25 World's Largest Company

1. Wal-Mart Stores
Rank: 1 (Previous rank: 1)
CEO: H. Lee Scott Jr.
Employees: 2,055,000
Address: 702 S.W. Eighth St.
Bentonville, Arkansas 72716
Country: U.S.

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Website: www.walmartstores.com

Retaining its spot as the largest company in the world, the retail giant spent the last year making strides toward becoming friendlier to its workers and the environment. Long derided for the limited health-care packages offered to its employees, the company focused on expanding its options. As of January, 93.7% of Wal-Mart’s U.S. employees had some form of health care, up from 90.4% last year. On the sustainability front, the retailer sold 145 million energy-efficient light bulbs in 15 months and joined forces with the Clinton Climate Initiative. Some say it isn’t enough; a union-backed ad campaign by WakeUpWalMart.com at the end of 2007 targeted the quality of the company’s imported products.
2. Exxon Mobil
Rank: 2 (Previous rank: 2)
CEO: Rex W. Tillerson
Employees: 107,100
Address: 5959 Las Colinas Blvd.
Irving, Texas 75039
Country: U.S.

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Website: http://www.exxonmobil.com

Big companies know how to make big deals, and at the end of last March, Exxon Mobil signed onto a $5 billion project with Saudi Aramco and Sinopec to expand an existing venture in the Fujian province – marking the first fully integrated petrochemical plant in China backed by foreign investment. Exxon had its best year ever in terms of safety results, while the competition didn’t fare as well. But the high cost of refining hurt Exxon just as much as it hurt the rest. Even with a record of $40.6 billion in net income, profits were up only 2.8% from the previous year.


3. Royal Dutch Shell
Rank: 3 (Previous rank: 3)
CEO: Jeroen van der Veer
Employees: 104,000
Address: Carel van Bylandtlaan 30
The Hague 2596
Country: Netherlands

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Website: http://www.shell.com

In the face of the current energy crisis, Royal Dutch Shell has made its own moves to ensure the company’s future. Two large projects included acquiring a 22% stake in Shell Canada – increasing its access to the vast oil sands in Alberta – and moving forward with Pearl GTL, a gas-to-liquids plant in Qatar. But the year wasn’t without glitches. Shell saw its stake in one of its biggest projects – the Russian-based Sakhalin II – reduced to 27% from 55%, as the Russian government asserted control over the country’s oil industry. 4. BP
Rank: 4 (Previous rank: 4)
CEO: Anthony B. Hayward
Employees: 97,600
Address: 1 St. James Sq.
London SW1Y 4PD
Country: Britain

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Website:  http://www.bp.com

Another tumultuous year for the oil giant: BP was forced to clean up its Whiting, Ind., refinery after it was hit by the EPA with clean-air violations, faced multiple fires on its Alaskan oil fields, and had to deal with the departure of Chief Executive and Director John Browne. Much of the U.K.-based company’s time was spent handling its U.S. operations, as it modernized Whiting and dealt with the repercussions of the 2005 blast in Texas City. Yet the American operations weren’t all bad news – a $2.4 billion investment in the San Juan basin and deepwater drilling projects in the Gulf could be helpful in the next few years, once BP’s messes are behind it. 5. Toyota Motor
Rank: 5 (Previous rank: 6)
CEO: Fujio Cho
Employees: 316,121
Address: 1 Toyota-cho
Toyota 471-8571
Country: Japan

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Website:  http://www.toyota.co.jp

Detroit’s decline worked in Toyota’s favor, as the leader in hybrid-electric vehicles pushed past its American rivals on this year’s list. Overall, Toyota sold only 3,000 fewer vehicles than global leader General Motors. But the Japanese company gained on its rival in the United States: GM’s sales fell 6% on its home turf, while Toyota’s sales rose 3.1%. 6. Chevron
Rank: 6 (Previous rank: 7)
CEO: David J. O’Reilly
Employees: 65,035
Address: 6001 Bollinger Canyon Rd.
San Ramon, California 94583
Country: U.S.

