Wal-Mart Tops Fortune 500 U.S. List

New York Wal-Mart Stores held onto the top spot among American companies as the biggest revenue maker, Fortune magazine said Monday in announcing its Fortune 500 list.

Wal-Mart, with 2007 revenues of $378.8 billion—up 7.9% from the previous year—retained its lead over ExxonMobil with $372.8 billion in revenue.

However, ExxonMobil's profit was more than triple that of the retailer at $40.6 billion compared to $12.7 billion.

The Fortune ranking is based on revenues. Other rankings of the largest companies may be based on profits or stock-market capitalization. Fortune also publishes a list of the top global companies.

Wal-Mart was the leading U.S. firm on this basis for the sixth time in the past seven years, Fortune said.

Wal-Mart remained the biggest employer, employing some 2 million people—more than the number serving in the U.S. armed forces, according to Fortune.