Fortune 500 Company Definition

Being named as a Fortune 500 company is a sign of hard-earned achievement in the business world. Not only are the honorees large and influential corporations, but most are responsible for employing hundreds, if not thousands of employees. Hundreds of thousands of companies are registered in the United States, but only 500 make the list.

Definition

A Fortune 500 company is a company that appears on "Fortune" magazine's list of the 500 most profitable public corporations in the United States, ranked according to the adjust yearly gross of the corporation after taxes.

Significance

The Wal-Mart Corporation topped the list in both 2007 and 2008. Exxon Mobile was the top-grossing corporation in 2009.

Other 500 Lists

The Fortune 500 list is just one of many such lists. Each list uses its own formula, and ranks public corporations based on yearly revenue. Forbes and S&P also provide rankings for American and global companies.

Fortune Global 500

"Fortune" magazine also provides a Fortune Global 500 for international leaders in the global market. The standard and formula used to generate the Fortune 500 list is also used to calculate the Fortune Global 500; the only different is the latter includes corporations that have earned the highest grossing profits worldwide.

Billion Dollar Club

As of 2009, Fortune 500 companies must generate revenue in the billions to make the list. As more corporations compete in the global market, the billion-dollar mark will remain the standard for eligibility.