Business
Fortunate: Walmart's got competition at the top of the Fortune 500

Fortunate: Walmart's got competition at the top of the Fortune 500

David Crowther
6/6/23 7:00PM

Turning over?

‍The Fortune 500, Fortune magazine’s yearly ranking of America’s biggest companies by annual revenue, was released on Monday, with Walmart taking the top spot for the 11th year in a row after sales rose 6.6% to $611 billion in the last financial year.

However, that streak of dominating the index could soon come to an end, as online retail giant Amazon continues its campaign to close the gap on its brick-and-mortar counterpart. Also looking to challenge for the top spot are ExxonMobil — the last company other than Walmart to top the list back in 2012 — and the most valuable company in the world, Apple.

‍Most fortunate

‍The Fortune 500 list was first published in 1955, and it certainly looked a little different back then. The tech giants, health companies, and retailers of today are notably absent in the upper end of the rankings, with 1955’s list topped by General Motors alongside food makers, steel and electric firms, and oil companies (two of which are now nested under the ExxonMobil umbrella).

And the names at the top of the list will likely dramatically shift again in the next 70 years too — just 10 years ago, Walmart’s fiercest rival Amazon sat 51st on the Fortune 500. Indeed, even back in 2017’s edition, Bezos’s company was $350bn a year off the number 1 spot, but the 6 years since have proved how quickly the business landscape can change.

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Alphabet’s YouTube said it’s paid out over $100 billion to creators, artists, and media companies over the past four years — cementing its place as one of the internet’s biggest talent magnets. The Google-owned platform, which turned 20 this year, credited connected TVs as a major driver of growth.

YouTube said the number of channels earning over $100,000 from TV screens has surged over 45% in the past year alone. Meanwhile, ad revenue for YouTube grew double digits in Q2 to $9.8 billion, topping the Street’s estimates.

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Webtoon surges after Disney plans to invest and partner in digital push for brands like Marvel and “Star Wars”

Webtoon Entertainment shares jumped 36% in premarket trading Tuesday after Disney said it’s buying a 2% stake in the digital comics platform. The investment is part of a deal to bring Marvel, “Star Wars,” Pixar, and 20th Century Studios titles into a new streaming-style app run by Webtoon. The offering will launch in Q4 across the US and nine other countries.

“With a new platform that will combine our product and technical expertise with Disney’s full comic catalog, we’re giving new and longtime fans all over the world a new way to discover these legendary characters and stories,” said Junkoo Kim, founder and CEO of Webtoon Entertainment.

The platform is expected to host more than 35,000 titles, mixing archived comics with Webtoon originals. Disney+ perks could also be on the table, giving the service a natural tie-in to Disney’s broader streaming play.

The arrangement isn’t final yet: Disney’s stake and the platform details are still under negotiation. But with Webtoon’s ~155 million monthly active users, the partnership gives Disney a mobile-friendly channel for its comics while Webtoon gains the ultimate IP access.

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Amazon is testing adding GM electric vans to its EV delivery fleet dominated by Rivian

Rivian may have some competition in its electric delivery van division: Bloomberg reports that Amazon is testing a small number of GM’s BrightDrop vans for its fleet.

According to Amazon, the test currently only includes a dozen of the vehicles. Amazon’s fleet also contains EVs from Ford, Stellantis, and Mercedes-Benz.

GM debuted BrightDrop in 2021, but the vehicles have struggled to sell and piled up on GM lots due to high prices and steep competition. GM began offering up to 40% rebates on the vehicles this year.

The test comes as Rivian struggles through tariffs and the end of EV tax credits. Earlier this year, it lowered its annual delivery outlook by about 13%. As of June, Amazon said it has more than 25,000 Rivian vans across the US. Earlier this week, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said the company is still on track to deliver 100,000 vans to Amazon by 2030 and is “thinking about what comes beyond” that initial target.

GM has sold 1,592 BrightDrop vans through the first half of the year, more than the full-year total it sold in 2024.

Amazon Tests GM EV Delivery Vans in Bid to Meet Climate Goals

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GM debuted BrightDrop in 2021, but the vehicles have struggled to sell and piled up on GM lots due to high prices and steep competition. GM began offering up to 40% rebates on the vehicles this year.

The test comes as Rivian struggles through tariffs and the end of EV tax credits. Earlier this year, it lowered its annual delivery outlook by about 13%. As of June, Amazon said it has more than 25,000 Rivian vans across the US. Earlier this week, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said the company is still on track to deliver 100,000 vans to Amazon by 2030 and is “thinking about what comes beyond” that initial target.

GM has sold 1,592 BrightDrop vans through the first half of the year, more than the full-year total it sold in 2024.

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