Tom Webb, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn. –
Most of Minnesota’s corporate giants have slid a few notches in the latest Fortune 500 ranking, released Monday, May 7.
Of the 19 Minnesota-based corporations on the new list, 13 have moved down in the rankings since last year. One was unchanged: the state’s largest, UnitedHealth Group. Five companies moved up the rankings.
Still, Minnesota remains a corporate powerhouse, home to 19 large corporations on the list. Only nine states boast more: California (53), Texas (52), New York (50), Illinois (32), Ohio (28), Virginia (24), Pennsylvania (23), New Jersey (21) and Michigan (20).
The Fortune 500 rankings are based on annual revenue, which especially last year helped raise the rankings of companies that produce commodities like oil, grain or metals.
Grain-and-oil giant CHS Inc., based in Inver Grove Heights, rose 25 notches now stands at No. 78. CHS ranks as the nation’s largest cooperative, and it’s owned by its farmer-members.
Plymouth-based ertilizer maker Mosaic jumped 78 spots in the new ranking, as the Cargill spin-off now stands at No. 268.
But most Minnesota corporations moved down the list, even though the majority also reporter higher revenue.
Minneapolis-based discount giant Target Corp. moved five notches lower, to No. 38, even though its revenue grew by $2.5 billion over the past year.
Electronics retailer Best Buy, based in Richfield, dropped six notches, to No. 53, despite slightly higher revenue.
One company is missing from
Minnesota’s corporate lineup: defense contractor Alliant Techsystems, which relocated its corporate headquarters to northern Virginia to be closer to the Pentagon.
Here are the Minnesota companies, their ranking on the 2012 Fortune 500 list, and their annual revenue.
— 22. UnitedHealth Group, $102 billion
— 38. Target, $70 billion
— 53. Best Buy, $50 billion
— 75. Supervalu, $37 billion
— 78. CHS, $37 billion
— 102. 3M, $30 billion
— 132. U.S. Bancorp, $21 billion
— 164. Medtronic, $16 billion
— 181. General Mills, $15 billion
— 210. Land O’Lakes, $13 billion
— 246. Xcel Energy, $11 billion
— 248. Ameriprise Financial, $11 billion
— 259. C.H. Robinson, $10 billion
— 268. Mosaic, $10 billion
— 327. Hormel Foods, $8 billion
— 332. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, $8 billion
— 365. Ecolab, $7 billion
— 437. St. Jude Medical, $6 billion
— 498. Nash Finch, $5 billion.
To see the Minnesota companies on the list:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2012/states/MN.html
