Global Competition
The July 20, 2009 issue of Fortune magazine published its annual Global 500 special section, giving information on the performance of the 500 largest companies in the world. Some interesting things can be interpreted from this special report. Let’s take a look.
Top 7 corporations in the world, by Revenue:
- Royal Dutch Shell – Netherlands
- Exxon Mobil – U.S.
- Wal-Mart Stores – U.S.
- BP – Britain
- Chevron – U.S.
- Total – France
- ConocoPhilips – U.S.
Note that Wal-Mart Stores is the only non-oil company on this list. Is oil a really big business in the world, or what? Do we really think that big oil will support alternative energy?
Top 6 most profitable corporations in the world:
- Exxon Mobil – U.S.
- Gazprom – Russia
- Royal Dutch Shell – Netherlands
- Chevron – U.S.
- BP – Britain
- Petrobras – Brazil
Well, apparently, oil pays well, since the six most profitable businesses in the world are all oil corporations.
Interesting Observations:
• Of the top 100 largest corporations in the world, there are only 5 American manufacturing companies.
- General Motors – no. 18
- Ford – no. 19
- Hewlett-Packard – no. 32
- IBM – no. 45
- Proctor and Gamble – no. 68
• The two most profitable banks in the world are Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, and China Construction Bank.
• America has 6 of the top 10 money-losing companies in the world, and only two of them are financial institutions.
• Since 1998, the number of American companies in the Global 500 have dropped from 185 to 140, a 24% decrease.
• Since 1998, the number of Chinese companies in the Global 500 has risen from 6 to 37, a 616 % increase.
What can we learn?
First, it is obvious that big business in America has trouble competing in the world market. If it wasn’t for U.S. oil companies, our position would be even more abysmal. Considering the declining number of U.S. companies on the Global 500 list, it is easy to conclude that the future for big business in the U.S. is pretty dismal.
The good news is that small business can pick up the slack in world trade left by the big guys. Every small business in America should be factoring world-wide trade into their business plans. From a sales and marketing standpoint—think globally!
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