For the past five years, the No. 1 and No. 2 spots on the Fortune 500 have reflected a head-to-head retail rivalry. Walmart, which has ranked in first or second place on the list of America’s biggest companies by revenue every year of the 21st century and has been No. 1 for 12 years in a row, began competing with Amazon for the top spot beginning with the 2020 list, published that spring. (On the 2022 and 2024 Global 500 lists, Amazon was also No. 2.)
The 2020 edition of the Fortune 500 was published amid COVID pandemic lockdowns; however, its rankings reflected results from 2019—so, pre-pandemic financial performance. But from that point, Amazon’s ascent to runner-up status, which had long been in the works, seemed sure to be a fixture of the list for years to come, as consumer behavior during a stay-at-home era fueled online shopping out of both necessity and boredom.
