Which Fortune 500 Companies are the Most Productive?

The Fortune 500 is a ranking of the biggest U.S. companies based on their annual revenue figures.

But which of these companies is the most productive? 

One metric we can use to measure productivity is profit per employee. Dividing a company’s profits by the number of full-time employees gives an indication of how efficiently (or otherwise) that company is utilizing their workforce. As such, high profit per employee figures typically indicate efficient resource management and high levels of productivity, in addition to financial success. 

Using profit per employee as a metric, we’ve taken a deep dive into the current and historical performance of the 2024 Fortune 500 companies in order to reveal which are the most and least productive. 

2024 Profit per Employee Performance

In this section we’ll explore the 2024 profit per employee performance for the top 20 Fortune 500 companies; and reveal the top 20 strongest and weakest performers.

Profit per Employee for the Top 20 Fortune 500 Companies

The Fortune 500 rankings are calculated based on revenue, not profit (i.e. the companies with the highest total revenue are ranked highest on the list), so we see huge variances in profit per employee here.

Walmart and Amazon, for example, both lean heavily on larger, lower-skilled labor pools, which caps profit per employee at $7,386 and $19,951 respectively. Meanwhile, tech companies like Apple, Alphabet (Google’s parent company), and Microsoft employ a comparatively smaller number of more highly skilled teams that drive much higher profits per employee. In a similar vein, we also see strong profit per employee performance from Petroleum companies Exxon Mobil, and Chevron.

The Most Productive Fortune 500 Companies (ranked by Profit per Employee)

Here we’ve ranked the Fortune 500 by 2024 profit per employee – and notably, none of the top 20 Fortune 500 companies make it into this list.

Liquefied natural gas company, Cheniere Energy leads the pack here, delivering a profit per employee of $6,156,386; more than double that of Diamondback Energy. The energy giants dominate here – taking the top 5 spots, and 13 places on this list overall.

Financial firms Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac sit in 6th and 9th place respectively; and the only tech company to make this list is Nvidia (in 15th place), which closed out a record-breaking year thanks to a wave of demand from the likes of Microsoft, Meta, Google, and Amazon for its artificial intelligence chips.

The Least Productive Fortune 500 Companies (ranked by Profit per Employee)

Here we’ve ranked the poorest-performing Fortune 500 companies by profit per employee. 

All of the companies here made a loss in 2024. Telecommunications company, Lumen Technologies took a huge hit, and saw a loss of $367,786 per employee; natural gas distribution company, UGI saw a loss of $143,048 per employee, and semiconductor manufacturer, Micron Technology saw a loss of $135,651 per employee.

You’ll also notice Insurance companies feature heavily here – 8 of the 20 poorest performing companies are from this sector.

Year-on-year Profit per Employee Comparisons

Here we’ll compare year-on-year profit per employee figures for the Fortune 500 companies in order to reveal the biggest winners and losers based on both percentage changes and $ amounts.

The Fortune 500 Companies with the Biggest Percentage Increase in Profit per Employee

First up we’ve looked at the Fortune 500 companies with the biggest percentage increase in profit per employee from 2023 to 2024.

General Electric lead the pack with close to a 5,700% increase in earnings per employee, followed by software company, Salesforce with a 2072% increase. A number of companies bounced back from 2023 losses – Kohl’s, Coupang, Amazon, Constellation Energy, Markel Group, Molson Coors Beverage, KKR, Berkshire Hathaway, and Baker Hughes. 

The Fortune 500 Companies with the Biggest $ Increase in Profit per Employee

Percentage increases often sound impressive, but what about $ amounts? Here we’re ranked the Fortune 500 by year-on-year $ increases in profit per employee.

Cheniere Energy takes the top spot here – in addition to delivering the highest profit per employee in the Fortune 500, it also delivered the highest year-on-year increase in per employee.

Asset management companies, Apollo Global Management, and KKR sit in second and third place respectively; and tech company, Nvidia sits in fourth. Online companies Airbnb, Uber, eBay and Meta also performed strongly year-on-year.

The Fortune 500 Companies with the Biggest Percentage Decrease in Profit per Employee

We’ve seen the winners, but what about the losers? Here we’ve revealed which of the Fortune 500 companies suffered the largest percentage decreases in profit per employee year-on-year:

Flooring manufacturer, Mohawk Industries, saw its profit per employee drop by 1747% between 2023 and 2024; followed by Auto-Owners Insurance with a drop of 1523%, and telecommunications company, Lumen Technologies with a drop of 589%. 

The Fortune 500 Companies with the Biggest $ Decrease in Profit per Employee

As before, % decreases in profit per employee tell one story, but what about $ amounts? Here, we’ve ranked the Fortune 500 companies with the biggest $ decreases in profit per employee year-on-year.

What’s interesting here is the cross-over between the most productive Fortune 500 Companies (ranked by profit per employee), and those with the biggest year-on-year $ decreases. Ten of the companies feature on both lists (Expand Energy, Pioneer Natural Resources, Diamondback Energy, Devon Energy, Ovintiv, ConocoPhillips, Continental Resources, Hess, APA, and Valero Energy). Whilst many of these energy and petroleum companies are still able to deliver high profit per employee figures, year-on-year they are facing increasing pressure. 

Headcount Changes & Profit per Employee

Whilst headcount isn’t the only factor which can impact profit per employee (market forces, legislation, consumer demand, (and more!), will of course also impact the overall profitability of a company); here we’ve looked at how changes in labor force sizes correspond to changes in profit per employee performance across the Fortune 500.

