LONDON: The Fortune 500 list was first published in 1955 and was originally limited to companies whose revenues came from manufacturing, mining and energy exploration, but was later extended to include commercial banks, utilities, life insurance companies, retailers, transport, and service companies.
Marking the 64th list, this years Fortune 500 ranks 500 of the largest US corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. Fortune 500 companies represent two-thirds of the U.S. GDP, having collectively generated $1.5 trillion in profits in 2017. But which companies are struggling when it comes to profit?
The Fortune 500 company with the biggest loss was revealed as Citigroup, the American multinational investment bank and financial services corporation, which suffered a loss of $6.8 billion in 2017.
Citigroup has over 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries, providing consumers, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial services and products.
Citigroup wasn’t the only financial services company to suffer a financial loss last year. Multinational finance and insurance corporation AIG (American International Group) followed closely behind in the top 10 biggest losses, suffering a loss of $6.1 billion in 2017. Hartford Financial Services and Voya Financial also placed in the Top 10 meaning the financial industry appears to have suffered the biggest losses last year.
Financial services are not the only corporate giants that suffered a substantial loss last year. Despite ranking in 8th place overall in the Fortune 500 list, General Motors Company had a loss of 3.9 billion in 2017, meaning it ranked fourth of the top ten biggest losses.
General Motors produces vehicles in 37 countries, including various brands such as Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick, and was the largest automobile manufacturer from 1931 right through to 2007.
Other companies that ranked in the top 10 biggest losses in the Fortune 500 include Dell Technologies ($3.7 billion), Community Health Systems ($2.5 billion), and energy company NRG ($2.2 billion). Automotive and energy giant Tesla, narrowly missed the top ten, placing at 11th place with a loss of $2 billion in 2017.
(Infographic courtesy: RS Components)
