Twelve Missouri companies make Fortune 500

JEFFERSON CITY - Twelve Missouri-based companies made this year's Fortune Magazine list of the 500 companies with the greatest revenues, the same number as last year.

H&R Block was added to this year's list, ranked 462 from 507 last year. Emerson Electric (138) is the state's highest-ranking company with revenues of $13.8 billion.

Other companies headquartered in Missouri making the list include Anheuser-Busch (142), May Department Stores (144), Express Scripts (147), Farmland Industries (243), Charter Communications (362), Leggett and Platt (380), Graybar Electric (401), Ameren (418), Interstate Bakeries (443) and Aquila (477).

Through the first three quarters of 2002, these twelve companies employed nearly 26,000 people in Missouri and paid wages totaling over $1.1 billion.

The top five U.S. companies, by revenues, were Wal-Mart ($246.5 billion), General Motors ($186.8 billion), Exxon Mobil ($182.5 billion), Ford Motor ($163.6 billion), and General Electric ($131.7 billion). Wal-Mart topped the list for the second straight year.