Fortune recently unveiled it's rankings of the 500 most profitable U.S. corporations. These 500 gargantuan companies alone represent two-thirds of the U.S. gross domestic product, with $12 trillion in revenue and $840 billion in profit. Predictably, top ranks go to Wal-Mart, Exxon Mobil, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, McKeson, United Health Group, CVS Health, General Motors, Ford Motors, and AT&T.
Although there are no surprises when it comes to the top contenders, the Fortune 500 list welcomed 15 new members to its ranks, including some companies you've definitely heard of, such as PayPal and Citizens Bank, and others you probably hadn't, like Veritiv and Baxalta. Many of these companies were able to join the list thanks to an epic year of mergers, acquisitions, and business breakups. Here is a breakdown of the most profitable five new Fortune 500 members:
- Paypal: Online payment service provider Paypal is one of the most profitable new companies to join the list. The company split from parent eBay in 2015. During its first year as its own company, Paypal generated over $9.0 billion in revenue.
- Univar: Univar has been growing rapidly over the past year. After going public in mid-2015, the chemical distribution giant acquired rivals Arrow Chemical and Weaverton Environmental Group. According to Fortune, despite a dip in sales, the company generated $16.5 million in 2015.
- Veritiv: Newly-created company Vertiv had one amazing first year, with upwards of $9.0 billion in 2015. How did Veritiv come to be? Paper-products conglomerate International Paper Company decided last year to spin off its distribution business, xpedx, and merge it with Unisource Worldwide. The resulting company was Veritiv, a print, publishing, and packaging distributor powerhouse.
- XPO Logistics: Shipping and transportation provider XPO Logistics has had one whirlwind year. After completing a ridiculous amount of acquisitions of smaller logistics companies, including UX Specialized Logistics, Bridge Terminal Transportation, Con-Way Inc., and Norbert Dentressangle, in 2015, XPO's revenues soared almost 420% to $7.6 billion.
- Baxalta: Another company that's headed for even bigger growth is Baxalta, a biopharmaceutical company that develops treatments for rare diseases and conditions, such as hemophilia, Willebrand disease, and myeloid leukemia. The company was spun off from parent Baxter International in mid-2015. Since then, it's earned over $6 billion in revenue. It's planned $32 billion merger with Irish pharmaceutical company Shire is pending approval.
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The remaining Fortune 500 newcomers include medical manufacturer Zimmer Biomet Holdings, nursing and assisted living provider Genesis Healthcare, emergency healthcare provider Envision Healthcare Holdings, insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher, and specialty insurer Markel, as well as Raymond James Financial, ABM Industries, Citizens Financial Group, Lam Research, and Burlington Stores.
