Fortune 500: Amazon Takes 1st Place, Texas Has Most Companies
In the latest Fortune 500 ranking, Texas tops with 57 companies, beating California's 56. Amazon surpasses Walmart with $716.9B revenue to take first place after 13 years.
According to a Slashdot report, in the latest Fortune 500 ranking, Texas surpassed California to have the most headquarters of any U.S. state. Additionally, Amazon dethroned Walmart, ending its 13-year streak as the top company.
The Fortune 500 ranks U.S. companies by revenue. In the 2026 edition, 57 of the top companies are headquartered in Texas, edging out California’s 56. Two years ago, California held the most, but this time a reversal has occurred.
Ranking Overview
Amazon’s 2025 revenue was $716.9 billion, surpassing Walmart’s $713.2 billion to take the No. 1 spot on the Fortune 500. This is the first time Amazon has topped the list, and only four companies—Exxon Mobil, General Motors, Walmart, and Amazon—have ever held the number one position since Fortune began publishing the ranking in 1955.
Texas leads with 57 companies, but California is close behind with 56. In 2024, California was first with 57, while Texas and New York tied for second with 52 each; this year the order has flipped. Fourth place is a tie between Illinois and Ohio, each with 29 companies.
Texas Takes the Lead; California’s Strength
Corporate relocations are driving Texas’s rise in the ranking. Companies have been moving to Texas to escape California’s high costs, income taxes, and strict regulations.
However, Fortune’s news release notes that California “dominates by nearly every other metric.” Fortune 500 companies headquartered in California have a combined profit of $647 billion, a market capitalization of $20 trillion, and 2.8 million employees—all the highest in the nation.
Geographic Concentration of Tech Industry
Notably, California leads the world in technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI) and space/defense technology. According to CB Insights data, California has about 400 unicorns (startups valued at over $1 billion), the most in the U.S. Crunchbase data shows that California received roughly two-thirds of U.S. venture capital investment last year, with San Francisco Bay Area startups (such as OpenAI) at the center.
In other words, while Texas has taken the lead in terms of company headquarters location, California’s dominance in technology investment and innovation remains unchallenged. This shows that headquarters relocation and the function of an innovation hub do not necessarily align.
Editorial Viewpoint
Short-term impact: This ranking vividly illustrates the accelerating trend of corporate relocations. In particular, AI and cloud-related technology companies tend to prioritize access to top talent and regulatory environments, so moves to states with advantageous tax systems like Texas and Florida are likely to continue. However, headquarters locations are often separate from R&D centers, and California’s technological edge is unlikely to erode immediately.
Long-term perspective: The key point is that Amazon overtook Walmart for the top spot. A technology company centered on e-commerce and cloud computing (AWS) surpassing a traditional retail giant in revenue marks a turning point in the economic structure. Over the next 5–10 years, AI, semiconductor, and space-related companies are likely to appear even more prominently in the upper ranks of the Fortune 500. For Japanese companies as well, this trend offers valuable insights for reviewing business portfolios and formulating global expansion strategies.
Question from the editors: How will changes in company headquarters affect corporate culture and talent acquisition strategies? Also, what are the pros and cons for Japanese technology companies of keeping their headquarters in Tokyo in order to survive global competition? We encourage readers to use this as an opportunity to rethink their own location strategies.
References
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the Fortune 500?
- It is a list of major U.S. companies ranked by annual revenue. Published by Fortune magazine since 1955, it is considered a key indicator of the U.S. economy's trends.
- Why did Texas surpass California?
- Corporate headquarters relocations are the main factor. Many companies have moved their headquarters to Texas to avoid California's high costs, income taxes, and strict regulations. However, California still leads in profitability and market capitalization.
- What is the significance of Amazon taking the top spot?
- Amazon, founded in the 1990s as a relatively new company, grew on the back of e-commerce and cloud computing (AWS). Beating the traditional retail giant Walmart in revenue is a symbolic event signifying a shift toward a technology-driven economy.
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