil company are bigger. Its challenge: as consumers hang onto phones longer, Apple is repositioning itself as a services provider. Already iTunes, Apple Music, iCloud, and cuts from sales in its popular Apple Store generate billions of dollars of sales.”
The only other FAANG tech company in the top 10 is Amazon, ranked at No. 5.
Apple is a Fortune 500 regular
Apple has been a longtime fixture on the Fortune 500 list. It entered the top 10 in 2013, and has ranked ever since. In recent years, it hovered around the No. 3 spot. Last year, it fell to No. 4 after ExxonMobile leapfrogged Apple and Berkshire Hathaway to secure the No. 2 spot.
Ultimately, lists such as this don’t tell you everything. Ranking on revenue over profitability seems flawed, for instance. It’s also worth noting that Apple has a much larger cap than either the No. 1 or No. 2 companies on the list.
As of time of writing, AAPL is valued at $878.4 billion. Walmart (No. 1 on the list) is meanwhile worth just $286.36 billion, while ExxonMobil is worth $323 billion.
