
The Fortune Global 500 is out today. The annual ranking of the largest companies in the world by revenue follows the publication of the Fortune 500 (June 4), which lists U.S. companies only; the Fortune Southeast Asia 500 (June 18), which Fortune compiled for the first time this year; and the Fortune China 500 (July 25), assembled by the Fortune China team. The second annual edition of the Fortune 500 Europe list is slated to publish this autumn.
The Global 500 reflects many of the trends we’ve detected on the region-specific lists earlier this year, because in many cases, performance trajectories of sectors transcend geography. Financial-sector companies, for instance, make up the majority of companies on the Fortune 500 (92 out of 500), Southeast Asia 500 (67), and on the Global 500, the proportion is even greater (116). Those 116 generated a combined $8.6 trillion in revenue—up 21% from the prior year—and $923 billion in profits.