Apple once again has claimed the top spot in global profits, according to Fortune's annual ranking of U.S. companies shaping the world.
In Fortune magazine's 63rd composition of the list of Fortune 500 companies, Apple has seized the third spot in revenue, behind only Walmart and Berkshire Hathaway. However, ranked by profitability, the company destroys all challengers, reaping $45.7 billion in profit and handily dispatching second place J.P. Morgan Chase with $24.7 billion.
Walmart is far behind the pair, at 11th place with $13.6 billion in profit.
Other notable placements on the list overall are Alphabet at fifth for profits, and 27th for revenue, Microsoft at 28th place for profits and seventh for revenue, and Intel at 32nd for profit, and 16th for revenue.
Other newcomers to the list from tech industries are Hewlett Packard's return after a long absence at 59th for revenue, Tesla at 383, Nvidia at 387, Activision Blizzard at 406, and Adobe Systems at 443.
In total, Fortune 500 companies represent two-thirds of the U.S. GDP with $12 trillion in revenues, $890 billion in profits, $19 trillion in market value, and employ 28.2 million people worldwide.
Companies are ranked by total revenues for their respective fiscal years. Included in the survey are companies that are incorporated in the U.S. and operate in the U.S. and file financial statements. Excluded are private companies not filing with a government agency, companies incorporated outside the U.S., and companies consolidated by other companies that file with a government agency.