Monroe-based CenturyLink and Entergy New Orleans both slipped on this year’s Fortune 500 list.
The two corporations are the only Louisiana companies to make the 2017 ranking. Now in its 63rd year, the Fortune 500 ranks companies according to their annual revenues for their respective fiscal year.
CenturyLink fell one spot from No. 159 last year to No. 160. Annual revenue for the telecommunications company that employs 40,000 workers declined 2.4% to $17.5 billion this year.
As for Entergy, the company tumbled 16 spots from No. 247 in 2016 to No. 263 on this year’s list. Annual revenue fell 5.8% to $10.8 billion for the company that employs 13,513 workers.
While not among the top 500 companies, a third Louisiana firm—Covington-based Pool Corp.—ranked No. 791, up from No. 875 last year. Revenue for the wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products rose 8.8% to nearly $2.6 billion.
Wal-Mart continued its streak of at the top of the list, once again retaining the No. 1 spot on the Fortune 500 with annual revenue of $485.8 billion—a .8% increase over last year. Rounding out the top five spots in order are: Berkshire Hathaway, Apple, ExxonMobil and McKesson.
Based on revenues, the nation’s biggest companies are concentrated in handful of metro areas, Fortune says. Among states, New York tops the list with 54 companies on the Fortune 500, followed by California, with 53 companies. In total, Fortune 500 companies represent two-thirds of the U.S. GDP with $12 trillion in revenues, $890 billion in profits, $19 trillion in market value, and employ 28.2 million people worldwide.
—Alexandria Burris
