It was a rough year for the Fortune 500। America's 500 biggest companies earned 85% less than they did last year--from $642.2 billion to just $98.9 billion. Twice as many companies on the list had losses this year. If there are any winners in this year's Fortune 500 list, it is the oil companies। Exxon Mobil replaced Wal-Mart Stores and four of the top five on the list are in the oil/energy business।Fortune reports that there's some good news for women in this year's Fortune 500। Fifteen Fortune 500 companies are now led by women, compared to 12 the prior year। Archer Daniels Midland, whose chief executive is Patricia Woertz, is largest of them all, at No. 27 on the list. Other high-ranking women include Angela Braly, CEO of No. 32 WellPoint; Lynn Elsenhans, CEO of No. 41 Sunoco; Indra Nooyi, head of No. 52 PepsiCo; and Irene Rosenfeld, chief of No. 53 Kraft Foods.
Wal-Mart, which reigned as No. 1 on the Fortune 500 the past two years, slipped to second place. The recession was a boon for Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500): As cash-strapped customers crowded its discount stores, the retailer's sales grew 7% to more than $406 billion. But that wasn't enough to keep up with oil-rich Exxon.
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