2. Microsoft
Fortune 500 rank: 36
2009 profit: $14.6 billion
Tech's economic bellwether struck an encouraging note at the end of 2009. Hot sales of Windows 7 proved that Microsoft's new operating system was no Vista and helped boost revenue at its OS unit by nearly a third. Meanwhile its new Bing search engine gained share on Google and Yahoo. Microsoft might want to forget the rest of the year however. Earnings fell 17% amid the recession as sales declined for the first time ever.
NEXT: 3. Wal-Mart Stores
