DFW has new No. 1 on Fortune 500

McKesson now claims top spot in North Texas after Exxon's move to Houston area

DALLAS — Read this story and more North Texas business news from our partners at the Dallas Business Journal

Dallas-Fort Worth has 21 companies on the latest Fortune 500, published June 4. That was down slightly from last year, when the list featured 24 companies from the region, and there were several notable changes to the ranking.
The highest-ranked DFW company on the list is now No. 9 McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK), based on 2023 revenue of $276.7 billion, after No. 7 Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) last summer completed its move to the Houston area from North Texas. McKesson, a pharmaceutical distribution and health care services and supplies company, moved to North Texas from California in 2019.

The change might elicit a shrug from readers, since the Exxon move has been widely covered. But it speaks to the hole left by the relocation. Exxon is a Fortune 500 stalwart: it's one of only 49 companies that have made the list every year since its debut in 1955.

The biggest gainers on the list for North Texas were Fluor (NYSE: FLR), which jumped 38 spots from the prior year's ranking to No. 265, and Yum China Holdings Inc. (NYSE: YUMC), which climbed 37 spots to No. 368. Irving-based Fluor is a major engineering and construction company while Plano-based Yum China owns and operates fast food chains including KFC and Pizza Hut in the world's second most populous country.

The biggest DFW dropper on the Fortune 500 was No. 240 Builders FirstSource (NYSE: BLDR), which slipped 68 spots from a year earlier. The Irving-based company reported a nearly 25% drop in revenue last year. CEO Dave Rush described "a challenging operating environment in 2023," with "a significant reduction in single-family starts."

There were 47 DFW companies on the expanded Fortune 1000. The average year-over-year increase in revenue among those 47 companies was 4.2% while the average change in profit was 6.9%.

Fortune’s lists rank companies that are incorporated in the U.S., operate in the U.S. and file financial statements with a government agency, which can include more than standard publicly traded companies. Companies are ranked by total revenue for their respective fiscal years, but Fortune also lists profits, assets, market value, number of employees and more.