According to the Fortune Global 500 list for 2024, India’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), led by Mukesh Ambani, has improved its ranking to 86th (2024) from 88th (2023) while retaining its position as the highest-ranked Indian firm on the list.
- This year is the 21st consecutive year RIL has been part of the list, the longest for any Indian private sector company.
- The United States of America (USA)-based retail and wholesale company, Walmart Inc. has topped the list as the largest company by revenue for the 11th consecutive year. Walmart’s consolidated revenue stood at USD 648.1 billion.
- USA based e-commerce company, Amazon.com, Inc and Chinese state-owned electric utility, State Grid Corporation of China have secured the 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.
About Fortune Global 500 for 2024:
i.Fortune Global 500 for 2024 is the 70th edition of the annual ranking published by Fortune, the American global business magazine. The list ranks world’s largest companies by revenue and the most authoritative look across industries worldwide.
ii.Fortune Global 500 ranks the largest 500 corporations across the world based on the total revenues for their respective fiscal years ended on or before 31st March, 2024.
- The other parameter of the ranking includes profits, balance sheet, employees, medians, and credits.
Top 5 Companies in the Fortune Global 500 List for 2024:
| Rank | Company Name | Country | Revenue (in USD Billion) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walmart | USA | 648.1 |
| 2 | Amazon | USA | 574.78 |
| 3 | State Grid | China | 545.94 |
| 4 | Saudi Aramco | The United Arab Emirates (UAE) | 494.89 |
| 5 | Sinopec Group | China | 429.69 |
Top 5 Indian Companies in the Fortune Global 500 List for 2024:
| Rank | Company Name | Location | Revenue (in USD billion) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 86 | RIL | Mumbai, Maharashtra | 108.8 |
| 95 | Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) | Mumbai | 103.5 |
| 126 | Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) | New Delhi, Delhi | 94.27 |
| 178 | State Bank of India (SBI) | Mumbai | 71.84 |
| 180 | Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) | New Delhi | 71.46 |
Key Highlights:
i.The cumulative revenue generated by the companies featured on the list reached at USD 41 trillion which accounts for more than 1/3rd (33%) of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and it has increased marginally by 0.1% Y-O-Y basis.
ii.Companies on the list has a combined assests of worth USD 167.3 trillion and has employed 70.5 million people across the world and are based in 238 cities and 35 countries or territories and regions around the world.
Note:Â The concept of the Fortune 500 was created by Edgar P.Smith, a Fortune editor and was 1st published in 1955.
Points to note:
i.For the 1st time, Amazon secured 2nd position on the list, up from 4th position (in 2023 rankings).
- It saw an increase of 11.8% in total revenue to USD 574.7 billion.
ii.Beijing (China)-based power company, State Grid saw an marginal increase of 3% in total revenue from 530 billion (in 2023 rankings) to approximately USD 546 billion (in 2024 rankings).
iii.Dhahran, Saudi Arabia based Saudi Aramco (also known as Saudi Arabian Oil Company), one of the largest integrated energy and chemicals company in the world, has dropped from 2nd position (in 2023) to 4th position in the 2024 rankings with total revenue of USD 494.8 billion.
- However, Saudi Aramco again emerged as the most profitable company for the 3rd consecutive year with total profits of USD 121 billion.
iv.As per the 2024 rankings, for the 1st time since 2018, most of the companies featured on the list are from USA (139 companies, up by 3 compared to last year) followed by Greater China(including Taiwan and HongKong) (133 companies, down by 9 compared to last year).
- The cumulative revenue generated by the American companies reached USD 13.8 trillion, a 6% increase compared to 2023.
v.Total 13 companies made their debut on the Fortune Global 500 in 2024, such as: Artificial Intelligence (AI)-focused tech company Nvidia (ranked at 22nd spot), HDFC Bank (ranked at 306th) and the manufacturer of weight-loss drug Ozempic, Novo Nordisk (ranked at 469th spot), among others.
vi.The cumulative profits of Tech giants such as: Apple (ranked at 7th spot), Alphabet, Microsoft (ranked at 26th spot), and Meta Platforms (ranked at 66th spot) indicates that the profit of the median Global 500 company is USD 3 billion.
vii.The number of female CEOs of the 2024 Global 500 decreased from 29 (in 2023) to 28 (in 2024).
Indian Firms:
i.9 Indian companies featured in the 2024 rankings. 5 of them are from the public sector – LIC , SBI, ONGC, IOCL and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and the remaining 4 are from private sectors (RIL,Tata Motors, HDFC Bank and Rajesh exports).
ii.RIL saw an increase of 2.6% Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) with revenue of USD 108.8 billion and profit of USD 8.4 billion at the end of FY24.
-  Also, Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) of RIL increased by 16% Y-o-Y basis to Rs 1,78,677 crore which was contributed mainly by the company’s O2C, oil and gas, retail, and digital services businesses.
iii.LIC, India’s largest insurance company jumped by 12 places to be ranked at 95th position on the 2024 list with revenue of USD 103.5 billion and profit of USD 4.9 billion.
iv.Indian public sector firms which saw significant drop in latest rankings compared to previous year are: IOCL ranked at 116th position (drop by 22 places), ONGC ranked at 180th position (drop by 22 places) and BPCL ranked at 258th position (drop by 25 places).
v.India’s largest public sector bank, SBI saw significant increase in its ranking by 57 spots, from 235 (in 2023) to 178th spot (in 2024).
vi.For the 1st time, HDFC Bank has been placed on the Fortune Global 500 list, ranked at 306th position with USD 49.3 billion in revenue for the 2023 fiscal year.
vii.The rank of Tata Motors increased by 66 places, from 337th position (in 2023) to 271st position (in 2024).
- While, the rank of Rajesh Export decreased by 120 places, from 353rd (in 2023) to 473rd (in 2024).
