The Fortune 500 list for 2016 has been released. The list details 500 companies that make up two-thirds of the United States’ gross domestic product. The companies posted $12 trillion in revenues and $840 billion in profits, according to Fortune. However, due to a volatile construction and oil year, how are engineering companies coping?
The top 10 on the Fortune 500 should give you a pretty good idea of where the top-paid engineers are working:
- Walmart
- Exxon Mobil
- Apple
- Berkshire Hathaway
- McKesson
- UnitedHealth Group
- CVS Health
- General Motors
- Ford Motor
- AT&T
Most notably, Exxon Mobil and Apple are very close to the top. Oil and gas and electronics seem to be ruling the roost right now. Also, those are two companies that are going to be spending money on renewable energy and the creation of new branches within their companies.
However, last year, engineering companies who have a keen focus on construction in the makeup of their companies went up on the Fortune 500 list in a successful 2015. The guys over at Construction Dive compiled a list of which engineering companies had made it to the Fortune 500 and stayed there over the years:
| Company name | Revenue | Profits | Number of employees | Rank of last year | Years on Fortune 500 list |
| Jacobs Engineering Group | $12.115 billion (down 4.6%) | $303 million (down by 7.7%) | 56,950 | 239 (up 4 spots) | 16 |
| Peter Kiewet Sons’ | $8.992 billion (down 12.4%) | $251 million (down 28.3%) | 22,000 | 286 (drop of 28 spots) | 17 |
| Quanta Services | $7.632 billion (down 2.8%) | $311 million (up 4.8%) | 24,500 | 361 (up 9 spots) | 4 |
| EMCOR Group | $6.723 billion (4.3%) | $172 million (up 2.1%) | 29,000 | 421 (up 40 spots) | 16 |
| CH2M Hill | $5.362 billion (down 1.0%) | $80 million (unchanged) | 22,000 | 480 (up 2 spots) | 8 |
The company that jumped up a staggering 40 spots was EMCOR Group. With sixteen years on the Fortune 500 list, the company improved their revenue and profits in 2015.
The company that gained the second most ground was Quanta Services, which went up 9 spots compared to the previous year. They are based in Houston, Texas and capitalize on the oil industries that are prevalent in the area. The shareholders said that the “drop in revenue” they experience was caused by the current demand for oil, which they could not control.
2016 should be an interesting year for these companies due to construction slow-downs on new orders. U.S. construction is posting its lowest numbers in five years. With construction and oil struggling to recover in 2016, we could see these companies post even lower results. However, ExxonMobil seems to be coping in the tougher industry, being second on the top ten list of Fortune 500. What is apparent is that companies like EMCOR and CH2M are very close to losing out on their Fortuen 500 status as engineering companies with focus on construction and engineering.
