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Oct 17, 2023

14 CT companies make Fortune 500 list of largest corporations

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Health care company The Cigna Group, which is headquartered in Bloomfield, Conn., ranked No. 15 in the 2023 Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations. It is the highest-ranked Connecticut-headquartered company in this year's Fortune 500.

Charter Communications' then-chairman and CEO, Tom Rutledge, speaks at the podium, between Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, during an event at the Spectrum services provider's headquarters at 400 Washington Blvd., in downtown Stamford, Conn., on June 6, 2022. Charter ranked No. 79 in the 2023 Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations.

Deepak Mishra, president of the Americas region for tobacco maker Philip Morris International, speaks at the company's headquarters building, at 677 Washington Blvd., in downtown Stamford, Conn., on Nov. 8, 2021. PMI ranked No. 128 in the 2023 Fortune 500.

Insurer The Hartford's headquarters building at One Hartford Plaza, center, is seen from Bushnell Park in downtown Hartford, Conn. The Hartford ranked No. 174 in the 2023 Fortune 500.

Toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker is headquartered at 1000 Stanley Drive in New Britain, Conn. The company ranked No. 227 in the 2023 Fortune 500.

Synchrony officials and elected officials cut the ribbon for Synchrony's skills academy at Synchrony's headquarters at 777 Long Ridge Road in Stamford, Conn., on April 25, 2022. Synchrony, the largest private-label credit card provider in the U.S., ranked No. 235 in the 2023 Fortune 500.

The RiverPark office building at 800 Connecticut Ave., in Norwalk, Conn., where travel-services company Booking Holdings is headquartered. The company ranked No. 243 in the 2023 Fortune 500.

Test engineering manager Russ Gottlieb speaks in front of a working Otis SkyMotion 400 elevator motor during a tour inside Otis Worldwide's elevator test tower, in Bristol, Conn., on Aug. 22, 2022. The company, which is headquartered in Farmington, Conn., ranked No. 306 in the 2023 Fortune 500.

Electronics manufacturer Amphenol is headquartered at 358 Hall Ave., in Wallingford, Conn. The company ranked No. 326 in the 2023 Fortune 500.

United Rentals, the world's largest equipment-rentals company, runs this depot at 224 Selleck St., in Stamford, Conn., a few blocks from its headquarters at First Stamford Place. The company ranked No. 355 in the 2023 Fortune 500 list.

Insurer W.R. Berkley is headquartered at 475 Steamboat Road in Greenwich, Conn. It ranked No. 367 in the 2023 Fortune 500.

Construction and building services firm Emcor Group is headquartered at 301 Merritt 7 in Norwalk, Conn. The company ranked No. 369 in the 2023 Fortune 500.

Greenwich-headquartered warehouse operator GXO Logistics ranked No. 423 in the 2023 Fortune 500. It was created through its spinoff in 2021 from Greenwich-headquartered XPO Logistics, which ranked No. 478 in this year's Fortune 500.

Freight transporter XPO, which is headquartered in Greenwich, Conn., ranked No. 478 in the 2023 Fortune 500. In 2021, it spun off another Fortune 500 firm, warehouse operator GXO Logistics, which ranked No. 423 in this year's list and headquartered on the same street in Greenwich.

Connecticut was again well-represented in one of the leading trackers of big businesses, as 14 companies headquartered in the state ranked in the 2023 Fortune 500 list of the largest corporations in the U.S., that was released Monday.

The state's contingent of companies in this year's Fortune 500 compared with a total of 15 firms last year. Tobacco company Philip Morris International, which relocated its headquarters from Manhattan to Stamford, comprised Connecticut's sole newcomer this year. At the same time, two longtime Fortune 500 members, workplace-technology provider Xerox and telecommunications provider Frontier Communications, both headquartered in Norwalk, placed outside this year's top 500.

The 14 Connecticut-headquartered companies account for nearly 3 percent of this year's Fortune 500. In comparison, Connecticut comprises about 1 percent of the U.S. population. As the headquarters of 55 Fortune 500 firms, Texas held its position as home to the most Fortune 500 members for a second year. California was No. 2, with 53 companies, overtaking New York, which was No. 3, with 50 companies.

