Fortune 500 Companies

264 Fortune 500 Companies Represented in Charlotte

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A major indicator of a city’s economic strength and stability is the presence of Fortune 500 operations. The Fortune 500 list is compiled each year by Fortune magazine by ranking the annual revenues of large national and multinational corporations headquartered in the United States. Revenue does not have a direct relationship with profits or market value, but the list is a quantitative symbol of the scope, power and size of a particular company.  Because Fortune does not include companies that do not file financial statements with government agencies or companies incorporated outside of the U.S., large corporations like National Gypsum Company, Hendrick Automotive Group, Carolinas HealthCare System and Compass Group are excluded from the list. 

The companies on the Fortune 500 list represent an array of industries. They are also structurally diverse, ranging from partnerships and alliances to multiple business entities. It is no surprise that metro areas find it attractive to recruit these companies’ headquarters due to the potential capital and labor investment and the extent of secondary investment. These headquarters also give global recognition to the city as a major center of business activity and contribute greatly to corporate giving for arts, education and cultural amenities in an area.  

*Lowe’s and Domtar are located outside of Mecklenburg County but in the Charlotte region, so they are not included in the headquarters ranking. The ranking does include Family Dollar in Matthews, N.C., which is in Mecklenburg County.

Six of the 500 companies are headquartered in Mecklenburg County.  This ranks Charlotte eighth nationally in number of Fortune 500 companies headquartered within the county. These headquarters represent more than $171.5 billion in revenue for 2011. Lowe’s, which is headquartered in nearby Mooresville, and Domtar, which is in Fort Mill, S.C., increase the Charlotte area headquarters’ revenue to $227.3 billion. More importantly, 264 of the Fortune 500 companies have made a commitment to the city by placing one or more of their facilities within the county.  This report lists a key representative of each of the Fortune companies that have a facility in Mecklenburg County.  

* Domtar is located in York County, S.C.  **Lowe’s is located in Iredell County. ***In 2012, Duke Energy merged with Progress Energy. The resulting increase in revenue and thus industry rank is not reflected in the 2011 Fortune 500 list.

The research for this detailed report was conducted by referencing the 2011 Fortune 500 list to Hoover’s, Inc. The database lists all major affiliates of public companies headquartered in the United States. Affiliates were then cross-referenced to the local telephone book and on-line directories to produce a list of Fortune 500 affiliates that are located in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. The goal of this report is not to link all Fortune 500 companies in the area to their parent; it is to identify a major holding of the parent in the Charlotte market to ensure its presence. Thus, all of the Fortune 500 affiliates that do business in Charlotte may not be listed in this report. Only those companies with major affiliates clearly identified by a physical office or location within the Charlotte area are included. One major office for each identified Fortune 500 company is listed with an address and phone number. Any additional subsidiaries are listed by name and can be referenced to the local phone directory for further contact information.