Exxon, Chevron Win in a Loser Year for Top 500 Companies

(MoneyWatch)  The United States' 500 highest-grossing corporations had their worst year ever in 2008 -- with profits plummeting 85 percent to $98.9 billion -- as nearly every sector of the economy felt the slap of tight credit markets and skyrocketing energy costs. And then there was Big Oil, which scooped up billions in the first three quarters of the year as crude reached $147 per barrel. Of course, then the global economic crisis happened, oil and natural gas prices took a dive and businesses -- including Big Oil -- suffered the consequences.

A few tidbits from the watched Fortune 500 list that ranks America's largest corporations by their annual revenue.

• Exxon retakes the top spot, pushing Wal-Mart down to No. 2 after the oil company raked in $443 billion in revenue. The company also was the most profitable, earning $45. 2 billion.
• Chevron held its third place position by increasing its revenues by 25 percent to $263 billion.
• ConocoPhillips managed to increase revenue by more than 29 percent and moved up to the No. 4 spot, but saw its profits evaporate. The company lost nearly $17 billion -- making it also one of Fortune's worst money losers -- after it took a $34 billion writedown of previous acquisitions.
• Other oil-related companies rounding out the top 50 revenue-generators included oil refiner Valero Energy, Marathon Oil and Sunoco.
• Some of the most profitable oil-related companies were Exxon at No. 1, Chevron at No.2 and Occidental Petroleum at No. 15.
• Good news if you were a pipeline maker, considered the fastest-growing industry with a 27 percent increase in revenues among the Fortune 500 in 2008. Within the pipeline industry, the companies with the highest revenues were Enterprise GP Holdings, Plains All America Pipeline, Oneok, Knight and Enbridge Energy Partners. It should be noted that Knight lost money in 2008 -- about $3.59 billion or a 1,250 percent decrease from 2007.
• Other energy industries considered among the fastest-growing include petroleum refining at No. 3, mining, crude-oil production at No. 4, oil and gas equipment services at No. 5 and energy at No. 6.

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