The 25 Biggest IT Companies On The 2018 Fortune 500
Fortunes Rising (And Falling)
Of the 25 largest North American publicly traded IT companies to make the 2018 Fortune 500 rankings, 14 of them climbed a combined 203 spots, with the largest jump coming from Tech Data which moved up 24 places. However, 10 of the tech heavyweights fell a total of 80 spots.
After falling out of the top 25 last year, Western Digital was back in the group, sprinting ahead 59 spots, with growth after an acquisition. Meanwhile Xerox, with its on-again off-again sale to Fujifilm, in the background, saw the biggest fall of any company on the Fortune 500 with a loss of 129 places to 162.
Keep reading to learn how the top IT companies fared in this year's Fortune 500.
25. Cognizant
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 195 (up 10)
CEO: Francisco D'Souza, CEO
Teaneck, N.J. professional services powerhouse Cognizant continued its upward trajectory on the list, breaking through the top 200 to land at 195 on this year’s Fortune 500. Health care has been one of Cognizant's fastest-growing sectors. In March, the company said it would buy Bolder Healthcare Solutions, which develops revenue management applications for hospitals and physician practices. The company has climbed every year since it debuted on the Fortune 500 in 2011.
For 2017, sales were up 9.8 percent year over year to $14.8 billion, while profits fell 3.2 percent to $1.5 billion. Cognizant came in at No. 6 on the 2018 CRN Solution Provider 500.
24. CDW
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 189 (up 10)
CEO: Thomas E. Richards
The Lincolnshire, Ill.-based IT services company, No. 5 on the 2018 Solution Provider 500, continued to scale the Fortune 500, where it has moved up 31 spots in two years. The solution provider serves businesses, government agencies, educational institutions and health-care organizations in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. The company provides pre-integrated hardware and software systems for everything from cloud computing and the data center, to digital workspaces and cybersecurity. It also offers a broad range of managed, professional and e-procurement services.
For 2017, CDW's revenue increased 8.7 percent year over year to $15.1 billion, as profits climbed 23.2 percent to $523 million.
23. Synnex
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 169 (up 29)
CEO: Dennis Polk
The distributor of IT products just keeps moving up the ranks. Last year, it rose 14 spots to 198. This year it doubled that, climbing 29 spots to land at 169. In January, Fremont, Calif.-based Synnex said Kevin Murai, its longtime president and CEO, would retire, while Polk, the company’s COO since 2006, would take over leadership. Murai led Synnex's $830 million acquisition of Westcon Americas. Synnex has moved up nearly every year since it debuted on Fortune 500 at number 360 in 2007.
For 2017, revenue at the 110,000-employee distributor was up 21.2 percent year over year to $17 billion, while profits also rose 28.2 percent to $301 million.
22. CenturyLink
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 166 (down 6)
CEO: Jeffrey K. Storey
Following its acquisition of Level3, CenturyLink had a change in leadership, with CEO Glen Post stepping aside and Level 3 CEO Jeffrey Storey taking the reins. Employees at the Monroe, La. based provider of cable, phone, and internet to more than 60 countries also suffered layoffs recently, with about 1,000 jobs cut in May. CenturyLink is down 16 spots in the Fortune 500 from its high of 150 in 2013.
Last year, CenturyLink restructured its organization into consumer, enterprise, and IT and managed services groups and rolled out its first tiered channel program with plans to bring third-party vendor products to its channel partner community.
For 2017, revenue was up 1.1 percent year over year to $17.6 billion, and profits increased 121 percent to $1.3 billion.
21. Western Digital
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 158 (up 59)
CEO: Stephen D. Milligan
Storage giant Western Digital took a big step forward this year, moving up nearly 60 spots in the Fortune 500. The San Jose, Calif.-based company bought Tegile Systems, a maker of flash storage technologies focused on enterprise data centers late last year for undisclosed terms. This is its highest-ever position on the Fortune 500. The maker of hard drives and external drives has had a continuous presence on the list since 2007.
A 67,629-employee company, Western Digital in 2017 saw profits rise 64 percent year over year to $397 million. Revenue was also up with a 49 percent gain year over year to $19 billion.
20. Qualcomm
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 133 (down 14)
CEO: Steven M. Mollenkopf
Founded in 1985, the San Diego-based company had climbed the list almost every year since 2003, when it came in at 489. Qualcomm – which employs 33,800 -- makes processors that leverage 10-nanometer technology so the units can be smaller and more powerful. The company has fallen 23 spots on the Fortune 500 list since its high of 110 in 2016.
For 2017, profits fell 56.8 percent year over year to $2.4 billion. Meanwhile, sales dropped to $22.2 billion, off 5.4 percent year over year.
