Which company ranked fourth in the original 1955 Fortune 500 top group?

General Electric ranked fourth in the original 1955 Fortune 500 top group.

The inaugural Fortune 500, published in 1955, placed General Electric fourth by revenue, reporting about $2.959 billion. General Motors led the list, followed by Exxon—then listed as Standard Oil of New Jersey—and U.S. Steel. Esmark, Chrysler, and Gulf Oil were also in the early top group, but none ranked fourth.

GE’s position reflected the breadth of postwar American industry. The company made electrical equipment, appliances, power-generation technology, and industrial products, and it had roots in the 1892 merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric. Its portfolio made it one of the defining industrial corporations of the era.

The original Fortune 500 was not identical to today’s list in composition. Earlier editions emphasized industrial corporations, while later rankings incorporated a much wider range of service, finance, healthcare, and technology companies. Another common confusion is treating the 1955 ranking as a modern market-value table: Fortune ranked companies by revenue, not stock-market capitalization or profit.