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Website: http://www.chevron.com

A leader when it comes to offshore drilling, the California-based company is relying on a number of projects – including Tahiti, which stalled production in 2007 – to alleviate demands at home and abroad. In an effort to clean up its image, Chevron launched its largest-ever global advertising campaign, called “The Power of Human Energy,” to prove that it too is concerned with climate change. The company’s progress is promising. With a net income of $18.7 billion in 2007, it was the fourth consecutive year Chevron achieved record earnings. 7. ING Group
Rank: 7 (Previous rank: 13)
CEO: Michel Tilmant
Employees: 120,282
Address: Amstelveenseweg 500
Amsterdam 1081
Country: Netherlands

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Website:  http://www.ing.com

The only financial institution to make our top 10, ING was up 31% in profits from 2006. This was due in part to the company’s streamlining, as it sold many noncore businesses, and partly due to a focus on global branding, with mass advertising set around the sponsorship of a Formula One team. ING continued to push into emerging markets, with primary investments in Thailand, Latin America, Turkey and South Korea. Although INGDirect.com provides just a small portion of the company’s profits, it added 3 million users in 2007, and now boasts over 20 million users worldwide.
8. Total
Rank: 8 (Previous rank: 10)
CEO: Christophe de Margerie
Employees: 96,442
Address: 2 Pl. de la Coupole
Courbevoie 92400
Country: France

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Website: http://www.total.com

It was a good year for the oil and gas company, as newly launched operations in Africa helped push up net production by 5%, which Total translated into a 22.2% increase in profits. But the year wasn’t without scandal for the French company, as new CEO Christophe de Margerie was placed under investigation in early 2007 for allegedly paying bribes to win the 1997 Iran South Pars project. The company insists that the agreement was lawful, and Margerie remains chief executive. 9. General Motors
Rank: 9 (Previous rank: 5)
CEO: G. Richard Wagoner Jr.
Employees: 266,000
Address: 300 Renaissance Center
Detroit, Michigan 48265
Country: U.S.

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Website: =http://www.gm.com

It was a tough year for GM, as it suffered a loss of nearly $39 billion and continues to lose market share to Japanese rivals Toyota and Honda. But, with a diverse portfolio of brands, General Motors did hit some international milestones; combined with its local partners, it was the first automaker to sell 1 million vehicles in China, and sales increased 74% in India. Even with its commitment to emerging markets, though, the company spent much of 2007 handling labor issues back home.
10. ConocoPhillips
Rank: 10 (Previous rank: 9)
CEO: James J. Mulva
Employees: 32,600
Address: 600 N. Dairy Ashford Rd.
Houston, Texas 77079
Country: U.S.

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Website: http://www.conocophillips.com

Dropping one spot on our list, ConocoPhillips saw a steep 23.5% decline in profits. The Texas-based company spent some $5.4 billion to reduce debt – incurred after the Burlington Resources acquisition in 2006 – and took a $4.5 billion hit due to Venezuela’s expropriation of Conoco’s assets. ConocoPhillips did make advances in the energy field, however, by teaming up with Tyson Foods to further its work in the biofuels industry.
11. Daimler
Rank: 11 (Previous rank: 08)
CEO: Dieter Zetsche
Employees: 272,382
Address: Mercedesstrasse 137
Stuttgart 70327
Country: Germany

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Website: www.daimler.com

Although Detroit’s Big Three all had to deal with United Auto Workers union issues and a struggling dollar, Daimler was the only one to cut its American ties by reducing its share in Chrysler to 19.9% and dropping the U.S. subsidiary from its name. The German automaker took an initial hit from the deal, posting its first quarterly loss since 2003. But the strength of the Mercedes-Benz brand kept Daimler in the black, as the company saw a hefty 34.5% annual increase in profits.
12. General Electric
Rank: 12 (Previous rank: 11)
CEO: Jeffrey R. Immelt
Employees: 327,000
Address: 3135 Easton Turnpike
Fairfield, Connecticut 6828
Country: U.S.

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Website:  http://www.ge.com

The “G” in “GE” might as well stand for “global.” The iconic American company now derives about half of its $176.7 billion in revenue from outside the United States. Not surprisingly, the conglomerate is currently looking shed some domestic businesses. Its appliance business is up for sale, and General Electric announced last year that GE Money would exit the troubled U.S. mortgage business.
13. Ford Motor
Rank: 13 (Previous rank: 12)
CEO: Alan R. Mulally
Employees: 246,000
Address: 1 American Rd.
Dearborn, Michigan 48126
Country: U.S.

