Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell, an oil and gas company, has recently topped the Fortune 500 list of biggest companies. Posting a revenue of more than $458 billion, Shell has surpassed prior chart-topper and fellow player in the petroleum industry, Exxon Mobil. The Top 10 list and the corresponding revenue figures are as follows.
| Rank | Company | Revenues ($ millions) |
Profits ($ millions) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Dutch Shell | 458,361 | 26,277 |
| 2 | Exxon Mobil | 442,851 | 45,220 |
| 3 | Wal-Mart Stores | 405,607 | 13,400 |
| 4 | BP | 367,053 | 21,157 |
| 5 | Chevron | 263,159 | 23,931 |
| 6 | Total | 234,674 | 15,500 |
| 7 | ConocoPhillips | 230,764 | -16,998 |
| 8 | ING Group | 226,577 | -1,067 |
| 9 | Sinopec | 207,814 | 1,961 |
| 10 | Toyota Motor | 204,352 | -4,349 |
Some interesting notes:
- Six of the top 10 list are operating in the petroleum industry.
- Four of the top 5 are in the petroleum industry.
- Because revenues are the main determinant of the Fortune 500 list, Shell tops the list, even though Exxon Mobile earned much greater profits, surpassing its competitor in this figure by almost $20 billion (Shell’s profits at $26.2 billion VS Exxon’s at $45.2 billion).
Many have found it cruelly ironic that even with the economic crisis, companies in the petroleum industry are still making the most money and that gasoline is still selling at a high rate per liter or gallon. Some indicate a lack of oil regulation. What do you think?
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