Shell has overtaken Wal-Mart to top Fortune’s Global 500 list. A look at the last five years of winners goes like this: Wal-Mart, Exxon, Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart, Shell – but it’s basically a field dominated by energy.
The rankings are based on revenues, hence General Motors’ appearance at #18. Cutting the numbers any other way shows a different story: by market cap for example, Exxon jostles with PetroChina. And by proven reserves Exxon is the undisputed winner, at least among listed companies.
Anyway, back to this list: Wal-Mart might be at the top, but it’s energy that dominates the field, with six of the top 10 being oil & gas majors.
Looking back five years shows how oil companies have fared relative to auto industry. In 2005, auto companies and energy companies both accounted for four places in the top 10, but in 2006 energy companies accounted for half of that number, and by 2007 just two auto companies made the cut.
The wild gyrations of oil prices in the past year haven’t much harmed the earning power of the oil majors, at least relative to their peers in other industries. Their feted technical knowledge and capital investment has ensured they have a place, even as the national oil companies grow stronger, and this means they can still benefit as developing economies become the focus of energy demand growth. For big US car companies, however, all the demand in China isn’t enough.
