RankingThe largest corporations in America
Who knows what this list will look like once the Corona crisis is over. 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 based on 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”, this was 6.9 percent more than in fiscal year 2018. However, profits fell by 48.4 percent to 855.4 million dollars. The reason is a wave of lawsuits over the alleged responsibility of AmerisourceBergen for the opioid crisis in the USA. States had rejected an agreement with the three largest pharmaceutical wholesalers for $ 18 billion in February, according to Fortune.
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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 fiscal 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 way ahead of the market leader. They amounted to 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 big 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 that was also able to improve profit. 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. Revenues rose 2.7 percent to $ 252.6 billion. The proceeds 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 stakes in Kraft Heinz, American Express and Coca-Cola, as well as 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 the 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. Revenue for the 2019 fiscal year decreased 2.0 percent to $ 260.2 billion. According to the report, 55 percent of the revenue came from the iPhone alone, which fell by 14 percent. According to “Fortune”, the overall decline was not greater due to growth 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 United States in fiscal 2018. Now the country’s largest listed oil company has to be satisfied 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 number 492 in 2002. In 2010 it cracked the top 100. The ranking published in 2018 put the online giant in the top 10 for the first time. Two years later, Amazon is already approaching the largest corporation in the USA. 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 will remain the largest company in the country. The Fortune 500 2020 recorded a slight increase in sales of 1.9 percent 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.
