The Fortune 500 ranks companies by what financial measure?

The Fortune 500 ranks companies by total revenue. It compares the sales and other operating income reported by the largest U.S. corporations for their respective fiscal years.

Revenue is not the same as profit. A company can generate enormous sales while earning relatively little after expenses, interest, taxes, and other costs. Total assets measure what a company owns, while market value reflects investors’ valuation of a publicly traded company; neither determines the standard Fortune 500 ranking.

The list includes both public and private companies, provided their revenue figures are available. Its original methodology focused on manufacturing, mining, and energy businesses. In 1994, Fortune broadened the ranking to include service companies, changing the competitive landscape and adding hundreds of new firms.

Readers also sometimes confuse the Fortune 500 with the Fortune Global 500. The former ranks the largest corporations based in the United States, while the latter ranks companies worldwide. Fortune also publishes related lists such as the Fortune 100 and Fortune 1000.