Last week, Fortune Magazine released its 2017 Fortune 500 list, the 63rd annual who's-who ranking of the largest U.S. companies based on revenue from their most recently completed fiscal year.
The publication notes that Fortune 500 companies represent two-thirds of the U.S. GDP with $12 trillion in revenues, $890 billion in profits (up $50 billion from 2016), $19 trillion in market value (up $2 trillion from 2016), and employ 28.2 million people worldwide.
With $486 billion in 2016 sales, Walmart topped the list for the fifth consecutive year, while other household names comprised the majority of the top 75. Here's the overall top 10:
| Rank | Company | 2016 Revenue | 2016 Rank |
| 1. | Walmart | $485.87 billion | 1 |
| 2. | Berskshire Hathaway | $223.60 billion | 4 |
| 3. | Apple | $215.64 billion | 3 |
| 4. | Exxon Mobile | $205.00 billion | 2 |
| 5. | McKesson | $192.49 billion | 5 |
| 6. | UnitedHealth Group | $184.84 billion | 6 |
| 7. | CVS Health | $177.53 billion | 7 |
| 8. | General Motors | $166.38 billion | 8 |
| 9. | AT&T | $163.79 billion | 10 |
| 10. | Ford Motor | $151.80 billion | 9 |
All the 2016 top 10 companies repeated in 2017, with six of them holding the same position.
Let's take a look at where industrial manufacturing and distribution companies — including those on Industrial Distribution's Big 50 List, along with other relevant companies to the industrial supply market — made their mark on this year's Fortune 500, which actually extends to 1,000. Bolded companies were on ID's 2016 Big 50 List:
12. Amazon.com - $135.99 billion (2016: 18)
13. General Electric - $126.66 billion
23. Home Depot - $94.60 billion (2016: 28)
40. Lowe's - $65.02 billion (2016: 47)
46. UPS - $60.91 billion
58. FedEx - $50.37 billion
73. Honeywell - $39.30 billion (2016: 75)
74. Caterpillar - $38.54 billion
94. 3M - $30.11 billion (2016: 93)
108: Avnet $26.22 billion (2016: 102)
116: Raytheon - $24.07 billion
118: Arrow Electronics - $23.83 billion (2016: 119)
139: Emerson Electric - $20.27 billion (2016: 128)
140: Staples - $20.22 billion (2016: 132)
144: Danaher - $19.91 billion (2016: 133)
159. Cummins - $17.51 billion (2016: 148)
180: Genuine Parts Co. - $15.34 billion (Parent of Big 50 No. 8 Motion Industries and No. 22 EIS Inc., 2016: 183)
183. PPG Industries - $15.18 billion (2016: 182
202. Illinois Tool Works - $13.60 billion (2016: 211)
203. Office Depot - $13.59 billion (2016: 196)
208. Newell Brands - $13.26 billion
250. Stanley Black & Decker - $11.41 billion (2016 rank: 256)
251. Parker-Hannifin - $11.36 billion (2016: 224)
275. Praxair - $10.53 billion (2016: 262)
282. W.W. Grainger - $10.14 billion (No. 3 on Big 50, 2016: 285)
285. Baker Hughes - $9.84 billion
310. eBay - $8.98 billion
333. Crown Holdings - $8.28 billion
359. Anixter International - $7.63 billion (2016: 391)
364. HD Supply - $7.52 billion (No. 6 on Big 50, 2016: 320)
373. WESCO International - $7.34 billion (No. 5 on Big 50, 2016: 357)
375. National Oilwell Varco - $7.25 billion (2016: 192)
392. Dover - $6.79 billion (2016: 377)
396. Tractor Supply - $6.78 billion (2016: 412)
397. Sealed Air - $6.78 billion
420. Graybar Electric - $6.39 billion (2016: 423)
421. Builders FirstSource - $6.37 billion
442. Rockwell Automation - $5.88 billion (2016: 412)
452. United Rentals - $5.76 billion
458. Owens Corning - $5.68 billion (2016: 480)
487. Essendant - $5.37 billion (2016: 477)
489. Airgas - $5.31 billion (No. 7 on Big 50, 2016: 484)
At No. 282, Grainger was the first industrial distributor to crack the list, with $10.14 billion in 2016 revenue. It moved up three spots from a year ago. It's been a steady climb up the list for Grainger, which was No. 391 in 2006 and rose to 328 by 2011. Its biggest jump was from 2012 to 2013 when it jumped 23 spots. This year's mark is Grainger's highest since Fortune started tracking the list's ranking history in 1995.