19. Avnet
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 128 (up 5)
CEO: William J. Amelio
Avnet sold its Technology Solutions IT distribution business to Tech Data for $2.6 billion in late 2016, a deal that was finalized in early 2017. Avnet – a 15,700-employee company -- was founded in 1921. It was recently named as Microsoft's first distributor for Azure Sphere, which Microsoft calls a "first-of-its-kind" Internet of Things solution for securing microcontroller unit (MCU) devices.
For 2017, the Phoenix-based company saw revenue decline 12.8 percent year over year to $22.8 billion.
18. Arrow
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 113 (up 5)
CEO: Michael J. Long
The Centennial, Colo. based distributor gained more ground on the list this year. This is Arrow’s best ranking on the Fortune 500 in the 24 years it has made the list. The 18,800-employee company has climbed steadily every year since 2003.
For 2017, revenue shot up 12.5 percent year over year to $26.8 billion while profits took a hit, shrinking 23 percent to $402 million.
17. HPE
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 107 (Down 48)
CEO: Antonio Neri
Hewlett Packard Enterprise comes in this year at No. 107 on the Fortune 500, down 48 spots. The company saw revenue decline 42 percent to $28.9 billion in 2017.
The Palo Alto, Calif.-based hybrid IT-intelligent edge powerhouse posted 10 percent sales growth for its second fiscal quarter that ended April 30. Neri said last month that he had launched the Next initiative to rearchitect HPE. Next, he said, will transform the company from within and create a competitive advantage for the business.
16. Tech Data
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 83 (up 24)
CEO: Rich Hume
Tech Data climbed the charts for the second straight year, moving into the top 100 on the Fortune 500, thanks in large part to its acquisition of Avnet Technology Solutions. The company saw its revenue in 2017 grow 40.2 percent to $36.8 billion, though profit sank 40.2 percent to $116.6 million. The firm is in the midst of a leadership transition as Dutkowsky, who engineered the $2.6 billion purchase of Avnet Technology Solutions, departed. Rich Hume, a 35-year channel veteran who joined Tech Data two years ago after spending 35 years at IBM, is now in the CEO spot..
15. Oracle
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 82 (down 1)
Co-CEOs: Mark Hurd and Safra Catz
Oracle made its debut on the Fortune 500 in 1996, bowing in at No. 417. The company has only moved slightly since 2012, reaching its highest point in 2016 when it came in at 77. In a bid to fend off its rivals in the cloud sphere and chart its own path forward, Oracle is betting on artificial intelligence, automation, as well as blockchain to keep it from slipping further down the list, Fortune said.
For 2017, revenue at the Redwood City, Calif. Company rose 1.8 percent year over year to $37.7 billion and profits increased 4.9 percent to $9.3 billion.
14. Facebook
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 76 (up 22)
CEO: Mark Zuckerberg
Controversy engulfed the Menlo Park, Calif.-based social media juggernaut this year over privacy concerns, with Facebook’s relationship with Cambridge Analytica and its own internal practices under fire. This prompted two congressional hearings in which Zuckerberg was called to testify. While shares took a hit in the short term, they recovered. Facebook has climbed 406 spots on the Fortune 500 since it debuted in 2013.
For 2017, Facebook increased revenue 47.1 percent year over year to $40.6 billion.
13. Charter Communications
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 74 (up 22 spots)
CEO: Thomas Rutledge
The Stamford, Conn.-based company that rocketed nearly 200 rungs to 96 on last years list is at it again, climbing double digits on this year’s Fortune 500. Not bad for a company that hovered between 492 and 296 for the first 15 years it was on Fortune’s list.
"Charter experienced the second-most growth in revenue (up 43.4 percent to $41.54 billion) among Fortune 500 telecommunications companies, behind only Verizon, and grew its profit (up 180.9 percent to $9.9 billion) the most out of all its rival companies,’ Fortune wrote.
12. Cisco Systems
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 62 (down 2)
CEO: Chuck Robbins
The changes Cisco has made to sell subscription software services as well as hardware have started to pay off, according to Fortune. The 30-year-old company fell two spots in the ranks this year.
The San Jose, Calif.-based networking vendor saw 2017 revenue fall 2.5 percent year over year to $48 billion as it transitions from a hardware-first company and retools its business for the cloud era. Investors remain positive, with Cisco’s shares rising 37 percent on the year ending in May.
11. HP, Inc.
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 58 (up 3)
CEO: Dion J. Weisler
HP moved up the list this year by growing in two areas that some investors believe are shrinking: personal computers and printers. At the end of 2017, HP Inc. overtook Lenovo to become the leading maker of PCs, Fortune said. The company has also boosted its printer sales after it bought Samsung’s printer division in 2016.
For 2017, HP's revenue increased 7.9 percent to $52 billion year over year. Investors also liked what they saw and sent its share price higher by 17 percent over the 12 months ending in May, Fortune said.