The Fortune 500 Companies that saw the Biggest Increase in Profit per Employee After Downsizing their Workforce

First up, we’ve ranked the Fortune 500 companies that saw the biggest increases in profit per employee after downsizing their workforce. 

What’s notable here is the range of headcount changes – some companies like General Electric downsized heavily (decreasing headcount by 27.3%) and saw an increase in profit per employee of 5698%; whereas others like Kohl’s, Amazon, Molson Coors Beverage, Vistra, and Assurant made far more modest cuts; and yet still saw strong gains in profit per employee. 

The Fortune 500 Companies that saw the Biggest Decrease in Profit per Employee After Downsizing their Workforce

Now we’re going to look at the Fortune 500 companies that saw the biggest decrease in profit per employee after downsizing. 

Here we see a similar spread in terms of headcount changes – some companies like Icahn Enterprises downsized heavily, while others like Lumen Technologies made more modest cuts. However, all saw significant decreases in year-on-year profit per employee figures.

The Fortune 500 Companies that saw the Biggest Decrease in Profit per Employee After Growing their Workforce

Here we’ve ranked the Fortune 500 companies that grew their workforce, but experienced significant decreases in profit per employee.  

Notable here is mining company Newmont which grew its workforce by 48.6%, but saw a year-on-year decrease in profit per employee of 291%, and NRG Energy which grew its workforce by 174.6%, but saw a year-on-year decrease in profit per employee of 106%.

The Fortune 500 Companies that saw the Biggest Increase in Profit per Employee After Growing their Workforce

Finally we’ve ranked the Fortune 500 companies that grew their workforce, and experienced significant increases in profit per employee.  

Topping the table are global tech company, Coupang which grew its workforce by 23.8% and saw a 1294% increase in profit per employee. In a similar vein, Nvidia also performed well with profit per employee strongly outpacing their growth in headcount. Also notable is asset management company Apollo Global Management, which increased headcount by 61% (the biggest by some margin in the top 20) and saw a 198% increase in year-on-year profit per employee. 

Sector-specific Performance

Here we’ll compare the performance of the major players across tech, automotive, entertainment, and retail. 

Magnificent Seven 

The term “Magnificent 7” was coined by Bank of America analyst Michael Hartnett in 2023 and refers to the seven dominant tech companies: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Nvidia, and Tesla. 

First we’ll look at 2024 profit per employee, plus year-on-year % change, $ change, and headcount.  

Nvidia stands out clear from the pack with a profit per employee of $1,005,405 and strong year-on-year performance. Apple sits in second, with a slight decrease in performance year-on-year, followed by Meta Platforms in third place.

Magnificent Seven - Historical Profit per Employee Performance

Here we’ve charted profit per employee for each of these companies over a four year period.  

Nvidia has shown remarkable growth, out-pacing Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Apple. In terms of profit per employee, 2023 was a poor year for Meta Platforms, Alphabet, and Amazon, but all three of these companies performed more strongly in 2024.  

Automotive

Here’s how the Fortune 500 automotive companies performed in 2024: 

Paccar tops the table followed by Tesla, and General Motors. Ford Motor stands out with a 315% increase in profit per employee year-on-year, as they returned to profitability after a loss-making 2023. In contrast, BorgWarner, Thor Industries, and Goodyear Tire & Rubber all saw decreased year-on-year profit per employee. Goodyear in particular had a poor 2024, posting a loss on the year.

Automotive - Historical Profit per Employee Performance

Here we’ve charted profit per employee for each of these companies over a four year period.  

Both Paccar and Tesla have shown consistent growth in profit per employee year-on-year – Paccar has gone from $49,938 in 2021 to $142,000 in 2024, and Tesla has gone from  $10,190 in 2021 to $106,761 in 2024. 

In contrast, Ford Motor’s profit per employee figures are turbulent, and both Dana and Goodyear Tire & Rubber swing into and out of profitability.

Entertainment

It has been a tumultuous few years for the entertainment industry. First we’ll look at 2024 profit per employee, plus year-on-year % change, $ change, and headcount.  

Netflix is the clear winner here, followed by Fox, and Liberty Media. At the other end of the table are Paramount Global, and Warner Bros. Discovery, both of which posted losses in 2024.

Entertainment - Historical Profit per Employee Performance

Here we’ve charted profit per employee for each of these companies over a four year period. 

Netflix performed strongly in 2024, but has not managed to match 2022’s peak profit per employee figure of $452,761; nevertheless they are far ahead of the competition. In a similar vein, Fox too have struggled to return to their 2022 profit per employee levels. Paramount Global, and Warner Bros. Discovery appear to be on a downward trajectory, (although the latter have shown some improvement in 2024). 

Retailers

Here’s how the Fortune 500 retail companies performed in 2024:  

Costco Wholesale tops the table with a profit per employee of $19,911 in 2024, followed by BJ’s Wholesale Club. Target and Kohl’s have made the strongest gains year-on-year, while at the bottom of the table both Nordstrom and Macy’s have seen a drop in year-on-year profit per employee.

Retailers - Historical Profit per Employee Performance

Here we’ve charted profit per employee for each of these companies over a four year period. 

Costco Wholesale, BJ’s Wholesale Club, and Walmart have performed consistently over this period; however Target, Kohl’s, and Macy’s have struggled to return to their 2022 profit per employee levels. 

Methodology

Profit per employee figures were calculated by dividing the total profit by the number of employees for each of the years included in our analysis. 

Year on year profit per employee percentage changes, and $ changes were calculated by comparing 2023 figures to 2024. Headcount percentage changes were calculated in the same fashion.

All data was sourced from the Fortune 500 2024 Rankings.