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Website: http://www.ford.com

A series of belt-tightening strategies, such as cutting plants and jobs and eliminating luxury brands, helped Ford narrow its loss to $2.7 billion in 2007. Revenue increased 7.7%, but U.S. sales fell 12%, and market share declined to 14.6% from 16% a year earlier. This year may be even tougher, as skyrocketing gas prices pull customers away from Ford’s current inventory of trucks and SUVs. It may take years for the automaker’s restructuring plans to bear fruit.
14. Fortis
Rank: 14 (Previous rank: 20)
CEO: Jean-Paul Votron
Employees: 62,009
Address: Rue Royale 20
Brussels 1000
Country: Belgium/Netherlands

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Website: http://www.fortis.com

Fortis strengthened its leadership position in Benelux – Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg – and Asian markets last year with several major acquisitions. As a part of a consortium, it acquired Dutch bank ABN AMRO. To get a foothold in Asia, it bought Hong Kong’s Pacific Century Insurance Holdings Limited. Last November, Fortis sold a 4.18% stake to Ping An, one of China’s biggest insurance companies, making it the bank’s single largest shareholder. (Today Ping An owns closer to 5% of Fortis.) 15. AXA
Rank: 15 (Previous rank: 15)
CEO: Henri de Castries
Employees: 103,534
Address: 25 Ave. Matignon
Paris 75008
Country: France

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Website: http://www.axa.com

The leading European insurance company continued to see double-digit growth last year. Revenue climbed 6.5% to $162.8 billion, and profit rose 21.6% to $7.76 billion. AXA already has beachheads in mature domestic and European markets; now it is expanding through acquisitions in Britain, Italy, South Korea and the Ukraine. 16. Sinopec
Rank: 16 (Previous rank: 17)
CEO: Su Shulin
Employees: 634,011
Address: A6 Huixindong St.
Beijing 100029
Country: China

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Website: http://www.sinopecgroup.com.

The world’s third-largest oil refiner by capacity raised profit to $4.17 billion in 2007, a 12.5% increase from a year ago. The oil giant greatly expanded its exploration and production resources as a long-term strategy. Last year, the discovery of natural gas resources in China’s southwest fueled Sinopec’s gas output growth. Though the Chinese government lifted the prices of gasoline, diesel and other fuels in November 2007 and June 2008, Sinopec had to absorb refining costs as oil prices skyrocketed. In addition, Sinopec reassigned a new chairman, Su Shulin, to replace former Chairman Chen Tonghai, who resigned for personal reasons. 17. Citigroup
Rank: 17 (Previous rank: 14)
CEO: Vikram S. Pandit
Employees: 380,500
Address: 399 Park Ave.
New York, New York 10043
Country: U.S.

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Website: http://www.citigroup.com

As a direct result of the U.S. subprime crisis, Citi’s 2007 profits sank 83.2% to $3.62 billion. The company cut costs by eliminating staff and shedding legacy assets. But a double-digit revenue growth in its international markets offset its loss in the domestic market. Management changes also shook things up at Citigroup: Former CEO Charles Prince retired under pressure after the company announced at least $18 billion in write-downs. He was succeeded by Vikram Pandit, a veteran investment banker from Morgan Stanley.
18. Volkswagen
Rank: 18 (Previous rank: 16)
CEO: Martin Winterkorn
Employees: 329,305
Address: Brieffach 1848-2
Wolfsburg 38436
Country: Germany
Website: Volkswagen Deutschland

High oil prices and the “greening” of industry have hit automakers especially hard. But CEO Martin Winterkorn responded by pledging to lead Europe’s biggest carmaker into a greener and more sustainable era. Thanks to global sales of its core brands like Audi, profit was up 63.5% to $5.64 billion last year. Still, VW struggled in the United States. It cut prices on its Jetta and New Beetle models and launched new plants in an attempt to boost U.S. market share. Winterkorn aims to triple VW’s American sales by 2018. The company will announce the location of a new U.S. manufacturing plant in July. 19. Dexia Group
Rank: 19 (Previous rank: 36)
CEO: Axel Miller
Employees: 35,202
Address: Place Rogier 11
Brussels 1210
Country: Belgium

