What is the Fortune Global 500?
The Fortune Global 500 is Fortune magazine’s yearly ranking of the 500 largest companies in the world by revenue. It is separate from the Fortune 500, which covers US companies only [4]. On the 2026 list Amazon is first, with $716.92 billion of revenue, just ahead of Walmart ($713.16 billion), China’s State Grid ($555.37 billion), UnitedHealth Group and Saudi Aramco [3]. The United States has the most companies on the list, 141, followed by China with 116 [3].
The map above puts the 2024 list in perspective by pairing each of the 20 biggest companies with a country whose GDP is about the same size as the company’s revenue. Walmart sits next to Belgium, Amazon next to Ireland and Apple next to Colombia.
The largest companies in the world by revenue
| Rank (2026) | Company | Country | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amazon | United States | $716.92 billion |
| 2 | Walmart | United States | $713.16 billion |
| 3 | State Grid | China | $555.37 billion |
| 4 | UnitedHealth Group | United States | $447.57 billion |
| 5 | Saudi Aramco | Saudi Arabia | $445.53 billion |
| 6 | Apple | United States | $416.16 billion |
| 7 | McKesson | United States | $403.43 billion |
| 8 | Alphabet | United States | $402.84 billion |
| 9 | CVS Health | United States | $402.07 billion |
| 10 | China National Petroleum | China | $401.93 billion |
Source: Fortune Global 500 2026, as summarised by Wikipedia [3].
The 2026 list ends a long run for Walmart. It was first for the 11th year running in 2024 [2] and again in 2025, with $681.0 billion [3], before Amazon moved ahead. Eight of the 2026 top ten are American, and the other two are Chinese and Saudi state-owned energy companies.
Companies as big as countries
The map compares the top 20 companies on the 2024 list (revenue for the 2023 fiscal year) with the GDP of selected countries:
| Company | Revenue, 2024 list | Country with similar GDP | GDP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walmart | $648 billion | Belgium | $655 billion |
| Amazon | $574 billion | Ireland | $564 billion |
| State Grid | $545 billion | Thailand | $548 billion |
| Saudi Aramco | $494 billion | Philippines | $472 billion |
| Sinopec Group | $430 billion | Malaysia | $445 billion |
| Apple | $383 billion | Colombia | $386 billion |
| UnitedHealth Group | $371 billion | South Africa | $373 billion |
| Volkswagen | $348 billion | Pakistan | $338 billion |
| Toyota Motor | $312 billion | Portugal | $299 billion |
| Alphabet | $307 billion | Peru | $282 billion |
| Trafigura | $244 billion | Qatar | $244 billion |
Figures as shown on the map, which carries the Fortune Global 500 and IMF logos. Eleven of its 20 companies are American and four Chinese.
The comparison is striking, but it needs care. GDP measures the value a country adds: the IMF defines value added as total sales less the cost of intermediate inputs [5]. A company’s revenue is its total sales before paying suppliers. Walmart’s value added would be its sales minus what it pays for the goods on its shelves, a far smaller figure than its revenue. So the map shows that these companies handle as much money as a mid-sized economy, not that Walmart produces as much as Belgium.
How the Fortune Global 500 is calculated
Companies are ranked by total revenue for their latest fiscal year. Revenue includes consolidated subsidiaries and discontinued operations but excludes excise taxes [4]. So the list published in a given year reflects the previous year’s results: the 2024 ranking used 2023 revenue [2]. The list was first published in 1955; until 1989 it covered only non-US industrial companies, and it has taken its current form, including financial and service companies, since 1995 [3].
Which countries have the most Fortune Global 500 companies?
On the 2026 list the United States leads with 141 companies, followed by China with 116, Japan 40, Germany 28, France 24 and the UK 21 [3]. China’s rise has been the biggest change this century: it had only 10 companies on the list in 2001 [3]. Japan has gone the other way, from about 107 companies in 2000 to 40 [3]. In 2024 the US overtook Greater China for the most companies for the first time since 2018 [2].
By region, East Asia has 175 companies (35%), North America 155 (31%) and Europe 123 (24.6%), leaving 47 (9.4%) for the rest of the world [3].
Fortune Global 500 records
The 500 companies on the 2024 list had record combined revenue of $41 trillion and employed 70.5 million people [2]. Saudi Aramco was the most profitable company for the third year in a row, with $121 billion in profit [1].
Questions about the Fortune Global 500
What is the largest company in the world by revenue?
Amazon, with $716.92 billion on the 2026 Fortune Global 500, narrowly ahead of Walmart’s $713.16 billion [3].
What is the difference between the Fortune 500 and the Fortune Global 500?
The Fortune 500 ranks US companies only. The Fortune Global 500 ranks the 500 largest companies from any country [4].
Which country has the most Fortune Global 500 companies?
The United States, with 141 in 2026, ahead of China with 116 [3].
Is company revenue the same as GDP?
No. GDP adds up value added, which is sales minus the cost of inputs [5]. Revenue is total sales, so it overstates a company’s size compared with a country’s GDP.
Which country’s GDP is the same as Walmart’s revenue?
On the 2024 figures, Belgium, at $655 billion against Walmart’s $648 billion.
Sources
- Fortune, Fortune Global 500, 2024 ranking.
- Fortune Media via PR Newswire, Fortune Announces 2024 Fortune Global 500, 5 August 2024.
- Wikipedia, Fortune Global 500, read 2 November 2026.
- Fortune, Methodology for Global 500.
- Tim Callen, IMF Finance and Development, Gross Domestic Product: An Economy’s All.
Last reviewed 2 November 2026
