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

6/6/23 8:00PM

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.

The entrance of Allbirds seen from Hayes St. in San Francisco, Calif.

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That’s less than 1% of its peak market cap about four years ago.

Tom Jones20h

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JetBlue is raising its bag fees as fuel costs squeeze airlines

JetBlue will reportedly hike its bag fees, as the cost of jet fuel continues to climb amid the war in Iran. It’s the latest example of carriers finding ways to push rising costs onto travelers.

Last week, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said that if fuel prices remain elevated, fares would need to rise another 20% for his airline to break even this year.

As CNBC reported, when one airline raises fees, others tend to follow.

Earlier this month, JetBlue hiked its first-quarter outlook for operating revenue per seat mile to between 5% and 7%, saying that strong Q1 demand helped “partially offset additional expenses realized from operational disruptions and rising fuel costs.” Now, the carrier appears to be making moves to further boost revenue to offset those costs.

Earlier on Monday, JetBlue rival Alaska Air lowered its Q1 profit forecast. The refining margins for the carrier’s cheapest fuel option — sourced from Singapore and representing about 20% of Alaska’s overall supply — have spiked 400% since February.

JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

JetBlue Airways raises bag fees as fuel prices soar

As CNBC reported, when one airline raises fees, others tend to follow.

JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tom Jones

flavor of the month

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Americans won’t tolerate bland food anymore — and it’s turned McCormick into a ~$7 billion-a-year spice and sauce giant

Now, McCormick is eyeing Unilever’s food business.

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Foam party!

Crocs’ prince charming

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Netflix is hiking its prices again

Netflix is raising its subscription prices for the fourth time in four years, a move first spotted by Android Authority.

Per Netflix’s US pricing page, the cost of an ad-supported plan is climbing $1 to $8.99 per month, while the cost of a standard ad-free plan is going up $2 to $19.99 per month. The premium tier has also risen $2 to $26.99 per month.

The streamer last raised its subscription costs more than a year ago in January 2025. It also hiked prices in 2023, 2022, 2020, and 2019. Netflix shares climbed about 2% on the news.

“Our approach remains the same: we continue offering a range of prices and plans to meet a variety of needs, and as we deliver more value to our members we are updating our prices to enable us to reinvest in quality entertainment and improve their experience by updating our prices,” said a Netflix spokesperson, in a statement to Sherwood News.

Netflix is hiking your prices yet again: Standard, premium, and ad-supported all going up