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Website: www.dexia.com

Dexia had another year of solid growth in 2007. Revenue was up 54% to $147.6 billion, though the big jump was largely due to an accounting change. Last November, the French-Belgian bank agreed to acquire a social housing loan book with roughly $4.5 billion in assets from U.K. mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley. Dexia says the deal will broaden its customer base and increase its visibility in the home-loan market. It also plans to push into more financing of public projects. 20. HSBC Holdings
Rank: 20 (Previous rank: 22)
CEO: Michael F. Geoghegan
Employees: 322,282
Address: 8 Canada Sq.
London E14 5HQ
Country: Britain

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Website: http://www.hsbc.com

Strong growth in Asia helped the bank to cushion billions of losses it took in the U.S. market due to the subprime mortgage crisis. Overall profit was up 21% from a year ago. As the bank tried to clean up its troubled U.S. mortgage loans, it focused on developing businesses in emerging markets. In 2007, HSBC expanded into Japan, Vietnam, South Korea and India by launching new branches and services. 21. BNP Paribas
Rank: 21 (Previous rank: 25)
CEO: Baudouin Prot
Employees: 162,700
Address: 16 Blvd. des Italiens
Paris 75009
Country: France

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Website: http://www.bnpparibas.com

BNP Paribas posted a 16.8% jump in net profit last year, as it withstood the credit crisis better than some of its European and U.S. counterparts. Thanks to solid growth in consumer credit, retail banking in emerging markets and asset management, France’s largest bank (in market value) increased its total revenue by 28.9% to $140.7 billion last year. That pushed BNP Paribas up another four spots on our list.
22. Allianz
Rank: 22 (Previous rank: 19)
CEO: Michael Diekmann
Employees: 181,207
Address: Königinstrasse 28
Munich 80802
Country: Germany

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Website:  http://www.allianz.com

Despite a series of natural disasters in Europe and the subprime crisis in the United States, Allianz’s growth did not slow in 2007. Following a strong performance in 2006, the company’s overall revenue grew 12%, while profit climbed 23.8%. Three of its four units – life insurance, non-life insurance and asset management – contributed to the improved profit. 23. Crédit Agricole
Rank: 23 (Previous rank: 18)
CEO: Georges Pauget
Employees: 163,126
Address: 91-93 Blvd. Pasteur
Paris 75015
Country: France

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Website:http://www.credit-agricole-sa.fr

The year 2007 was a turbulent period for France’s largest retail bank. Not only did the subprime mortgage crisis hit earnings and profits, but a $348 million unauthorized trade last September also worsened overall performance. Profit shrunk by 9% from a year ago, to $8.2 billion. 24. State Grid
Rank: 24 (Previous rank: 29)
CEO: Liu Zhenya
Employees: 1,486,000
Address: 86 Xichang’an Ave.
Beijing 100031
Country: China

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Website: www.sgcc.com.cn

Thanks to China’s fast-growing economy, the mainland’s largest power distributor saw profits nearly double in 2007, to $4.4 billion.Now State Grid is doing deals outside its borders: In December, a consortium including State Grid successfully bid $3.95 billion for a 25-year concession to operate Philippines’ power transmission. The Chinese company also signed a power purchase agreement with its Russian counterpart, RAO UES. 25. China National Petroleum
Rank: 25 (Previous rank: 24)
CEO: Jiang Jiemin
Employees: 1,117,345
Address: 6 Liupukang St.
Beijing 100724
Country: China

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Website: http://www.cnpc.com.cn

China’s largest oil and gas company jumped one position in the Global 500 rankings on a 17% increase in sales. The company’s future seems secure: It recently announced the discovery of the Nanpu oil field, the biggest oil field China has located in the past three decades, according to the company’s annual report. China National Petroleum also newly identified 565.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas in Sulige Gas Province, which was China’s first gas field with a proven reserve of more than 1 trillion cubic meters.