Changes since publication
Change in Presentation
This year the Ranked Within Industries section in the magazine, which has traditionally included the companies in the
Fortune 1,000, lists only those in the Fortune 500. However, all of the Fortune 1,000 companies are included on the Fortune website.
Please note that
Fortune lists industry breakouts when there are at least two companies in the industry; if there is only one company, it is listed under Miscellaneous. Four industries have only one member ranked within the
Fortune 500, but have two or more members when the
Fortune 1,000 companies are included. Therefore those four companies (Aramark, Automatic Data Processing, Mattel, and Leggett & Platt) appear under Miscellaneous in the magazine but appear in their respective industries in the web listing. Those companies are identified in the industry listing.
In addition, How the Industries Stack Up is available only on the website.
Methodology
Included in the survey are U.S. incorporated companies filing financial statements with a government agency. This includes private companies and cooperatives that file a 10-K and mutual insurance companies that file with state regulators. This also includes companies owned by private companies, domestic or foreign, that do not file financial statements with a government agency. Excluded are private companies not filing with a government agency; companies incorporated outside the U.S.; companies owned or controlled by other U.S. companies that file with a government agency; and U.S. companies owned or controlled by other companies, domestic or foreign, that file with a government agency. Also excluded are public companies that failed to report full financial statements to the SEC for at least three quarters of the current fiscal year.
Revenues
Revenues are as reported, including revenues from discontinued operations when published. If a spinoff is on the list, it has not been included in discontinued operations. The revenues for commercial banks and savings institutions are interest and noninterest revenues. Revenues for insurance companies include premium and annuity income, investment income, and capital gains or losses, but exclude deposits. Revenues figures for all companies include consolidated subsidiaries and exclude excise taxes. Data shown are for the fiscal year ended on or before Jan. 31, 2008. Unless otherwise noted, all figures are for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007.
Profits
Profits are shown after taxes; after extraordinary credits or charges, if any, that appear on the income statement; and after cumulative effects of accounting changes. Figures in parentheses indicate a loss. Profit declines of more than 100% reflect swings from 2006 profits to 2007 losses. Profits for real estate investment trusts, partnerships, and cooperatives are reported but are not comparable with those of the other companies on the list because they are not taxed on a comparable basis. Profits for mutual insurance companies are based on statutory accounting.
Balance Sheet
Assets are the company's year-end total.
Stockholders' equity is the sum of all capital stock, paid-in capital, and retained earnings at the company's year-end. Redeemable preferred stock whose redemption is either mandatory or outside the company's control is excluded. Dividends paid on such stock have been subtracted from the profit figures used in calculating return on equity.
Market Value
The market-value figure shown was arrived at by multiplying the number of common shares outstanding by the price per common share as of March 28, 2008. If companies have more than one class of shares outstanding and an equivalent share number is not available, the respective market values for each share class are calculated and combined.
Earnings Per Share
The figure shown for each company is the diluted earnings-per-share figure that appears on the income statement. Per share earnings are adjusted for stock splits and stock dividends. They are not restated for mergers, acquisitions, or accounting changes. The only change to the prior year's EPS is for a significant restatement due to reporting errors that require a company to file an amended 10-K.
Though earnings-per-share numbers are not marked by footnotes, if a company's profits are footnoted it can be assumed that earnings per share is affected as well. The five-year and ten-year earnings-growth rates are the annual rates, compounded.
Total Return to Investors
Total return to investors includes both price appreciation and dividend yield to an investor in the company's stock. The figures shown assume sales at the end of 2007 of stock owned at the end of 1997, 2002, and 2006, respectively. It has been assumed that any proceeds from cash dividends and stock received in spinoffs were reinvested when they were paid. Returns are adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, recapitalizations, and corporate reorganizations as they occur; however, no effort has been made to reflect the cost of brokerage commissions or of taxes.
Results are not listed if shares are not publicly traded or are traded on a limited basis. If companies have more than one class of shares outstanding, only the most widely held and actively traded class has been considered. Total return percentages shown are the returns received by the hypothetical investor described above. The five-year and ten-year returns are the annual rates, compounded.
Medians
No attempt has been made to calculate the median figures in the tables in groups of fewer than four companies. The medians for profit changes from 2006 to 2007 do not include companies that lost money in 2006 or lost money in both 2006 and 2007, because no meaningful percentage changes can be calculated in such cases.
Employees
Employee figures are as of fiscal year-end or latest available.
Credits
This
Fortune 500 directory was prepared under the direction of senior list editor L. Michael Cacace and senior reporter Richard K. Tucksmith. Income statement and balance sheet data were reviewed and verified against published earnings releases, 10-K filings, and annual reports by reporter Douglas G. Elam and accounting specialists Rhona Altschuler and Lora Martens. Market specialist Kathleen Smyth used the same sources to check earnings-per-share data. In addition, she used data provided by SunGard FAME to calculate total return and market value. Database administrator Larry Shine provided technical support. Mark Frawley and Rit Saraswat assisted with data gathering and verification. The data verification process was aided by information provided by SNL Financial LC on commercial banks, savings banks, and real estate investment trusts, and by Mergent Inc., Thomson Corp., and 10-K Wizard on all companies that filed 10-Ks.
Contacts
If you have further questions about the Fortune 500, please e-mail
lists@cnnmoney.com.
Changes since publication
Acquisitions/Ownership changes:
Grant Prideco (rank: 863) was acquired by
National Oilwell Varco, April 21, 2008.
Quanex (rank: 880) was acquired by Gerdau SA, April 23, 2008.
UAP Holding (rank: 699) was acquired by Agrium, Calgary, Canada, May 7, 2008.
Sirva (rank: 552) emerged from bankruptcy as a private company, May 12, 2008.
CEO changes:
Klaus Kleinfeld replaced Alain J.P. Belda as CEO of
Alcoa (rank: 80), effective May 8, 2008.
Donald J. Stebbins replaces Michael F. Johnston as CEO of
Visteon (rank: 234) , effective June 1, 2008.
From the May 5, 2008 issue
A look inside the retail giant, the No. 1 company on the Fortune 500 list - from salaries to its biggest-selling product. Watch
Boeing, No. 27 on the Fortune 500, relies on thousands of workers around the globe to manufacture each unique 787. Watch
A major footwear supplier to the Games, and no. 153 on this year's list, says it's not their job to address concerns over human rights in China. Watch
VF, no. 335 on this year's list, boosts growth by buying successful cult brands, like shoemaker Vans, and giving them freedom to flourish. Watch
