In June, Apple was ranked as #3 on the 2017 Fortune 500 annual list of the top U.S. corporations based on gross revenue. Today, the Fortune Global 500 rankings have been released, using the same data collected in the earlier rankings but expanding it and adding in companies on a global scale, resulting in a list that shares the 500 largest companies in the world.

Apple sits at #9 on the list in terms of total revenue, a spot it retains from 2016, and having climbed from #15 in 2014 and 2015. Where Apple sits above all other companies is in the profits category, earning the title of the most profitable company in the world with an annual profit of $45.6 billion. Apple earned the top spot despite a 14.4 percent drop in its annual profits compared to the previous year.

apple most profitable
Rounding out the top 5 slots below Apple are all banks based in China: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China ($41.8 billion), China Construction Bank ($34.8 billion), Agricultural Bank of China ($27.6 billion), and Bank of China ($24.7 billion). Further down the most profitable rankings are Alphabet at #9 ($19.4 billion), Samsung Electronics at #10 ($19.3 billion), and Microsoft at #13 ($16.7 billion).

Apple's profile on the Fortune Global 500 ranking includes a chart of its history on the list, including its origins at #422 in overall revenue back in 1995, its dropping off of the list from 1998 to 2005, and its peak growth to #9 in 2016. Otherwise, Apple's profile includes the same quote as its Fortune 500 ranking, describing a company that "appeared to hit a wall" this past year with iPhone sales.

apple global rankings 3

After more than a decade of solid growth fueled first by the iPod music player and then by the even more popular iPhone, Apple finally appeared to hit a wall, with lackluster sales “relatively speaking” for other products such as the iPad and Apple Watch and a heavy reliance on upgraded phone models. But the most profitable publicly-traded company in the world is investing heavily in software and its efforts in new areas of opportunity, including automobiles, remain in development (and under wraps). Apple was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Cupertino, Calif.

Lackluster iPhone sales contributed to an overall revenue decline for Apple throughout much of 2016, but now it's predicted that the company will see a noticeable uptick in sales thanks to the launch of a significantly redesigned "iPhone 8," expected to be announced and debut this fall.

Top Rated Comments

44267547 Avatar
104 months ago
Interesting.... because most of the posts here state the opposite.
So you're saying Macrumors comments determine Apple's success rate being profitable based off a discussion forum? Gotcha.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
104 months ago
Apple earned it. They are profitable because They make the best products available to the consumer. With there core standards and practices over the years, there is a reason they are at the top.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
melendezest Avatar
104 months ago
A win for Apple consumers everywhere!!!
Apple makes money OFF the consumer.

So combine their high prices with Apple consumer willingnes to pay whatever Apple says and you have a win for Apple.
[doublepost=1500569724][/doublepost]

I'll never understand why Apple is hated by critics more than Smith & Wesson or Colt Arms. It makes no sense to me, at all.
Because both Colt and Smith & Wesson weapons take standard ammo, don't come with less slots for bullets than the previous model, and they still make revolvers. ;)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonnysods Avatar
104 months ago
Sweet. I have 7 stocks and I'm rich I tells ya.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
2010mini Avatar
104 months ago
Apple earned it. They are profitable because They make the best products available to the consumer. With there core standards and practices over the years, there is a reason they are at the top.
Interesting.... because most of the posts here state the opposite.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrX8503 Avatar
104 months ago
Interesting.... because most of the posts here state the opposite.
Everyone knows that Apple's profits is inversely proportional to negative posts here.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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