10. Intel
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 46 (up 1)
CEO: Brian Krzanich
Intel, based in Santa Clara, Calif., has steadily climbed the Fortune 500 every year since 2013 when it was No. 54 and moved up one spot this year to No. 46
For 2017, Intel's revenue rose 5.7 percent year over year to $62.7 billion. That has translated into rising stock value as well, with its share price up 19 percent so far this year.
9. Dell Technologies
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 35 (up 6)
CEO: Michael Dell
Dell has not lost momentum since its blockbuster $58 billion deal with EMC in 2016, which set the record for the largest ever IT merger. The Round Rock, Texas-based company moved up six spots on the list this year.
For 2017, revenue was up 21.4 percent year over year to $78.6 billion as Dell sought to deliver on the promise of software-defined data centers and data analytics capabilities.
8. IBM
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 34 (down 2)
CEO: Virginia Rometty
Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM lost two places this year to come in at No. 34 on the Fortune 500. Fortune said the company's security and analytics business as well as a new focus on blockchain bode well for the future. ’Rometty is adding the digital currency technology known as blockchain to IBM’s arsenal, with an offering to help customers build their own digital ledgers,’ Fortune said.
For 2017, IBM profits decreased from $11.9 billion to $5.7 billion, a drop of 51.5 percent year over year. Revenue did not fall as sharply, down 1 percent to 79.1 billion year over year.
7. Comcast
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 33 (down 2)
CEO: Brian L. Roberts
Fresh from its highest ranking on the Fortune 500 list in 2017, Comcast fell two places this year. The company might be growing even more with its potential bid for entertainment giant 21st Century Fox.
The Philadelphia-based company posted 5.1 percent growth in revenue to $84 billion and profits of $22.7 billion in 2017 compared with the year earlier.
6. Microsoft
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 30 (down 2)
CEO: Satya Nadella
Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft's increased focus on cloud computing through its Azure business is paying off, according to Fortune. The company dropped two spots in this year's list to No. 3. In all, the company is down five spots from its highest point of 25 in 2016.
For 2017, revenue was up 5.4 percent year over year to $89.9 billion, and profits increased 26.2 percent.
5. Alphabet
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 22 (up 3)
CEO: Larry Page
Most trips online begin with Google, and the search-engine’s parent company, Alphabet, has turned that into a springboard for success on the Fortune 500 where it has climbed every year since it debuted at 353 in 2006.
Alphabet's sales in 2017 increased $20.5 billion to $110 billion, as the company capitalized on its status both online as well as in the smartphone arena, as the maker of the operating system that powers Android phones. The Mountain View, Calif., company did suffer a legal setback last year when it was hit with a $2.7 billion antitrust fine by the European Union.
4. Verizon
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 16 (down 2)
CEO: Lowell McAdam
Verizon peaked at No. 10 on the Fortune 500 in 2003, but has remained in the teens on the list since 2005.This was the second straight down year in the Fortune 500 rankings for the New York-based company.
WIth the Yahoo acquisition in its rear-view mirror, Verizon continues to set its sights on future growth. The telecommunications powerhouse recorded $126 billion in revenue in 2017, while profits rose 129 percent to $30 billion.
3. Amazon
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 8 (up 4)
CEO: Jeff Bezos
The online giant has reached into nearly every household and business in the U.S. with its retail, entertainment, and Amazon Web Services businesses.
For 2017, revenue at the Seattle-based company surged to $177 billion from $136 billion the year before, earning it another year of progress on the Fortune 500 list, where it has climbed every year since 2002. The beast that Bezos made shows no signs of slowing as the company continues to disrupt even more industries.
2. AT&T
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 9 (no change)
CEO: Randall Stephenson
Revenue fell slightly to $3.3 billion at the telecom giant in the last year, but that wasn’t enough to nudge AT&T from the nine-spot. AT&T chalked up its losses to a decline in traditional landlines, and lower wireless service revenues. It said the reversals were offset by strong international growth, and sales in its strategic business services. The wireless company said its DirectTV brand has grown in the last year, adding 368,000 customers to push the total number over 1.2 million. AT&T has bounced around the Fortune 500 rankings since 1995 with a low of 93 in 1996 to a high of 7 in 2010.
1. Apple
2018 Fortune 500 Rank: 4 (down 1)
CEO: Tim Cook
Apple, the Cupertino, Calif., technology juggernaut, lost a step in the rankings, falling to No. 4 on this year’s list.
For 2017, the iPhone maker’s revenue increased 6.3 percent to $229 billion over the prior year. That -- coupled with increasing revenue for its services business, including Apple Music, Apple Pay and the App Store -- has kept it in the top five for the fifth consecutive year.