Apple Fallen To Fourth Place In The Fortune 500 Companies Rankings

Fortune has rolled out its latest Fortune 500 Companies list , and it appears that Apple has fallen one place in the rankings, where it reta...

Fortune has rolled out its latest Fortune 500 Companies list, and it appears that Apple has fallen one place in the rankings, where it retained its #3 slot last year. However, the tech-giant continue to be the most valuable and profitable company on the list though.

Apple took a small step back, from No. 3 to No. 4, despite a 6% gain in annual sales, but it led the way in profits with more than $48 billion in net income. In short, the Apple juggernaut continues at tremendous scale and despite the overall saturation of smartphones, which make up the vast majority of the company’s sales and profits. In an unusual move, Apple introduced three new phones, the upgraded iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, as well as the redesigned iPhone X (pronounced “ten”), powered by facial-recognition technology. Services likes Apple Pay and Apple Music continued to rise too.

In the rankings, Apple ranked the lowest in 2002, with #325 at the time. It entered the top 100 for the first time in 2009 and surpassed the top 10 in 2013, and it has been a leader on the list since then. As of now, the Cupertino firm now holds $851B market value, it's expected that Apple could be the first trillion-dollar company in the upcoming months.

Other technology companies on the list include Amazon made to the top 10 with #8 slot, right after the largest online retailer is the AT&T which ranked #9, Verizon at #16, Alphabet at #22, and Microsoft at #30.