After briefly being overtaken by Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), Apple is once again the most valuable company in the Fortune 500. But just by a hair.
Since we complied the data for the Fortune 500 nearly a year ago, Apple (AAPL) has a market value of nearly $725 billion. The iPhone maker is now worth $200 billlion less than that.
But the stock market, which has rewarded most technology companies and hurt pretty much every other sector over the past year, has led to jockeying at more than just the top of the list.
The most notable change on the list comes from Walmart (WMT), which dropped off the roster of the Fortune 500’s 10 most valuable companies in the past year. It’s now No. 13, having lost $53 billion in market value. Last year, Walmart said it expected sales to be flat in 2016 and that it would have to increase its investment in its struggling e-commerce operations.
Perhaps it’s fitting, then, that Amazon (AMZN) has since joined the top 10. In fact, Amazon had the biggest jump among the top companies on the list. A year ago, Amazon was worth $175 billion and ranked 19 among the most valuable Fortune 500 companies. Amazon’s shares have dropped recently. Its most recent earnings disappointed investors. But the company has still risen 10 notches on our list to No. 9.
Facebook has jumped a few notches as well. It is now No. 5, up from No. 10, when we compiled the Fortune 500 last year.
Wells Fargo (WFC) is the only bank that ranks among the top 10 most valuable companies. But it’s just hanging on. Since we published the Fortune 500 last year, Wells Fargo has dropped four slots from No. 6 to No. 10. Also down is Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A), which went from No.3 to No. 6, in part because Buffett has invested in a number of large companies that have struggled lately, including Walmart and Wells Fargo.
None of this changes the order of the companies on the Fortune 500, which is based on revenue. But it’s noteworthy that tech companies, at least in market cap, are overtaking once-dominant industrial giants. General Electric (GE) is still in the top 10, up one slot to No. 8 from last year, but it’s unclear how long it will stay there.
Additional reporting by Scott DeCarlo.
