Time Inc.'s Fortune magazine released its annual Fortune Global 500 list, which is a ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue.
In this year's list, the US companies made up the majority with 133 companies but was down from 185 a decade ago. Followed by 68 Japanese companies and 61 Chinese companies.
For the second year in a row, Wal-Mart holds the number one spot with revenues of more than $421 billion. Wal-Mart appears eighth time in the list's history. Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil, General Motors and Mitsubishi are the only other companies to ever top the Global 500.
The top-ten biggest companies ranked by revenue in the US are: Wal-Mart Stores, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Fannie Mae, General Electric, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, General Motors, Bank of America Corp., and Ford Motor Company.
Start slideshow to view a gallery of the top 10 biggest companies in the US.
Ford Motor CompanyReutersBank of America provides banking and nonbanking financial services and products to individuals, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, and governments in the United States and internationally. Bank of America was founded in 1874 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina."For Bank of America, the first step toward turning a corner may be admitting defeat. In 2009, the bank received $45 billion in loans from the government's asset relief program and scrambled to take both Merrill Lynch and Countrywide under its wing (Bank of America purchased both companies that same year)," Fortune magazine said.The year 2010 hasn't been much easier for the banking behemoth. The company posted a net loss of more than $2 billion for the year, which it attributes to "goodwill impairment charges.""It's trying to get some of that goodwill back: the bank agreed in June to pay $8.5 billion to investors who claimed they were duped by fraudulent mortgage securities. The bank forecasts another net loss for the second quarter of 2011, but it just might have a shot at clearing its name after putting the bulk of its legal issues in the past," the magazine added.ReutersU.S. automakers reported higher sales for the month of July, but the ongoing weak economic environment doesn't bode well for the sector.ReutersBerkshire Hathaway is a publicly owned investment manager. Through its subsidiaries, the firm primarily engages in the insurance and reinsurance of property and casualty risks business. Berkshire Hathaway was founded in 1889 and is based in Omaha, Nebraska. The chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway is Warren Buffett."Berkshire Hathaway had a solid year in 2010. The company's $26 billion acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad as the year began paid off, and CEO Warren Buffett continued to pile up cash and look for other good places to put it," Fortune magazine said.But Berkshire has seen its stock slump in 2011, with the price of the shares down by about 5 percent year-to-date. Troubles involving former Berkshire executive David Sokol certainly haven't helped matters. Sokol, who many thought the heir apparent at Berkshire, resigned from the company in March amid insider trading questions, leaving some investors concerned about who would lead Berkshire post-Buffett."Still, Buffett's mantra has been not to be bothered by short-term fluctuations in stock prices, and many analysts are saying that the current dip in Berkshire's shares could offer investors a rare shot to get in on a great company," the magazine added.ReutersGeneral Electric operates as a technology, media, and financial services company worldwide. The company was founded in 1892 and is based in Fairfield, Connecticut.GE is on the same slow boat to recovery as many other American manufacturers. In 2010, CEO Jeff Immelt announced that the company plans to slim down its troubled financial arm and boost the portions of the company that "make stuff."This year, Immelt insists that the economy is improving and that GE is poised to benefit. "The world we face is getting better. We see signs of economic strength every day," Immelt told shareholders at GE's annual shareholder meeting in April.At the same meeting, chief financial officer Keith Sherin said that GE is proud of its own recovery. Earnings in 2010 were $3.3 billion, up from $1.5 billion at the end of 2009. "But GE still has a long way to go to satisfy its shareholders, who were no doubt irked when the company cut its dividend in 2009 for the first time since 1938," Fortune magazine said.ReutersFederal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) provides liquidity and stability support in the secondary mortgage market in the United States. Fannie Mae was founded in 1938 and is based in Washington, the District of Columbia.Fannie Mae made an impressive leap from the number 270 spot last year to number 15 this year, but the jump is mostly due to new accounting rules that the Financial Accounting Standards Board put in place in 2010. The troubled mortgage giant is, indeed, still troubled.Since the New York Stock Exchange de-listed Fannie Mae about a year ago, the company has racked up about $86 billion in debt to U.S. taxpayers. While the federal government may want to wean Fannie Mae and its sister company Freddie Mac off of federal support, both companies have a glut of assets that are going to be difficult to sell.Fannie Mae reported a loss of $6.5 billion for the first quarter of 2011, compared to a profit of $73 million last quarter, due to the dip in home prices that directly affects its credit-related expenses."Perhaps new leadership can help steer the company in the right direction. On June 22, Fannie Mae named Susan McFarland, previously of Capital One Financial Corp., as its new CFO -- the third person to take the position at Fannie Mae since the U.S. government bailed the company out three years ago," Fortune magazine said.ReutersConocoPhillips operates as an integrated energy company worldwide. ConocoPhillips was founded in 1917 and is based in Houston, Texas. ReutersChevron engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. Chevron Corporation was founded in 1879 and is based in San Ramon, California. The company was formerly known as ChevronTexaco Corp. and changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005."This year, Chevron took steps to get a little less refined. The company sold its Pembroke refinery in Ireland and other downstream assets in Africa and the Caribbean, and it is trying to focus more on production. Its efforts have made the company cash-heavy, with a net cash position of $5.3 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2011," Fortune magazine said."The company sees a bright future in gas and oil. In February, it bought Atlas Energy mainly to exploit the company's access to gas from the Marcellus Shale in the Northeast U.S. The company also feels confident about the prospect of increased drilling activity in the Gulf. Two of Chevron's three deepwater vessels are active in the Gulf again," the magazine added.ReutersExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum have lined up $10.4 billion in financing for their natural gas joint venture project in Qatar.ReutersWal-Mart is moving its Vudu video services to the company's main Web site, Walmart.com in an effort to take on Netflix and others. Walmart
