Apple Rises to #5 in This Year's Fortune 500 Rankings

Fortune has just released its annual "Fortune 500" list, which is a high-profile ranking of the largest companies in the United States ranked by revenue. This year, Apple has taken the #5 spot, up from #6 in last year's rankings and from #17 in 2012.

fifthavenue_hero

The Apple Store Fifth Avenue in New York City, New York

Apple’s net sales keep climbing, as the tech giant continues to sell more iPhones and digital content. But the company faces pressure in the smartphone business, as Android phones grow increasingly dominant. Meanwhile, Apple reported an annual drop in net income in fiscal year 2013, a first in more than a decade. Activist investor Carl Icahn last year disclosed a stake in Apple and subsequently pushed for the company to spend billions on share buybacks. In April, the company increased the amount of shares it is authorized to repurchase and raised its quarterly dividend by 8%, and in late May it announced it was acquiring Beats Music and Beats Electronics for $3 billion.

Wal-Mart once again beat out ExxonMobil for this year's #1 ranking, with Chevron and Berkshire Hathaway ranking ahead of Apple's $170.9 billion in revenue. Apple's profit of $37 billion dollars also ranked first among Fortune 500 companies despite falling 11.3% from last year.

Apple announced last week that it would be buying Beats Electronics and the Beats Music streaming service for a total of $3 billion, making it the largest acquisition in company history. Apple is also expected to launch a number of new products this year, including a larger iPhone, new Macs, new versions of OS X and iOS, and an "iWatch" smartwatch.

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

iPhone SE 4 Mass Production Timeframe Revealed as Launch Gets Closer

Wednesday October 23, 2024 9:38 am PDT by
Apple suppliers will begin mass production of the fourth-generation iPhone SE in December, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today in a blog post. The fourth-generation iPhone SE is expected to have a similar design as the base iPhone 14, with rumored features including a 6.1-inch OLED display, Face ID, a newer A-series chip, a USB-C port, a single 48-megapixel rear camera, 8GB of RAM...
airpods pro 2 pink

Apple Releases New AirPods Pro, AirPods, and AirPods Max Firmware

Tuesday October 22, 2024 11:39 am PDT by
Apple today released a new firmware update for the original AirPods Pro, the AirPods 2, the AirPods 3, and the Lightning version of the AirPods Max headphones. The new firmware is version 6F21, up from the prior 6A326 firmware that these devices were previously running. There is no word on what's included in the firmware, but given that these are all older models, it is likely that the new...
M4 Mac mini Silver Perspective

5 Reasons to Get Excited About the New Mac Mini

Wednesday October 23, 2024 6:55 am PDT by
Apple's Mac mini has long been a powerhouse in a compact form, offering impressive performance in a small package. With rumors swirling about a completely overhauled new model that is likely just days away from being announced, anticipation is building for what Apple has in store. From enhanced connectivity to major hardware upgrades, the upcoming Mac mini promises to bring significant...
apple vision pro orange

Report: Apple May Stop Producing Vision Pro by the End of 2024

Wednesday October 23, 2024 6:11 am PDT by
Apple has abruptly reduced production of the Vision Pro headset and could stop making the current version of the device completely by the end of 2024, The Information reports. Citing multiple people "directly involved" in making components for the headset, the report says that the scaling back of production began in the early summer. This indicates that Apple now has a sufficient number of...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Coming to These U.S. States Next

Wednesday October 23, 2024 1:41 pm PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Below, we outline which U.S. states offer the feature, and additional states that have committed to rolling it out in the feature in...
15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

18 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.1

Monday October 21, 2024 1:44 am PDT by
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.1 on Monday, October 28, bringing the first set of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update marks the first significant step forward in Apple's AI integration, offering a new Siri contextually-aware experience and a range of additional capabilities powered by on-device machine learning and large language models. There are a ...
apple oct 2024 mac tease

Apple Teases M4 Mac Announcements Next Week

Thursday October 24, 2024 9:19 am PDT by
Apple's Greg Joswiak today made it clear that Apple plans to reveal new products next week, teasing refreshed Macs. In a social media post, Joswiak said to "Mac your calendars" because there's an exciting week of announcements that start on Monday morning. With Joswiak's announcement, it appears that there will not be a dedicated October event for Macs this year, with Apple instead...
m3 mbp space black

What to Expect From Apple's 'Exciting Week of Announcements'

Thursday October 24, 2024 10:36 am PDT by
Apple's marketing chief Greg Joswiak today teased that the company has an "exciting week of announcements" planned next week. Joswiak said to "Mac" your calendars, and the post includes an animated icon for the Finder app on the Mac, so it is clear that at least some of next week's announcements will be related to the Mac. Subscribe to MacRumors on YouTube for more videos! Below, we have...
Tim Cook Vision Pro

Tim Cook Admits Truth About Vision Pro Following Lackluster Sales

Monday October 21, 2024 8:21 am PDT by
The Wall Street Journal's Ben Cohen this summer interviewed Apple CEO Tim Cook about the Vision Pro, innovation, Apple Intelligence, and more. Image Credit: Vanity Fair Cook admitted that the Vision Pro headset is not a mass-market product due to its high price. "At $3,500, it's not a mass-market product," said Cook. "Right now, it's an early-adopter product. People who want to have...

Top Rated Comments

Kobayagi Avatar
136 months ago
That's what you get when you charge people $100 to double their storage. ;)
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mangomind Avatar
136 months ago
Go Apple! :apple:
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lilo777 Avatar
136 months ago
Good effort. Still Samsung's revenues are almost 2x that of Apple. I personally am not sure why people really care though because if they like the companies because of their revenues they should really switch their allegiances to Wal Mart (3x the revenues of Apple).
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
reevans Avatar
136 months ago
They Always Value REVENUE

These professional pundits always seem to think that the most important metric is revenue or market share or anything else but profit. As I understand, any company in business is only interested in working hard and well enough to MAKE A PROFIT. Apple is doing the best possible job of making a profit while also making great products and services. People love them like no other company on earth and still that isn't good enough for these pundits. Anything to bring down greatness.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TWSS37 Avatar
136 months ago
I wonder if the NFL is on there with all the revenue it generates

Plus the NFL is a not for profit group - if you can somehow wrap your head around that :rolleyes:
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mangomind Avatar
136 months ago
That's what you get when you charge people $100 to double their storage. ;)

That's what you are able to do if you produce amazing products.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)