Companies were ranked by their revenues in the 2022 fiscal year — with a threshold of $7.2 billion, up 13 percent from last year. Bloomfield-based health care company Cigna again ranked highest among Connecticut companies, placing at No. 15, with revenues of about $180 billion.

Walmart ranked No. 1 for the 11th-straight year. At No. 2 was Amazon.com, followed by Exxon Mobil, Apple, UnitedHealth Group, CVS Health, Berkshire Hathaway, Alphabet, McKesson and Chevron.

In total, this year's Fortune 500 companies represent two-thirds of the U.S. gross domestic product, with about $18 trillion in revenues. Their profits decreased, however, by 15 percent overall, dropping for the second time in the past three years.

In her foreword to the June-July 2023 issue of Fortune, Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell wrote, "There are signs of progress — slow, but real— in this year's Fortune 500. Fifty-two women run companies on the list, up from 44 at this time last year, meaning more than 10 percent of the nation's biggest businesses are run by the 'opposite sex' for the first time ever. […] There are also more Black CEOs running Fortune 500s than ever before — but it's shameful to say that there are still only eight."

Here is a rundown of the Connecticut-headquartered companies in the 2023 Fortune 500:

No. 15: The Cigna Group, Bloomfield, $180.5 billion (Fortune 500 ranking; company; headquarters location; 2022 revenues, to the nearest hundred million)

Cigna perennially ranks highest among Connecticut-headquartered companies in the Fortune 500. As one of the world's largest health care-focused companies, with its services including health insurance and pharmacy-benefit management, it counted about 190 million customers at the end of 2022. Its annual revenues grew up about 4 percent last year, while it recorded a nearly $7 billion profit.

"Cigna has been working to expand ‘value-based’ care models, which are designed to emphasize primary care and preventive medicine," according to a profile page for the company on Fortune's website. "To strengthen such care, Cigna entered into a strategic partnership with Walgreens-owned primary care provider VillageMD. Evernorth, Cigna's service-provider arm, which also oversees the new VillageMD investment, has brought the company growth over recent years, and focuses on value-based care."

The company operates with more than 70,000 employees worldwide, including several thousand based in Connecticut. The company is led by CEO David Cordani, who has served in the position since 2009 and worked at the company since 1991. Last year, Cordani was awarded nearly $21 million in compensation.

No. 79: Charter Communications, Stamford, $54 billion

Last year marked the end of an era at Charter, the provider of Spectrum-branded cable, internet and phone services, with the retirement of CEO Tom Rutledge, who had served in the position since 2012. He was succeeded by another longtime Charter executive, Chris Winfrey. Under Rutledge's leadership, Charter's annual revenues grew more than 600 percent, while its customer base increased about 500 percent through its 2016 merger with Time Warner Cable, the acquisitions of Bright House Networks and Optimum West, as well as through ongoing "organic" growth. Today, the company serves about 32 million residential and business customers.

Charter is headquartered in downtown Stamford, in a two-building complex covering more than 900,000 square feet, that has been built during the past few years. The headquarters accommodates more than 1,800 Stamford-based employees.

No. 128: Philip Morris International, Stamford, $31.8 billion

Tobacco producer Philip Morris International — which ships hundreds of billions of cigarettes outside the U.S. each year, under brands such as Marlboro — became one of Connecticut's largest-ever corporate arrivals with the opening last November of its new headquarters in downtown Stamford. Today, the company has about 130 employees based in Stamford, and it aims to increase the total to 200 by the end of this year.

Shortly before opening the Stamford offices, PMI announced it would pay $2.7 billion to regain the U.S. commercialization rights for its IQOS heated-tobacco products. The agreement with Altria Group, which includes an upfront payment of $1 billion and takes effect in April 2024, reflects the increasing importance of smoke-free products in PMI's portfolio. Smoke-free products accounted for approximately 35 percent of PMI's 2023 first-quarter net revenues, and the company is aiming to generate more than 50 percent of net revenues from smoke-free business by the end of 2025.

No. 178: Hartford Financial Services Group (The Hartford), Hartford, $22.4 billion

The Hartford announced last year that it aimed to achieve by 2050 "net zero" greenhouse gas emissions across its businesses and operations including underwriting, insurance and investments. While the property-and-casualty insurer cites this pledge as a sign of its commitment to tackling climate change, some environmental activists want the company to take even stronger action.

