If I asked you to think of businesses in Georgia, you might imagine farms and peach orchards, but that’s not the only type you’d find.
Each year, Fortune magazine publishes its “Fortune 500,” a list of the 500 companies in the United States with the largest revenues for their respective fiscal years. Unsurprisingly, most of the enterprises are headquartered in major cities, such as New York, NY. The Big Apple is, by a long shot, the most densely-packed of any American city in terms of both high-grossing companies and human beings. Slightly further down this list, however, is Atlanta. Georgia’s capital finds itself somewhere in the neighborhood of 40th on the list of most populated U.S. cities, but for its humble size, the ATL is home to a surprising number of Fortune 500 companies.
The Big Guys
Of the 20 Georgia companies that made the cut in 2015, 17 of them have Atlanta headquarters, and four of them are in the top 100.
33. Home Depot
Revenue in last fiscal year: $83.2 billion
47. UPS
Revenue in last fiscal year: $58.2 billion
63. Coca-Cola
Revenue in last fiscal year: $46 billion
73. Delta Airlines
Revenue in last fiscal year: $40.4 billion
The Household Names
Some of the more well-known businesses still appeared on this year’s list, but they didn’t quite match their peers in terms of revenue acquired.
132. Aflac (Columbus, GA)
163. Southern Company
327. SunTrust Banks
362. Mohawk Industries (Calhoun, GA)
Something to celebrate: each of these three companies has been included on the list for the 21st time as of 2015.
The Up-and-Comers
Most of the companies on the 2015 list have made their Fortune debut in decades past, and they’ve maintained sufficiently stable footing to stick around. A lucky few are just entering the playing field, but with their noteworthy profits, they might be here to stay. (Descriptions quoted come from link at bottom of this page.)
293. WestRock (Norcross, GA)
Year four on the list. "Manufacturer produces corrugated and consumer packaging."
316. HD Supply Holdings
Year three on the list. "The industrial distributor sells products and services to contracting, maintenance, repair, and construction companies."
368. Coca-Cola Enterprises
Year five on the list. I know what you’re thinking, and yes, I’m aware that Coca-Cola is at number 63. Its hands-on counterpart, Coca-Cola Enterprises, is the biggest bottler of Coca-Cola products on the planet. The fact that this endeavor alone earns a place in the 500 is pretty impressive.
465. AGL Resources
First year on the list. "Energy services company distributes natural gas to 4.5 million customers in Illinois, New Jersey, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia and Florida."
492. ARRIS Group (Suwanee, GA)
First year on the list. "Supplies broadband equipment and services to cable and telecom providers like Comcast, TimeWarner Cable and AT&T."
It turns out that the Peach State has a sizable sphere of influence — through one company or another, Atlanta is sure to find itself at the forefront of the future industry.
Anyone interested in the full list of 500 can find it here: http://fortune.com/fortune500/
