GM slips on Fortune 500 list

Softening auto sales send carmaker lower on annual revenue ranking; Wal-Mart again tops list.

Stevenson Jacobs / Associated Press

NEW YORK — Declining U.S. auto sales battered General Motors Corp., which fell one position to No. 4 on the 2008 Fortune 500 list, the magazine’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest publicly traded companies. Ford Motor Co. maintained its seventh-place ranking.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. shrugged off weak consumer spending to remain atop the list, edging Exxon Mobil Corp. for the second straight year.

Fortune compiled its list based on companies’ 2007 revenues. GM slipped on the list after reporting revenue of $181 billion, down 12 percent compared to 2006, and a loss of $38.7 billion.

Wal-Mart raked in $378.8 billion in revenue last year, up 7.9 percent compared to 2006, and had $12.7 billion in profits, according to the list released Monday. The discount retailer has topped the list six times in the past seven years, having been unseated only by Exxon Mobil.

Though consumer spending fell sharply last year, Wal-Mart weathered the slowdown better than other retailers as shoppers have been trading down to cheaper stores amid a difficult economy, falling home values and increased unemployment.

Because the list is based on revenues rather than profits, Wal-Mart was able to come in ahead of Exxon Mobil, which was a close second with $372.8 billion but which far outdistanced the retailer in earnings, with $40.6 billion. Exxon Mobil’s windfall was boosted by soaring energy demand and geopolitical instability that this year have pushed crude oil prices above $115 a barrel and gasoline prices to an average of $3.50 a gallon. Exxon Mobil last topped the Fortune 500 list in 2006.

Collectively, revenues for all companies listed reached $10.6 trillion last year, up 7.1 percent from 2006. However, profits dropped 17.8 percent over the same period, falling to $645.2 billion amid rising expenses, including the price of oil.

Skyrocketing energy prices also helped other oil producers claim several of this year’s top spots. ChevronTexaco Corp. moved up one place to No. 3 with $210.8 billion in revenue and $18.7 billion in profits. ConocoPhillips stayed the same at No. 5.

General Electric Co. came in sixth, followed by Ford in seventh place, Citigroup Inc. at No. 8 and Bank of America Corp. at No. 9. AT&T Inc. cracked the top 10, moving from No. 27 to tenth place.

Companies capitalizing on a global commodities boom were among the biggest winners of 2007. Freeport-MacMoran Copper & Gold Inc. shot from No. 398 in 2006 to No. 140, the biggest leap among all companies.