At No. 364 and $7.52 billion in sales, HD Supply fell 44 spots from last year. It first appeared on the list in 2013 at No. 330. At No. 373, WESCO International checks in at $7.34 billion in sales and 16 spots down from a year ago. WESCO was No. 448 in 2010 and peaked at No. 349 in 2014. It first cracked the Fortune 500 in 199 at No. 485.
Airgas made the list at No. 489, down five spots from 2016 with $5.31 billion in sales. Airgas — now an Air Liquide company — narrowly missed the Fortune 500 in 2015, but returned in 2016. The company first made the list in 2010 at No. 474, but didn't reappear until 2014 at No. 498.
Beyond the top 500, notable industrial distributors and other companies on Fortune's list of 1,000 includes:
574. Watsco - $4.22 billion
582. Beacon Roofing Supply - $4.13 billion (2016: 837)
589. Flowserve - $3.99 billion (2016: 539)
591. Fastenal - $3.96 billion (No. 10 on Big 50, 2016: 607)
603. General Cable - $3.86 billion (2016: 544)
618: Snap-on - $3.71 billion (2016: 630)
679: Acuity Brands - $3.29 billion (2016: 789)
690: Regal Beloit - $3.23 billion (2016: 645)
726: MRC Global - $3.04 billion (No. 9 on Big 50, 2016: 541)
752: MSC Industrial - $2.86 billion (No. 13 on Big 50, 2016: 747)
781: Timken - $2.67 billion (2016: 757)
792: Hyster-Yale Materials Handling - $2.57 billion (2016: 823)
806: Applied Industrial Technologies - $2.52 billion (No. 15 on Big 50, 2016: 780)
843. Komatsu Mining - $2.37 billion
868. Lincoln Electric - $2.28 billion (2016: 832)
910. NOW Inc. - $2.11 billion (No. 12 on Big 50, 2016: 727)
912. Kennametal - $2.10 billion (2016: 806)
913. H.B. Fuller - $2.10 billion (2016: 949)
926. Farrelgas Partners - $2.04 billion
939. SPX Flow - $2.00 billion (2016: 867)
958. Rexnord - $1.92 billion (2016: 947)
998. Kaman - $1.81 billion (Parent to Big 50 No. 20 Kaman Industrial Technologies, 2016: N/A)
Fastenal jumped up 16 spots from last year, while MRC Global tumbled 185 as it and many other distributors and suppliers tied to oil & gas customers struggled through much of 2015 and 2016. MRC has fallen a combined a whopping 278 spots since it was No. 488 in 2015). Meanwhile, MSC Industrial fell five spots from 2016, Applied Industrial Technologies fell 26 spots and NOW Inc. — which does business at DistributionNOW — fell 183 spots.
It was the same story for many well-known industrial suppliers. Flowserve fell 50 spots from 2016; General Cable fell 59 spots; Timken fell 24 spots; Lincoln Electric fell 36 spots; Kennametal fell 106 spots and H.B. Fuller fell 36 spots.
Snap-on managed to climb 12 spots from 2016.
Coming Soon: The 2017 Industrial Distribution Big 50 List
Preparations are underway for this year's annual Big 50 List. ID newsletter subscribers can expect to see an email invitation in late June to fill out our annual Big 50 survey, which we use to compile the list. Like the Fortune 500, the ID Big 50 List is based solely on each company's previous full year sales. So for most companies, their 2017 ranking will be based on 2016 sales.
The Big 50 will first be unveiled via a video countdown presentation in late August, followed by its feature in the September/October print issue and an online article.
