New York. — Wal-Mart continues its reign as the largest corporation in the United States, having retained the top spot on Fortune magazine’s annual Fortune 500 ranking.
In its May 5 issue, the publication said CEO Lee Scott’s decision to slash holiday prices on popular CE, toys and other products by an additional 20 percent last fall yielded a $100 billion sales bonanza, which helped the world’s largest company end the year with $379 billion in revenue, up 8 percent from 2006.
Wal-Mart also led the general merchandisers category, where it was trailed by Target (No. 31) and Sears (No. 45).
Among specialty retailers, Home Depot (No. 22) led the pack, with $84.7 billion in sales last year, down 6.7 percent. The home improvement chain was followed by Costco (No. 29), Lowe’s (No. 48) and Best Buy (No. 66). Circuit City came in 10th on the specialty retailer ranking, and 215th on the Fortune 500.
Other category leaders included:
- Telecommunications: AT&T (No. 10)
- Computers: Hewlett-Packard (No. 14)
- Computer Software: Microsoft (No. 44)
- Electronics and Office Equipment Wholesalers: Ingram Micro (No. 69)
- Electronics, Electrical Equipment: Whirlpool (No. 127)
- Internet Services and Retailing: Amazon.com (No. 171)