The 10 Biggest Companies of Today

Yesterday we excerpted 24/7 Wall Street's list of the 10 largest companies in 1955. Here's their list of the largest companies today. Note the large retail and services component today. Of course we don't know what this list will look like in 2055, but I'd be willing to bet that retail won't be as large a component then as it is today!

According to 24/7:

"Today, four of the ten largest companies by total employees are Walmart (NYSE: WMT), Target (NYSE: TGT), Sears (NASDAQ: SHLD), and Kroger (NYSE: KR). Americans are drawn in huge numbers to retailers with low prices. The industry is dominated by companies which can source cheap goods, run them though efficient supply chains, and market them at low prices. Two of companies on the list from this year are IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Hewlett Packard (NYSE: HPQ). They are the tip of an iceberg comprised of dozens of large tech companies with high margins, rapidly growing sales, and well-paid work forces. This group includes Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO, and Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL). With almost no exceptions, these companies did not exist five decades ago."

1. Walmart {Employees today: 2,100,000-Employees in 1955: N/A}

Walmart was not started until 1962. A local store chain in Arkansas, it expanded across the nation and outflanked rivals founded years earlier using intelligent product sourcing and low prices. Walmart is now the largest company in America.

2. International Business Machines {Employees today: 410,830-Employees in 1955: 46,500}

The company was primarily a provider of high end and expensive computing machines. Over a period of 50 years it has added large software, IT consulting, and server businesses to become one of the world’s largest tech companies.

3. United Parcel Service {Employees today: 408,000-Employees in 1955: not on Fortune 500}

The global mail and freight carrier used the growing movement to transport packages by air and a huge network of trucks to capture the lion’s share of the industry and effectively helped ruin the profitability of the US Postal Service.

4. Target {Employees today: 351,000-Employees in 1955: not on Fortune 500}

The No.2 US retailer opened its first store at about the same time Wal-Mart did. It has never been able to match its larger rival’s size but has still built a $65 billion a year business.

5. Kroger {Employees today: 334,000-Employees in 1955: not on Fortune 500}

The company was a relatively large chain fifty years ago but has aggressively grown through M&A and entry into the private label business.

6. Sears Holdings {Employees today: 322,000-Employees in 1955: not on Fortune 500}

Sears owes much of its size to the merger between K-Mart and Sears that created it in 2004. The two retail brands are not as successful as rivals like Wal-Mart but the company does operate at many locations.

7. General Electric {Employees today: 304,000-Employees in 1955: 210,151}

GE operates large energy, health care, finance, and media businesses in addition to several operations tied to its older industrial base. {My note: it is also the only company to appear on both lists!}

8. Hewlett-Packard {Employees today: 304,000- Employees in 1955: not on Fortune 500}

Now the world’s largest tech company based on revenue, in the 1940s and 1950s, HP concentrated on making professional and industrial testing tools. The company is now a major force in PCs, printers, servers, software, and IT consulting.

9. Bank of America {Employees today: 283,000-Employees in 1955: not on Fortune 500}

The bank existed in 1955, but did not look anything like it does today. B of A was based almost exclusively in California in 1955. It is now a global bank with commercial, institutional, and investment banking arms. Two years ago, it bought Merrill Lynch and mortgage banking firm Countrywide.

10. AT&T {Employees today: 272,450-Employees in 1955: not on Fortune 500}

AT&T has been dissolved and rebuilt since the government decided to break it into several pieces in 1984 because it was considered a monopoly. Most of the operating businesses have been reunited under the original brand and the company is primarily a provider of cellular, landline, and home entertainment.

*Certain of these companies are included in ETF's that our clients hold. In addition we have one client that holds a legacy position in British Petroleum {BP} and customers of our firm hold legacy positions in General Electric {GE}

Link: America's Biggest Companies, Then and Now.