Sales at Wal-Mart exceeded those of oil giant Exxon, leaving the US discount behemoth to top Fortune magazine’s list of the 500 largest companies in the world; the first service company to ever reach those heights.
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Wal-Mart’s revenues reached US$219.8bn last year, higher than the US$191.6bn posted by Exxon Mobil, which in turn overtook pole position from General Motors in 2000.
The Global 500 list, which includes companies from around the world, is expected to confirm Wal-Mart’s ranking when it is published in three months time, because the largest non-US company, Royal Dutch/Shell, is known to have recorded about US$50bn fewer sales than the US retailer.
