June 15, 2017 / Fortune Asia / Volume 175 / Number 8 / DOUBLE ISSUE / THE FORTUNE 500

SECTION

FEATURES

The Annual Fortune 500
By THE FORTUNE EDIT TEAM
America's biggest companies: the definitive list.
PAGE NO. 29

Starbucks' Ex-CEO Has Something Left to Prove
By BETH KOWITT
Longtime chief Howard Schultz has "stepped down" to become chairman. Now he's leading the effort to launch a higher-end coffee business. It may mean even more to him than it does to the company.
30

America: a Growth Industry
By LAURA ENTIS
with graphics by NICOLAS RAPP
For more than six decades, the Fortune 500 has tracked the trends driving and reshaping the U.S. economy. Here, a graphic examination of how it has changed.
39

Tesla Makes a U-Turn in China
By SCOTT CENDROWSKI
Two years ago, Tesla was stumbling in China. Today, its cars are everywhere— a sales phenomenon that has helped loft the company to its Fortune 500 debut. Here's how Tesla turned the corner.
48

A Bolt of Energy
By VALENTINA ZARYA
PG&E CEO Geisha Williams is a classic immigrant success story. Now, as head of California's largest utility, she's embracing a business rocked by powerful change.
PAGE NO. 56

Goldman Sachs Wants Its Mojo Back
By WILLIAM D. COHAN
The finance world's most ruthlessly efficient profit-maker has struggled in an era of tighter regulation. An inside look at how CEO Lloyd Blankfein plans to take Goldman to the top once more.
62

A Giant Enters a New Arena
By MICHAL LEV-RAM
Activision Blizzard built a videogame empire around bestselling titles like Call of Duty and Warcraft. Now it wants to become the Disney of competitive gaming. Will audiences play along?
72

Marriott Goes All In
By SHAWN TULLY
With last year's $13.6 billion purchase of Starwood, CEO Arne Sorenson has already built a hotel industry Goliath. Now he's embarking on a historic expansion and betting he can fend off a pesky upstart: Airbnb.
80

THE LISTS
F-1 The 500 Largest U.S. Corporations
F-23 The 500 Ranked Within Industries
F-31 Arrivals and Departures
F-32 Explanations and Notes
F-33 Company Performance
F-37 Index
89

DEPARTMENTS

FOREWORD
8 Rebel Territory
The Fortune 500 has always been a destination for radical thinkers, stargazing inventors, and slightly disheveled entrepreneurs.
By CLIFTON LEAF

BRIEFING
9 The Death of Retail Is Greatly Exaggerated
The industry took a dive on this year's Fortune 500 list, but its vitals are still strong.
By PHIL WAHBA

12 Get Ready for Fast Furniture
The consumer thirst for the latest trends remade the fashion business. Home goods are next.
By ERIN GRIFFITH

13 Tourists: China's New Political Weapon
When you cross Beijing, the danger isn't that the Chinese will pay you a visit. It's that they won't.
By CLAY DILLOW

14 Titans of Business Think Small
In this innovate-or-die era, the Fortune 500 turn to startups for inspiration.
By VALENTINA ZARYA

15 Watch Out, Nike, the Germans Are Coming
Lately shoe giants Adidas and Puma have been running laps around the sportswear competition.
By JOHN KELL

FOCUS

TECH
16 Flash Forward
As Adobe arrives on the Fortune 500 for the first time, the software maker's CEO shares how the cloud led it to a sunnier future.
By JONATHAN VANIAN

17 Storm Chasers
Ahead of 2017's Fortune Brainstorm Tech in Aspen, here's a look at some of the luminaries who have graced its stage over the years.
By ANDREW NUSCA

INFRASTRUCTURE
18 Turning Waste Into Gold (or Copper)
DC Water needs costly infrastructure—pipes, especially—and the utility is finding creative, entrepreneurial ways to pay for it.
By JENNIFER ALSEVER

INVEST
20 Defending Your Portfolio
Policy is hard to predict under President Trump, but defense spending seems certain to grow. These Fortune 500 stocks should help investors feel safer.
By JEN WIECZNER

PASSIONS
24 The Original Hospitality Disrupter
Ian Schrager, the father of the boutique hotel, has strong words for his industry peers on their battle with Airbnb. They should probably listen.
Interview by LEIGH GALLAGHER

26 On the Grand Lake
The head concierge of Lausanne's Beau-Rivage Palace hotel has the perfect recommendations for your time in Switzerland's picturesque city.
By ADAM ERACE

FORUM
27 You'll Laugh! Cry! (Maybe Buy.)
A revolution is underway in retail as the industry realizes that the primary role of a brick-and-mortar store may not be sales.
By ERIN GRIFFITH

BACK PAGE
LAST BYTE
128 CEO Soothsayers
Fortune 500 CEOs are optimistic about the global economy—but bracing for technological change.
By ALAN MURRAY

COVER ILLUSTRATION BY FORGE & MORROW

[BOX]

"Building a hotel for millennials is the most stupid idea I've ever heard in my life."

—IAN SCHRAGER

[IMAGES]

ADAM DEAN—PANOS PICTURES

IAN SCHRAGER: ILYA S. SAVENOK—GETTY IMAGES

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