On August 5th, the 2024 Fortune Global 500 list was announced. The total operating revenue of companies on this year's Fortune Global 500 list is approximately $41 trillion, equivalent to one-third of global GDP, a slight increase of about 0.1% compared to last year. The total net profit of all listed companies increased by 2.3% year-on-year, reaching approximately 2.97 trillion US dollars.
In the list, Wal Mart became the world's largest company for the eleventh consecutive year. Thanks to the dual strategy of increasing revenue and reducing expenses, Amazon has returned to second place this year, with a revenue of 574.785 billion yuan and a profit of 304.25 billion yuan. Last year, Amazon only ranked fourth.
Among this year's list of companies, large American technology companies have demonstrated considerable profitability. Apple, Google's parent company Alphabet, and Microsoft, three American technology companies, ranked second, fourth, and fifth respectively on the most profitable company (profit list). Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms collectively generated a net revenue of $282.2 billion.
However, Saudi Aramco still tops the overall profit chart with a profit of approximately $120.7 billion, although its profit has decreased by about 24% year-on-year. Berkshire Hathaway, as the company with the highest losses on last year's Fortune 500 list, ranked third on this year's profit chart with profits exceeding $96.2 billion. Three other Chinese companies have entered the top ten profit rankings, namely Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Agricultural Bank of China, with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's profits exceeding 51.4 billion US dollars.
This year, including Taiwanese companies, there are a total of 133 Chinese companies on the list, a decrease of 9 from last year. As a comparison, the United States has a total of 139 companies on the list this year, an increase of 3 from the previous year, ranking first among all countries in terms of the number of large companies. This is the first time since 2018 that the number of companies from China on the list is less than that of the United States.
It is worth mentioning that the overall performance of large companies in the Internet field in China has risen. Among the five Chinese Internet giants, except Alibaba, which dropped 2 places, JD, Tencent and Meituan all rose in ranking, and Pinduoduo was listed for the first time.
Benefiting from the recovery of China's Internet industry, Meituan has become the Chinese company with the highest ranking in the list, jumping 83 places to 384 at present. Jingdong Group, which ranked 47th, entered the top 50 of the list for the first time, replacing Ping An as the largest private company in Chinese Mainland.
Among the top 50 companies with the highest return on equity (ROE), Pinduoduo ranks 47th on the list and becomes the second ranked company in terms of ROE in China, second only to Chery Holding Group.
In addition, the total revenue of 133 Chinese companies on the list in 2023 is about $11 trillion, a decrease of about 6% compared to last year's total revenue; The average sales revenue is about 83 billion US dollars, lower than the average revenue of 99 billion US dollars for the listed American companies, and slightly higher than the average of all 500 companies on the list.
Among the 128 enterprises in Chinese Mainland (including Hong Kong), 46 enterprises rose in the ranking, but 71 declined.
This list is a measure of the size of large companies and a barometer for observing the world and regional economy from a side perspective. It showcases the achievements and opportunities of the current development of Chinese enterprises. Although Chinese enterprises face many challenges this year, the automobile industry is still rising, and the Internet industry is finally ushering in signs of recovery.