NEW YORK — Wal-Mart shrugged off weak consumer spending to remain atop the 2008 Fortune 500 list, edging Exxon Mobil for the second straight year in the magazine’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest publicly traded companies.
Wal-Mart had $378.8 billion in revenue last year, up 7.9 percent from 2006, and $12.7 billion in profits, according to Fortune. The discount retailer has topped the list six times in the past seven years, having been unseated only by Exxon Mobil, which this time was a close second with $372.8 billion in revenue but far outdistanced the retailer in earnings, with $40.6 billion.
ChevronTexaco moved up one place to No. 3 with $210.8 billion in revenue and $18.7 billion in profits. ConocoPhillips stayed at No. 5. Declining U.S. auto sales battered General Motors, which fell one position to No. 4 on revenue of $182.3 billion and a loss of $38.7 billion.
Qwest Communications International topped 10 Colorado firms on the list.
