By David Pinto
Fortune Magazine has once again published its annual listing of the world’s 500 largest publicly traded companies — and once again, surprises abound for those who care to look closely.
To begin at the beginning, Amazon and Walmart lead the list, though, according to Fortune, Amazon is now No. 1, with Walmart, at No. 2, trailing by some $3 billion. Perhaps surprisingly, Amazon’s sales increased by some 12.4% between 2024 and 2025, while Walmart’s volume advanced by about 4.7%.
So much for the obvious, though it might be noted that, while Walmart might have been disappointed by its relatively small (compared to Amazon) sales growth, 4.7% is a figure most retailers would gladly accept.
Now for some surprises. Among the 20 largest global companies, Costco, at No. 20, is notable for its 8.2% sales advance, while CVS Health, at No. 9, posted an impressive 7.8% advance in volume — to $402 billion.
Up four places to No. 7 on the list, posting $403 billion in sales on a 12.4% advance, Cardinal Health came in at No. 27, though its volume dipped by almost 2%. Expanding our vision to include the 150 largest companies, we find such U.S. retailers as Home Depot (No. 46), Kroger (No. 52), Target (No. 96) and Lowe’s (No. 145) on the list.
Retailers whose home is outside the United States include such stellar performers as Tesco (No. 105), Carrefour (No. 106), Sainsbury (No. 350) and Woolworths group (No. 354), among others.
Surprises? Speaking of U.S. retailers, we find many. Walgreens, a perennial leader, is no longer on the list. Albertsons, a longtime favorite among list builders, moved up two places to No.152, propelled there by a 3.5% sales gain. And, surprisingly or not, Dollar General, propelled by a 5.2% sales increase, moved up 12 places on the top-500 list, to No. 374.
Perusing the list, one observer is consistently reminded of the absence of U.S. retailers from the 500 largest publicly traded companies. Once-legendary names like J.C. Penney, Sears-Roebuck, Montgomery Ward and so many others, firms that once were the envy of the world retailing community, are no longer to be found. More significantly, Amazon aside, no replacements have made an appearance — nor are there any indications that the next heavyweight U.S. retailer is about to dazzle the world. (Of course, such heavyweights as Walmart and Costco rate a mention, but they’ve been noted often enough in the past.)
That said, perhaps the time has come to put this issue of Fortune aside and wait 12 months to examine next year’s rankings — in the hope that some still-unknown U.S. retailer will emerge to, perhaps, dazzle the world anew.