Among other initiatives, The Hartford announced last year that it was extending a partnership with Yale School of Medicine that provides training on addiction, pain management and stigma to medical providers who treat injured workers.

No. 227: Stanley Black & Decker, New Britain, $18 billion

Last year ushered in significant changes at toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker. Donald Allan Jr., a longtime company executive, took over as CEO from Jim Loree, who had served in the top position since 2016.

Shortly after Allan's promotion, the company announced the launch of a "global cost reduction program," which aims to save $2 billion by 2025. The undertaking includes job cuts, but the company has declined to specify how many, if any, Connecticut-based positions will be affected.

No. 235: Synchrony, Stamford, $17.5 billion

High inflation exerted significant pressure on consumer spending in 2022 — but the country's largest provider of store-brand and private-label credit cards still saw robust activity. Revenues increased about 10 percent year over year. Its average of 68.4 million active customer accounts in the fourth quarter of last year compared with 69.4 million in the same period in 2021.

The company showed its commitment to its home state by opening a skills academy for students and workers at its headquarters in Stamford. The new hub comprises an important component of Education as an Equalizer, an approximately $50 million initiative funded by the company and its foundation to support higher education, workforce training and financial literacy for its workforce and underserved communities.

No. 243: Booking Holdings, Norwalk, $17.1 billion

For the second-straight year, the travel-services provider made the largest year-over-year jump among Connecticut-headquartered companies in the Fortune 500. It leaped 97 positions from its 2022 ranking. It was again boosted by the comeback in tourism and business travel, after being acutely affected in 2020 during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

No. 306: Otis Worldwide, Farmington, $13.7 billion

The manufacturer and servicer of elevators, escalators and moving walkways made its third appearance in the Fortune 500, following its 2020 spin-off from United Technologies Corp.

CEO Judy Marks is one of an all-time high of 52 women to currently serve as CEO of a Fortune 500 company and the only woman to currently lead a Connecticut-headquartered Fortune 500 firm.

No. 326: Amphenol, Wallingford, $12.6 billion

In contrast with several deals made in the previous year, electronics manufacturer Amphenol did not announce any sales or acquisitions in 2022. It kept growing, however, as its annual sales increased 16 percent from 2021.

No. 355: United Rentals, Stamford, $11.6 billion

United Rentals, the world's largest equipment-rental company, has a long history of acquisitions — and it built on that tradition with the announcement last November that it would acquire for $2 billion another large company in its industry, Ahern Rentals.

At the beginning of 2022, United re-committed to its home city by announcing a new headquarters lease, running through 2030, at the First Stamford Place complex.

No. 367: W.R. Berkley, Greenwich, $11.2 billion

Among new undertakings last year, property-and-casualty insurer W.R. Berkley announced the formation of Berkley Construction Solutions, to provide excess liability insurance for contractors throughout the construction industry. It also announced the creation of Berkley Enterprise Risk Solutions, which focuses on providing workers’ compensation insurance to large businesses headquartered in California.

No. 369: Emcor Group, Norwalk, $11.1 billion

Emcor, a provider of construction, infrastructure and building services, announced last year the acquisition of Gaston Electrical Co., an electrical construction contractor headquartered in Norwood, Mass. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

No. 423: GXO Logistics, Greenwich, $9 billion

Spun off from fellow Fortune 500 firm XPO in 2021, GXO has grown significantly since then as it has solidified its position as one of the world's largest logistics companies. Highlighting its growth, it acquired last year the Leeds, England-based Clipper Logistics for about $1.1 billion.

GXO describes itself as the "largest pure play logistics operator," and it employs about 130,000 people across nearly 1,000 locations worldwide. Its operations include two facilities in its home state, in Windsor and North Haven.

The company is headquartered at 2 American Lane, on the same street as XPO's headquarters, in Greenwich's northwest corner.

No. 478: XPO, Greenwich, $7.7 billion

XPO has undergone sweeping changes in the past couple of years. Its transformation started in 2021, with the spin-off of GXO. Last November, it completed the spin-off of its truck-brokerage business, which is now known as RXO and headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. XPO officials have said that they believe the company will be more effective as a "pure-play" specialist in less-than-truckload shipping, which allows multiple customers to ship goods in the same truck. In March 2022, XPO sold its intermodal shipping business for $710 million.