Exxon and Apple Top Global Profit Ranking

American multinational oil and gas giant ExxonMobil was the world’s most profitable company in 2012, with a net income of 44.9 billion U.S. dollars. The corporation is the largest refiner in the world with 37 oil refineries spread across 21 countries, resulting in a daily capacity of some 6.3 million barrels.

In 2012, Apple made a profit of 41.7 billion U.S. dollars, second only to ExxonMobil in terms of global profit ranking. The tech giant has experienced a period of remarkable success over the past decade, reaping enormous profits on the back of innovative consumer electronic devices such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad.

Gazprom, owned by the Russian government, was the third most profitable company in 2012. It is the largest natural gas extractor in the world, taking in profits of 38.1 billion U.S. dollars.

Two Chinese banks round off the top five in terms of global profit ranking – Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank. These institutions had respective net incomes of 37.8 and 30.6 billion U.S. dollars – a powerful example of China’s meteoric economic development.