What is a Fortune 500 company? The story behind the list
The Fortune 500 list is the ultimate measure of success for U.S. companies and Fortune’s flagship ranking. In a letter proposing the business magazine to advertisers in 1929, Time founder Henry Luce envisioned the publication as a way to “reflect Industrial Life in ink and paper and word and picture, as the finest skyscraper reflects it in stone and steel and architectural design.” Created over three decades after Fortune’s birth, the Fortune 500 was first a shot-in-the-dark idea by a journalist hoping to elucidate the world of business to a wider audience. The list is now the benchmark for companies around the world and a consistent metric with which to assess the country’s economic health. With the release of the 2026 Fortune 500 on Wednesday, here are the basics on Fortune’s flagship list. What is a Fortune 500 company? Simply put, the Fortune 500 is a list of the largest 500 U.S. companies, public and private, ranked based on revenue. Investors use the list to track the rise and fall of American companies and make conclusions about the country’s economic health, and companies use it as a way to assess its growth and competitive edge from year to year. For academics, industry professionals, and business leaders, the Fortune 500 is a way to learn which businesses and industries are rising. How do companies get on the Fortune 500? Not all companies are eligible for the Fortune 500. Those eligible include incorporated and operated in the U.S. which file financial statements with a government agency, such as publicly listed companies, and private companies that file with a government agency. Companies incorporated outside the U.S. are not eligible for the list, nor are private companies that don’t file through government agencies. For companies meeting this criteria, there’s a challenge to be eligible for the list. Every year, Fortune sets a revenue threshold for companies to meet to be considered for the list. In 2026, all listees had to have made at least $7.5 bill