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Amazon tops Fortune Global 500, ending Walmart’s 12-year run

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Amazon has become the world’s largest company by revenue, ending Walmart’s 12-year reign atop the annual Fortune Global 500 rankings.

The 2026 Fortune Global 500, released Tuesday, ranks the world’s largest corporations based on revenue during the 2025 fiscal year. Amazon claimed the top spot after surpassing $700 billion in annual revenue, a 12% increase from the previous year.

Walmart slipped to second place, followed by China’s State Grid, UnitedHealth Group and Saudi Aramco. The remainder of the top 10 includes Apple, McKesson, Alphabet, CVS Health and China National Petroleum.

The annual list also highlighted the growing dominance of American businesses. The United States placed 141 companies on the Global 500, its highest total since 2008 and more than any other country. U.S. companies collectively generated $15.5 trillion in revenue, a 6% increase over the previous year.

Greater China, which includes mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, ranked second with 122 companies, down eight from last year and its lowest representation since 2018.

Overall, the Global 500 companies generated a combined $43.1 trillion in revenue during 2025, representing about two-thirds of the world’s gross domestic product. Combined profits climbed 14% to $3.4 trillion, while the companies employed more than 70 million people worldwide.

The report also underscored the concentration of economic power among the world’s largest corporations. The top 50 companies accounted for one-third of all Global 500 revenue and nearly 40% of total profits, while the top 100 generated almost half of all revenue and more than half of all profits on the list.

Technology giants continued to play a major role in the global economy. Fortune reported that the so-called “Magnificent Seven” technology companies collectively generated $2.3 trillion in revenue and $608 billion in profits during 2025.

Another milestone came in corporate leadership, with a record 34 women serving as CEOs of Global 500 companies. Although that marks the highest total in the history of the rankings, women still lead just 6.8% of the companies on the list.

Source: Yahoo!Finance

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