"Once a year, Fortune releases its ranking of the top 500 global companies, and in recent years Apple has usually managed to nab a spot. This year, it rose to almost exactly the middle of the field at 253, up from 337 last year."
This is a global list, thus the name, and ranks companies based on revenue. Over the last two years Apple has moved up from 492 in 2006, when they first appeared on the list, to number 253 for 2008. Apple had a 38% increase in profits during the same time frame, and was one of three computer manufacturers that actually posted gains from the list (Quanta and HP were the other two). They would rank higher if they based the list on profits but they only take into account total revenue. Apple was ranked 71 on the top 100 list Fortune posted in April, which is comprised of only American companies.
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