Wal-Mart loses top spot on Fortune 500 list

New York City Exxon Mobile Corp. has unseated Wal-Mart Stores on the 2009 Fortune 500 list.

Fortune's closely watched list, released Sunday, ranks companies by their revenue in 2008.

Wal-Mart had held the top spot for six of the last seven years but fell to No. 2 this year. Still, the retail giant's 2008 revenue climbed 7% to $405.6 billion, as the battered economy sent more consumers searching for bargains. The company took in $13.4 billion in annual profit, an increase of about 5%.

However, Exxon took in $442.85 billion in revenue last year, up almost 19% from 2007. The company also raked in the biggest annual profit, earning $45.2 billion.

Other retailers on the list include CVS Caremark (No. 19); Kroger (No. 22); Costco (No. 24); Home Depot (No. 25); Target (No. 28); Walgreen (No. 38); Lowe’s (No. 47); Sears Holdings (No. 49) and Safeway (No. 55).