Fifty-seven years ago, meatpacking giant Swift was the 15th largest public company in the world. Today that 15th spot is held by American health insurer UnitedHealth. Apple sits in the 12th position formerly held by Texaco, now part of Chevron. Amazon has taken Unilever’s #9 role. These facts tell the story of an aging but […]| Business History - The American Business History Center
Five years ago, we took a look at the biggest companies in the world. Today we update that look with a few tables, based on the data provided in the annual Fortune magazine Global 500 lists. You can see the shift from a US-centered (and to some degree European) economy to a more global economy. […]| Business History - The American Business History Center
On March 21, 2021, the Canadian Pacific Railroad announced that it was buying the Kansas City Southern Railroad for $25 billion. To understand the strategic and geographic implications of this very important business deal, we must first go back in time. The acquisition will reduce the number of big “class 1” North American railroads from […]| Business History - The American Business History Center
Today we publish the last of our series of four annual animated charts on the top American public companies, focused on the largest employers. This list may seem to change more gradually than our prior lists based on revenues, stock market valuations, and profits. Yet a look at the first frame of the animation, shown […] The post The Largest American Corporate Employers 1994-2024 appeared first on Business History - The American Business History Center.| Business History – The American Business History Center
Four years ago we published a history of the American railroad system, showing how mergers had reshaped the industry in the late 20th century and beyond. That article contains maps and illustrations that bring life to this story. At that time, we concluded our write-up on this note: Considering this history, it is almost hard […]| Business History - The American Business History Center
We wrote this five years ago, before the American Business History Center was founded, but we stand by our choices. For the last 52 years, I have been obsessed with understanding what makes a company great. What leads to success; what leads away. This led me to ruminate on which might be the greatest US […]| Business History - The American Business History Center
“Big pharma” and “biotech” are in the news these days. Politicians attack the industry and the price of drugs. At the same time, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and others hurry along to develop a COVID vaccine. These companies have been among the world’s most inventive, saving millions of lives with their products. Due to their […]| Business History - The American Business History Center
Originally Published on Hooversworld.com on May 22, 2018 Who would have guessed that a medium-sized retailer which never put its name on a store would evolve to become the 7th largest company in America, a place where millions of Americans shop every day? My first job after studying economics at the University of Chicago was […]| Business History - The American Business History Center
Lists of the largest American publicly-held retail companies in 1929, 1955, 1985, and 2015, with revenue and profit data.| Business History - The American Business History Center
The American Business History Center| Business History - The American Business History Center
In our last article, we presented a history and chart on the most valuable companies in America over the past three decades. In this issue, we take a look at another interesting measure, the twenty American companies that made the highest annual dollar profits in each year over the same time span, based on the […] The post Highest Profit American Companies: 1994-2024 appeared first on Business History - The American Business History Center.| Business History – The American Business History Center
In our last article, we presented a history and chart on the largest companies in America over the past three decades. In this issue, we take a look at another interesting measure, the twenty most valuable American companies over the same time span, based on the annual Fortune 500 list. In the paragraphs below, we […] The post Most Valuable American Companies over 30 Years: 1995-2025 appeared first on Business History - The American Business History Center.| Business History – The American Business History Center
In the paragraphs below, we take a visual tour of the evolution of the largest American companies over the past thirty years. We’ve posted updates of our annual charts of America’s biggest companies from the recently published Fortune 500. The first chart shows the 25 US public companies with the largest annual revenues (sales) from 1994 […]| Business History - The American Business History Center
Few subjects are more interesting than the evolution of innovations and new technologies. When a new idea catches fire, new enterprises enter the fray. Then there is a shakeout, with many of the early movers dying. Then there may be additional industry changes which result in yet another generation of industry leaders. This pattern can […]| Business History - The American Business History Center
Here we continue with our series of annual updates on America’s biggest companies from the recently published Fortune 500. This chart shows the 20 US public companies with the largest market capitalizations from 1995 through 2024. You can pause and move to any year between 1994 and 2023. (There is also a video with sound […]| Business History - The American Business History Center
Here we continue with our series of annual updates on America’s biggest companies. This chart shows the 20 biggest employers among US public companies from 1994 through 2023. You can pause and move to any year between 1994 and 2023. (There is also a video with sound on YouTube.) Studying the chart is an education […]| Business History - The American Business History Center
“Last week we brought you an unprecedented animated chart of the Fortune 500 list since 1994. Here we go back another 40 years, when steel companies and meatpackers were still giants. Taken together, you can learn a lot from 65 years of history.” Last week, we produced an animated chart of the Fortune 500 top […]| Business History - The American Business History Center
Here we continue with our series of annual updates on America’s biggest companies. This chart shows the 20 highest profit US public companies from 1994 through 2023. You can pause and move to any year between 1994 and 2023. (There is also a video with sound on YouTube.) embed code: Studying the chart is an […]| Business History - The American Business History Center
We’re delighted to present our annual update of our charts on the largest American companies, ranked by revenue, reflecting full year results for 2023. Here are two charts which you can pause and move to any year between 1994 and 2023. One chart is the top 25 companies, which can be seen on one screen; […]| Business History - The American Business History Center
This article was first published by Discourse Magazine. At its peak, the large urban department store was like a center of the American universe. From the late 19th century to about 1970, these stores were major tourist attractions, drew huge crowds, sat at the core of public transportation systems, offered fashion shows and community events, […]| Business History - The American Business History Center
This article first appeared in the Archbridge Institute’s American Originals Series. The most important principles of retailing are quite simple: No American has better understood these ideas and put them into practice than Sam Walton and, even after his passing, his company, Walmart. During the time it will take a typical reader to digest this story, Walmart will […]| Business History - The American Business History Center
