25.Petrobras

 

Rank: 25
Previous rank: 23
CEO: Maria das Graças Silva Foster
Employees: 85,065

The government-run energy company with proven reserves of about 14 billion barrels of oil has been hampered by the declining value of the real, Brazil’s currency, relative to the dollar. Petrobras operates in 24 countries and has pledged to spend $237 billion on production and exploration projects in the next five years, including in the deep waters off Brazil’s southeast coast in a reserve estimated to hold up to 100 billion barrels of oil. Revenue fell 1.2% for Petrobras in 2012, coming in at $144.1 billion.

Headquarters:
Av. Rep. do Chile 65
Rio de Janeiro. 20035-900
Brazil
55-21-3224-4477
Website: www.petrobras.com.

24.General Electric

 

Rank: 24
Previous rank: 22
CEO: Jeffrey R. Immelt
Employees: 305,000

America's biggest industrial company is feeling the pain from the slowdown in U.S. and European manufacturing. Early this year, that sluggish growth hurt the company's power and water unit, as struggling U.S. and European manufacturers purchased fewer General Electric generators. Given that trend, GE must figure out how to squeeze more profits out of other sections of its business such as aviation and its financing arm GE Capital. It is also increasing investments in manufacturing tied to the oil and gas industry. This year, it paid almost $3 billion for oilfield pump maker Lufkin Industries.

Headquarters:
3135 Easton Turnpike
Fairfield, Connecticut. 6828
U.S.
203-373-2211
Website: www.ge.com

23.Daimler

 

Rank: 23
Previous rank: 21
CEO: Dieter Zetsche
Employees: 275,087

The maker of Mercedes Benz is trying to power through Europe's financial woes. Flat profits for 2012 were followed by a disastrous first quarter when the German luxury automaker posted a 60% drop in net income and lowered its 2013 forecast. Chief Dieter Zetsche expects results to improve later this year as a massive cost-cutting effort lifts Daimler's bottom line. A revamped flagship Mercedes S-Class hits U.S. showrooms this fall, but it faces stiff competition from market leader BMW and a newly revived Audi.

Headquarters:
Mercedesstrasse 137
Stuttgart. 70327
Germany
49-711-17-0
Website: www.daimler.com

22.General Motors

 

Rank: 22
Previous rank: 19
CEO: Daniel F. Akerson
Employees: 213,000

In 2010, CEO Dan Akerson led General Motors through what was then the biggest IPO in history. Today, GM is focusing on selling cars abroad, with China being a key market. GM has roughly 15% market share in China now and has said it will introduce 17 refreshed models there in 2013. Though the carmaker predicts only modest growth in U.S. and China auto sales this coming year, it is making money. GM is still one of the most profitable companies in the Global 500, despite a 33% decrease in earnings in 2012, down from $9.1 billion in 2011 to $6.2 billion.

Headquarters:
300 Renaissance Center
Detroit, Michigan. 48265
U.S.
313-556-5000
Website: www.gm.com

21.Gazprom

Rank: 21
Previous rank: 15
CEO: Alexey B. Miller
Employees: 417,000

Gazprom, the Russian energy giant, slipped six spots on this year’s list as revenues fell 2.7% to $153.5 billion in 2012. The company says it has the world’s largest natural gas reserves, but Gazprom’s monopoly on exports from Russia is facing pressure from domestic competitors and America’s shale gas boom. Gazprom has cut prices in Europe, where it supplies about 25% of the natural gas market. Company officials have said rising output will boost revenues.

Headquarters:
16 Nametkina St.
Moscow. 117997
Russia
7-495-719-3001
Website: www.gazprom.com

20.AXA

 

 

Rank: 20
Previous rank: 25
CEO: Henri de Castries
Employees: 94,364

A bet on China is paying off for AXA. Last fall, Europe’s second-largest insurer struck a partnership with the financial giant Industrial & Commercial Bank of China. Since then, premiums have taken off for the French company, which now ranks as the largest foreign player in China’s life insurance market. The uptick in Asia comes at a good time for the company, which has struggled in Europe and the U.S. And like other insurers, continued low interest rates have held down AXA’s earnings.

