Highlights From the Fortune Global 500
Fortune unveiled its annual Fortune Global 500 list of the world's largest companies, ranked by revenue, on Wednesday. The magazine found that both sales and profits fell 11.5% last year. While Walmart (WMT) - Get Report still holds the No. 1 spot, the next three largest companies, according to Fortune's analysis, are Chinese state-owned energy giants: State Grid, China National Petroleum and Sinopec (SNP) - Get Report .
Although more than 100 Chinese companies made the list, the number of American companies increased to 134 from 128. China's second-largest retailer, JD.com (JD) - Get Report , made its first appearance on the list in the 366th slot. Competitor Alibaba (BABA) - Get Report did not make the cut as its revenue was insufficiently large, while its gross merchandise volume is much higher than JD's.
Hurt by low oil prices, energy companies, except for their Chinese peers, took a beating. Companies moving down on the list include Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) , ExxonMobil (XOM) - Get Report , Britain's BP (BP) - Get Report , France's Total (TOT) - Get Report , Chevron (CVX) - Get Report , Schlumberger (SLB) - Get Report , Halliburton (HAL) - Get Report and ConocoPhillips (COP) - Get Report .
Read on for some more notable results in the 2015 Fortune 500.
South Korean conglomerate SK Holdings appeared on the list for the first time this year, ranked at 294. SK, which specializes in energy and telecoms, posted revenues of nearly $35 billion, up 1,418.7%. Profits were also up more than anyone else on the list, rising 3,810.3%, to $4.7 billion.
British insurance company Aviva
, listed both in New York and London, saw its revenues drop 49.4%, to $36.2 billion in 2015, while profits dropped 45.7%. Accordingly, it fell precipitously in Fortune's rankings to 279 from 123. Fearing liquidity concerns, the company recently suspended redemptions in a $2.4 billion real estate investment fund, along with several such funds in the aftermath of Brexit.
Another Chinese state-owned enterprise, the steel company's profits fell 9,910.5% in 2015, with losses totaling $320 million. Revenues also fell 27.5%, to $21.5 billion. Beijing-based Shougang fell to 489 on Fortune's list from its previous rank of 402.