RankingThe largest corporations in the United States
Who knows what this list will look like after the Corona crisis. The business magazine “Fortune” selected the 500 top-selling companies in the United States for the 66th time in 2020. They account for $ 14.2 trillion, two-thirds of the US economy’s total revenue. Almost all companies in the top 10 were able to increase their sales in the 2019 financial year (end of September 30, 2019). However, many had to take huge losses in the winnings. A Fortune 500 company, on the other hand, turned all the previous rules upside down.
These are the ten largest companies in the United States in terms of sales
@dpa
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# 10 AmerisourceBergen
As in the previous year, AmerisourceBergen opens the top 10 of the Fortune 500. The pharmaceutical wholesaler from Chesterbrook in the US state of Pennsylvania generated sales of $ 179.6 billion in the past financial year. According to Fortune, that was 6.9 percent more than in fiscal 2018. However, profits plummeted 48.4 percent to $ 855.4 million. The reason is a wave of lawsuits because of AmerisourceBergen’s alleged responsibility for the opioid crisis in the United States. According to Fortune, states had rejected an agreement with the three largest pharmaceutical wholesalers for $ 18 billion in February.
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@Getty Images
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# 8 McKesson
McKesson is the largest drug dealer in the United States and, according to Fortune, sells a third of the country’s drugs. Sales of $ 14.3 billion in 2019 (up 2.9 percent) made McKesson the eighth largest company in the United States. With that he lost a place. In terms of profits, however, much smaller companies are far ahead of the market leader. They were only $ 34 million, according to Fortune. That was 49.3 percent less than in the previous financial year. This was also due to the role McKesson is said to have played in the rampant dependence on painkillers.
@imago images / ZUMA Press
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United Health Group
Health is a huge business. Four of the ten largest US companies in the Fortune 500 2020 come from this industry. The United Health Group is in seventh place. The largest health insurance provider in the United States increased sales by 7.0 percent to $ 242.2 billion, but lost one rank. UnitedHealth Group is the first company in this ranking to also improve profits. It increased 15.5 percent to $ 13.8 billion.
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# 6 Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway slipped from eighth to sixth in the 2020 ranking. That was the worst result since 2012. Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger still had reason to be happy. Their holding company was only able to grow slightly compared to the competition. Revenue increased 2.7 percent to $ 252.6 billion. The revenue exploded by 1925.8 percent to a record $ 81.4 billion. “Fortune” explained this with huge profits from Buffett’s investments in the stock market. Berkshire Hathaway’s assets were reported to be $ 817.7 billion. The holding company includes Duracell and the second largest US auto insurer Geico. Berkshire Hathaway also holds large shares in Kraft Heinz, American Express and Coca-Cola and around five percent in Apple.
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# 5 CVS Health
The pharmaceutical trading company CVS Health is one of the two biggest climbers in the top 10. The owner of the chain CVS Pharmacy (a mixture of pharmacy and drugstore) climbed from eighth to fifth place. The reason for this was a 32 percent increase in sales, which amounted to $ 256.8 billion. According to Fortune, this was achieved thanks to the takeover of insurance giant Aetna. Profits totaled $ 6.6 billion.
@imago images / VCG
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# 4 Apple
Apple lost a place in the Fortune 500 in 2020. The tech giant suffered from stagnating sales figures, including the previous success guarantor, the iPhone. Revenues in fiscal 2019 decreased 2.0 percent to $ 260.2 billion. According to the report, the iPhone alone accounted for 55 percent of the revenue, which was down by 14 percent. According to “Fortune”, the overall decline was not greater due to the increase in streaming and subscription offers as well as a sharp rise in demand for accessories such as iPods. Apple’s profits fell 7.2 percent to $ 55.3 billion.
@imago images / Hollandse Hoogte
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# 3 Exxon Mobil
Exxon Mobil was the second largest company in the U.S. in 2018. Now the country’s largest listed oil company has to be content with third place. Low oil prices drove sales down 8.7 percent to $ 264.9 billion. Profits even shrank 31.2 percent to $ 14.3 billion. The Esso brand belongs to the group.
@imago images / Kyodo News
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# 2 Amazon
One thing is already certain: The balance will be even better next year. Amazon is perhaps the only company in this ranking that can benefit from the corona crisis. Amazon entered the Fortune 500 at position 492 in 2002. In 2010 it hit the top 100. The ranking published in 2018 put the online giant in the top 10 for the first time. However, it (still) has a huge lead.
@Walmart
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# 1 Walmart
Walmart could not gain a foothold in Germany. In his home country, however, the retail group is and remains the largest company in the country. The Fortune 500 2020 saw a slight 1.9 percent increase in sales to $ 524.0 billion. But profits rose 123.1 percent to $ 14.9 billion. According to “Fortune”, this was ensured, among other things, by an increase of 37 percent in online trading. In this area, Walmart ranked second behind Amazon.