Earlier this year, AXA announced plans to cut an additional $260 million in costs by the end of 2015. In April, it struck a deal to sell its MONY Life Insurance group to Birmingham, Alabama-based Protective, for $1 billion. AXA bought the division for $1.5 billion back in 2004. It also sold a majority stake in its private equity division. The result: After falling last year, the company’s earnings rose a modest 3% in the first three months of this year.

The market seem convinced a turnaround is in the works. AXA’s shares are up 60% in the past year. The question is with China slowing, are investors being overly optimistic? Rising interest rates and improvements in European economies could offset that exuberance.

Headquarters:
25 Ave. Matignon
Paris. 75008
France
33-1-4075-5700
Website: www.axa.com

19.Apple

 

Rank: 19
Previous rank: 55
CEO: Timothy D. Cook
Employees: 76,100

Apple is bigger than ever -- cracking the Fortune 10 for the first time and moving up 36 spots in the Global 500. The company has done anything but slow down. The introductions of the iPhone 5 and a the 7-inch iPad Mini helped propel the tech giant’s revenues up from $108 billion in 2011 to $157 billion last year. In a surprising move, Apple reportedly may shift some of its manufacturing from long-standing Taiwanese partner Foxconn to Pegatron, a smaller competitor, in an effort to balance out its supply chain.

Headquarters:
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, California. 95014
U.S.
408-996-1010
Website: www.apple.com

18.Berkshire Hathaway

Rank: 18
Previous rank: 24
CEO: Warren E. Buffett
Employees: 288,500

Berkshire Hathaway’s per-share book value rose 14.4% in 2012, but it was less than the Standard & Poor 500’s 16% gain. Amid a stock market that hit record highs, the index has outperformed Berkshire over the past four years.

CEO Warren Buffett called 2012 a “subpar” year, saying if the market continues to gain this year, the benchmark stock index could have its first five-year win ever. Though the Omaha, Neb.-based holding company made no major acquisitions, it started 2013 with a big one: Ketchup! Berkshire teamed up with 3G Capital for a $23 billion acquisition of H.J. Heinz.

Beyond all that’s Americana, Berkshire continued to see opportunities in the printed word. It spent $344 million to buy 28 daily newspapers. In the future, Buffett expects more purchases of newspapers if the price is right.

Headquarters:
3555 Farnam St.
Omaha, Nebraska. 68131
U.S.
402-346-1400
Website: www.berkshirehathaway.com

17.ENI

Rank: 17
Previous rank: 17
CEO: Paolo Scaroni
Employees: 77,838

The world’s seventh-largest oil company has invested heavily in expanding its operations in countries like Cyprus, Egypt, and Indonesia over the years. But more recently, ENI has set its sights on Northern Europe, a region abundant in energy-rich hydrocarbons, the same molecules found in crude oils. A deal finalized this June between Eni and Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil producer, should help. Under the joint venture, they will explore Russia’s Barents and Black Seas, as well as share technology and staff. For both parties, the upside may be huge: The area is estimated to contain 36 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Headquarters:
Piazzale E. Mattei 1
Rome. 144
Italy
39-06-59821
Website: www.eni.com

16.Phillips 66

Rank: 16
Previous rank: N.A.
CEO: Greg C. Garland
Employees: 13,500

Phillips 66, ConocoPhillips's spun-off refining arm, was separated from the exploration arm of the energy giant last year. The Phillips 66 name has been among the company's most-recognized brands for decades, first with Phillips Petroleum and then ConocoPhillips after its merger with Conoco in 2002. (The first 66-branded gas station opened in Kansas some 86 years ago.) Its $169.5 billion in sales shot it up to No. 16 on the Global 500 in its first year (back) on the list.

This year the company, like other oil & gas majors, is intent on forming joint ventures and selling assets to shore up its portfolio. The move includes selling its refinery in Ireland and getting ready for an initial public offering of some midstream assets. The company expects the offering to generate between $300 million to $400 million this year.

