View this article at: http://dev.macnn.com/articles/08/07/16/apple.fortune.500.ranking
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2008 11:00am

Apple continues slow climb ...

For the third year in a row, Apple has continued a slow escalation up the ranks of Fortune's Global 500. The list ranks the world's biggest 500 corporations in terms of revenues and profits; in the 2008 list Apple now sits at 337th, with revenues of over $24 billion, and profits nearing $3.5 billion. It is flanked by Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia, and France's Alstom. In the 2007 list Apple took 367th place, while in 2006 it barely managed to break in at 492nd.

Fortune also notes that the company has over 22,650 workers, $25 billion in assets, and $14.5 billion in stockholders' equity. The top company on the Global 500 is Wal-Mart, which has posted profits of $12.7 billion, made off of nearly $378.8 billion in revenue. The next three are the oil companies Exxon, Shell and BP, with Toyota claiming fifth place as the world's largest car manufacturer.