The Fortune Global 500 Shows China's Economic Growth And Apple's Momentum

Stephanie Mehta, Fortune Magazine's deputy managing editor, briefly stopped by CNBC's Squawk Box to discuss the release of the Fortune Global 500 list of businesses. "Well, the number one company once again for the second year in a row is Royal Dutch Shell RDS. No surprises there. The big surprises are once again China is adding more and more companies to the Global 500. They got 89 companies on the list right now. That's up 16 from last year," said Mehta. According to Mehta, the flux in the success of Chinese businesses started over the last decade. She noted that three out of the top ten companies on the list are from China. "The list is a snapshot that really reflects the changes in the Chinese economy. Not only the domestic Chinese economy, but increasingly as China goes out in the world, you're see many more of their companies derive revenue from sources outside of the domestic economy," said Mehta. Mehta also mentioned that Apple AAPL leaped up 36 spots on the list. Related: iPhone Lite Image Leak Highlights Apple's Colorful Side (AAPL) "Apple has soared. They went from 55 to the number 19 position, and they're punching way above their weight in terms of profitability," said Mehta. Mehta made sure to include that the Global 500 is a ranking of companies by revenues, and and not by profitability. She said that while Apple is the 19th biggest company by revenue globally, it's number two in profitability. Out the top six, four of the companies on the Global 500 are in the oil business.