Headquarters:
3010 Briarpark Dr.
Houston, Texas. 77042
U.S.
281-293-6600
Website: www.phillips66.com

15.E.ON

 

 

Rank: 15
Previous rank: 16
CEO: Johannes Teyssen
Employees: 72,083

E.ON, Germany’s largest utility, is moving from a traditional integrated utility company, to a customer-centric energy solutions company.

In 2012 the company continued building on its strategy and focused solely on viable businesses and markets. It continued selling assets and entered Brazilian and Turkish markets through local partnerships. E.ON’s recent forays into renewables and the Russian markets now generate nearly 1 billion euros in profits.

The company reported a $2.85 billion profit in 2012 reversing a loss from the previous year. The financial performance was lifted by renegotiated gas contracts in its wholesale gas business and also higher generation capacity in Russia.

However with its primary operations in Europe, the company continues to grapple with challenges, including new taxes in Sweden, Italy, Spain, and Hungary, and Germany’s nuclear-fuel tax.

Headquarters:
E.ON Platz 1
Düsseldorf. 40479
Germany
49-211-45790
Website: www.eon.com

14.Samsung Electronics

Rank: 14
Previous rank: 20
CEO: Oh-Hyun Kwon
Employees: 236,000

For Samsung, 2012 proved another banner year. While the South Korean electronics maker remained unchallenged in the TV business for the seventh consecutive year, it also became the No. 1 mobile phone maker, shipping nearly 397 million units and seizing 25% of the global market, according to Strategy Analytics. (Its Galaxy SIII smartphone moved over 30 million units in just five months.) Both TV and phone sales helped drive revenues up 20% year-over-year to $178 billion.

Headquarters:
1320-10 Seocho 2-dong
Seoul. 137-857
South Korea
82-2-2255-0114
Website: www.samsung.com

13.Japan Post Holdings

 

Rank: 13
Previous rank: 13
CEO: Taizo Nishimuro
Employees: 209,000

State-owned Japan Post Holdings operates in postal, banking, and insurance services. New president Taizo Nishimuro, appointed in June, is focused on getting the company to the public market ahead of the October 2015 IPO target it had set.

With the widespread use of email and low interest rates, the company faces the tough task of improving operational performance that recorded a net operating loss in FY 2011. The company is looking to expand its same-day delivery service and complete the merger of Japan Post Service and Japan Post Network to gain crucial operational efficiency and improve its bottom-line ahead of its IPO.

Headquarters:
1-3-2 Kasumigaseki
Tokyo. 100-8798
Japan
81-3-3504-4411
Website: www.japanpost.jp

12.Glencore Xstrata

 

Rank: 12
Previous rank: 14
CEO: Ivan Glasenberg
Employees: 61,000

The world’s fourth-largest diversified mining company was created in 2012 by merging Glencore International, the world’s largest commodities trading company, with Xstrata, a major mining company. The deal was long anticipated, and with the merger, the company’s market value is nearly $90 billion. The tie-up also enhanced Glencore’s position in emerging markets, such as Africa, Kazakhstan, and South America. 

Headquarters:
Baarermattstrasse 3
Baar. 6340
Switzerland
41-41-709-2000
Website: www.glencore.com

11.Chevron

 

Rank: 11
Previous rank: 8
CEO: John S. Watson
Employees: 62,000

The world’s third-largest oil company by market value saw another strong year on better performance from its refining business. Chevron’s 2012 earnings of $26.2 billion are the second highest result in company history, behind $26.9 billion in 2011.

But 2013 has begun on a challenging note for the energy giant with lower oil prices and weakening demand lowering profits in the first quarter. Even as demand remains challenging, the company is spending $36.7 billion on exploration and refinery upgrades to bolster oil and gas output, after it fell to a four-year low in 2012.

The company’s focus may be diluted, with the landmark $19 billion environmental lawsuit filed by residents of Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest against it continuing to dominate the annual general meeting. Shareholders are asking fresh questions about the company’s lobbying practices, even as the company restarts business in Brazil after settling another criminal suit related to oil spills.

