What are the 11 Most Profitable Companies In The Fortune 500? Membership in the Fortune 500 is one of the most prestigious honors a company can have. Not only do most Fortune 500 companies have wide moats and strong competitive advantages but also many have dependable dividend payment histories. Many companies are the who’s who in terms of profitability, innovation, and corporate culture. A fair amount of companies are on the leading edge of technology, pioneering diverse fields such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and autonomous vehicles. Another group has paid dividends for over five decades and will likely continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Yet another group have done very well in terms of stock performance, powering much of the S&P 500’s gains over the last eight years.
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In terms of selection criteria, the Fortune 500 ranks companies based on their total sales for the fiscal year. The list includes companies that are incorporated in the United States and that file financial statements with a U.S. government agency. In terms of ranking for this list, we define profits as net income after extraordinary charges, taxes, noncontrolling interests, but before preferred dividends.
Membership in the Fortune 500 is very diverse. Companies from various different sectors, including consumer staples, energy, financials, healthcare, telecommunications, and technology, all made the list in terms of who’s the most profitable. Many were also among the most profitable companies in 2016 in the world and among the largest companies in the world by assets. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the 11 Most Profitable Companies In The Fortune 500. In this list, we will specifically discuss, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD), Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC), Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG). For those of you interested, also check out the article, ‘10 Most Profitable Companies In The World in 2017 ‘.
#11 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) reported profits up $15.4 billion for the last fiscal year, helping the consumer healthcare giant rank 11th on the list of 11 Most Profitable Companies In The Fortune 500. Although Johnson and Johnson’s sales slipped 5.7% year-over-year globally due to the strong dollar, many investors still consider JNJ a core dividend portfolio holding. Johnson and Johnson is one of the largest consumer staple companies in the world and its profits are relatively stable in the face of economic downturns, making it an ideal dividend investment.
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