Fortune 500: Someone New In The Top Spot

There is a new number one in the annual Fortune magazine's 500 list. Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM) has beat out Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT) for the top spot on the Fortune 500 list, which was released this morning. Exxon's top billing was based on rising oil prices that drove up the company's revenues, up 25 percent from the previous year, at 340 (b) billion dollars. Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart had held the spot for four years, but at least for now has slipped to the number-two spot in the ranking of the nation's largest publicly traded companies. Wal-Mart, is still the world's largest retailer, and not to far behind Exxon with nearly 316 (b) billion dollars worth of revenues. As a now Arkansas, I have to give props to many companies that fuel my state's economy that are staples of this list: Springdale-based Tyson Foods Inc (TSN), El Dorado-based Murphy Oil Corp(MUR), Little Rock based telecommunications company Alltel Corp (AT) and retailer Dillard's Inc (DDS). Lowell-based trucking company JB Hunt Transport Services Inc (JBHT), and Fort Smith-based trucking firm Arkansas Best Corp (ABFS) are two more companies of note making the magazine's top 1,000. - Exxon Dethrones Wal-Mart On Fortune 500 (MSN Money) - FORTUNE 500: A New Number One (CNN Money/Fortune Magazine) Soundview Executive Book Summaries