Headquarters:
6001 Bollinger Canyon Rd.
San Ramon, California. 94583
U.S.
925-842-1000
Website: www.chevron.com

10.Total

Rank: 10
Previous rank: 11
CEO: Christophe de Margerie
Employees: 97,126

French oil company Total SA saw profits rise during the finals months of 2012, thanks to high oil prices and better refining margins. Profits edged up to $3.2 billion, full year fell 13% from a year earlier. The company suffered losses in its shale gas venture with Barnett Shale in the U.S. Total was also hampered with the costs of plugging a gas leak in a field in the North Sea.

Headquarters:
2 Pl. Jean Millier
Courbevoie. 92400
France
33-1-4744-4546
Website: www.total.com

9.Volkswagen

Rank: 9
Previous rank: 12
CEO: Martin Winterkorn
Employees: 549,763

Volkswagen's plan to conquer the world may have hit a little snag: its home continent. Like every other European automaker, VW is dealing with the worst market there in memory. But the German car company says it’s still on track to meet its full-year financial forecast. And in the bigger picture, VW is sticking to its goal of becoming the world's leading automaker by 2018. With streamlined manufacturing, a stronger Audi luxury brand, and brighter prospects for North America, Volkswagen might get there a little sooner than planned.

Headquarters:
Brieffach 1848-2
Wolfsburg. 38436
Germany
49-5361-900
Website: www.volkswagenag.com

8.Toyota Motor

Rank: 8
Previous rank: 10
CEO: Akio Toyoda
Employees: 333,498

It's been a year of big comebacks for Toyota. The Japanese car company recaptured the title of world's largest automaker in 2012 after losing the crown to General Motors in 2011 when the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan caused major production disruptions. Chief executive Akio Toyoda deserves most of the credit for the turnaround, with a major restructuring to make the automaker more nimble and responsive. The new Corolla is his latest attempt to inject a little zip into Toyota's line of reliable -- but largely unexciting -- vehicles.

Headquarters:
1 Toyota-cho
Toyota. 471-8571
Japan
81-565-28-2121
Website: www.toyota-global.com

7.State Grid

Rank: 7
Previous rank: 7
CEO: Liu Zhenya
Employees: 849,594

The government-owned State Grid Corporation remains China’s largest power distributor, supplying power to nearly 80% of the country’s territory. But despite dominating its home country, State Grid has global aspirations. This May, it announced a double-barrel deal with Singapore Power -- reportedly worth around $3 billion -- that will make it one of the largest power distributors in Australia. The deal is the latest in State Grid’s overseas investments conducted in recent years, including those in Brazil, Philippines, and Portugal.

Headquarters:
86 W. Chang'An St.
Beijing. 100031
China
86-10-6659-7588
Website: www.sgcc.com.cn

6.BP

Rank: 6
Previous rank: 4
CEO: Robert W. Dudley
Employees: 85,700

Many oil companies have been slimming down -- mostly selling refining assets -- but BP has an extra incentive to get trim. The company has needed to raise $30 billion in cash to pay for the damages from the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion three years ago.

Overall oil and gas production is down at BP, but the mandatory sales have forced the company to focus on its most profitable assets. BP also completed its long belabored sale of Russian oil and gas company TNK-BP, which helped boost earnings and net profits for the first quarter of 2013.

As for the Deepwater spill, BP is still dealing with the repercussions. The trial to determine the company's liability ended this past April. It may be a year or more before Louisiana-based judge Judge Carl Barbier announces the final verdict, and that's only if the case isn't settled out of court.

Headquarters:
1 St. James's Sq.
London. SW1Y 4PD
Britain
44-20-7496-4000
Website: www.bp.com

5.China National Petroleum

  

Rank: 5
Previous rank: 6
CEO: Zhou Jiping
Employees: 1,656,465

China’s biggest oil and gas producer has become a major player in the global oil industry. It has partnered with the governments of oil-rich nations such as Iraq and Qatar and has ramped up domestic oil and gas production as well. In 2012, oil and natural gas production rose 2.8% to 278 million metric tons, even as overseas production fell short of the company’s target. Domestic production rose 2.6% from a year earlier, reaching the highest level since 1998.

CNPC has also emerged as the frontrunner to take over Iraq’s West Qurna-1 oilfield from U.S.-based Exxon Mobil, a move that would increase China’s oil influence in Iraq.

Headquarters:
9 Dongzhimen N. St.
Beijing. 100007
China
86-10-5998-2114
Website: www.cnpc.com.cn

4.Sinopec Group

 

Rank: 4
Previous rank: 5
CEO: Fu Chengyu
Employees: 1,015,039

China's largest oil and gas producer moves up a notch on Fortune's Global 500 list. The company continues to grow despite peculiar circumstances -- it looks, in many ways, like a multinational, except it's exposed to the Chinese government's control over oil and gas prices.

Sinopec, also known as China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., posted a 25% increase in first-quarter net profits in April, beating out competitor PetroChina thanks to Sinopec’s extensive distribution network in the country. It’s also acquiring aggressively outside China -- this past June, Sinopec bought Marathon Oil's stake in an Angolan oil and gas field, which should boost its production by 14,600 barrels-per-day.

Headquarters:
22 Chaoyangmen N. St.
Beijing. 100728
China
86-10-5996-0114
Website: www.sinopec.com

3.Exxon Mobil

Rank: 3
Previous rank: 2
CEO: Rex W. Tillerson
Employees: 88,000

Refining has been considered a drag on earnings by some analysts, but the world's biggest refiner didn't buy that logic. It resisted the trend of spinning off refineries to focus on oil drilling.

In 2012, Exxon Mobil posted the second-highest annual profit in U.S. history, surpassed only by its own 2008 record. Net income rose to $44.8 billion, a 9.3% jump from the previous year and only slightly below its 2008 record $45.22 billion.

In the year ahead, the company plans to reduce oil and natural gas production by 1% and focus on investments in tapping into hard-to-reach fields.

Headquarters:
5959 Las Colinas Blvd.
Irving, Texas. 75039
U.S.
972-444-1000
Website: www.exxonmobil.com

2.Wal-Mart Stores

 

Rank: 2

Previous rank: 3
CEO: Michael T. Duke
Employees: 2,200,000

Wal-Mart reclaimed the top spot in the Fortune 500 this year, and it moves up one spot in this year's Global 500. The retailer’s refocus on low prices continued to attract frugal shoppers into the discounter's U.S. stores.

For fiscal year 2012, store sales rose 5.9% to $443.9 billion. Despite relatively strong sales, Wal-Mart must hold onto its U.S. shoppers, which make up 62% of the chain’s net sales.

Beyond the U.S., Wal-Mart continues to investigate allegations that executives in Mexico paid more than $24 million in bribes to speed the retailer’s expansion there. The probe has widened to Brazil, India, and China.

Headquarters:
702 S.W. Eighth St.
Bentonville, Arkansas. 72716
U.S.
479-273-4000
Website: www.walmart.com

1.Royal Dutch Shell

 

Rank: 1

Previous rank: 1

CEO: Peter Voser  Employees: 87,000

Last year, Shell held the number one spot on the Fortune Global 500 list and was pushing to drill in the Arctic. This past March, the U.S. government blocked the company from drilling until it can provide a more convincing plan for exploring the region. The company has also paused another risky endeavor -- one of its pipelines in Nigeria that caught fire this summer. Shell shut it down and began investigating the cause of the fire in late June.

Shell, however, remains strong. Its earnings for the first quarter of 2013 beat analyst expectations. Despite problems with certain drilling projects, the company continues to rake in money from various assets, one of which is its profitable Pearl gas-to-liquid plant in Qatar.

Headquarters:
Carel van Bylandtlaan 30
The Hague. 2596
Netherlands
31-70-377-9111
Website: www.shell.com