These 15 CT-based companies made the 2024 Fortune 500 list of largest U.S. corporations [Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.]

Jun. 4—Fifteen Connecticut-headquartered companies made the 2024 Fortune 500 list of the largest corporations in the U.S., a leading tracker of big business that was released on Tuesday.

Connecticut's representation in this year's rankings, which is based on companies' revenues in their past fiscal years, was one more than the 14 firms from the state that appeared in the 2023 standings.

Bloomfield-based managed health care and insurance company Cigna again led Connecticut-based companies, ranking No. 16 on the list of 500. Interactive Brokers Group, a Greenwich-headquartered online brokerage, was the state's sole newcomer this year, placing No. 473.

The Connecticut-headquartered companies comprise 3 percent of this year's Fortune 500. In comparison, Connecticut accounts for about 1 percent of the U.S. population.

Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart again ranked No. 1 overall. Amazon, Apple, UnitedHealth Group, Berkshire Hathaway, CVS Health, Exxon Mobil, Alphabet, McKesson and Cencora, which was formerly known as AmerisourceBergen, rounded out the top 10.

The 2024 Fortune 500 companies cumulatively account for two-thirds of the U.S. gross domestic product, with about $18.8 trillion in revenues, $1.7 trillion in profits and $43 trillion in market value, according to Fortune. Together, they employ about 31 million people worldwide.

The following is a rundown of recent developments at the Connecticut-headquartered companies in the 2024 Fortune 500, stating their ranking on the list, full company name, headquarter location and 2023 revenues to the nearest hundred million:

No. 16: The Cigna Group, Bloomfield, $195.3 billion

Cigna is perennially the highest-ranked Connecticut-headquartered company in the Fortune 500. Its businesses include health insurance and pharmacy-benefit management. Its annual revenues grew to about $195 billion, up 8 percent from 2022, while it recorded an approximately $5 billion profit.

The company operates with more than 74,000 employees worldwide, including several thousand people based in Connecticut, who serve more than 170 million customers worldwide.

Last year, the company reportedly pursued a merger with another health care giant, Humana. But by last December, it had apparently ended talks for such a deal, which would have boosted its Medicare Advantage membership.

As one of the country's largest companies, Cigna's operations attract scrutiny. Last year, a Congressional committee announced that it was investigating the company, in response to a report by ProPublica and The Capitol Forum that asserted Cigna doctors rejected many claims without even opening patients' files.

Cigna said in a statement, "we welcome the opportunity to fully explain our (procedure-to-diagnosis) process to regulators and correct the many mischaracterizations and misleading perceptions ProPublica's article created."

Among other issues, the company was criticized last December by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, who said that stock buybacks the company was planning showed "what a corrupt & broken health care system looks like."

No. 76: Charter Communications, Stamford, $54.6 billion

As a sign of the growing importance of streaming services, Spectrum services provider Charter has been accelerating the roll-out of the Xumo Stream Box. Xumo provides access to many streaming video apps alongside the cable TV packages that many subscribers already have.

While Xumo is intended to help customers save on their bills, Charter told state regulators last December that it would raise the price of its Spectrum TV Select package and several others, while also increasing a "broadcast TV surcharge" by $2.55 a month.

Charter and other carriers have cited the escalating costs of new "carriage" deals with networks as a contributor to rising rates and fees.

Last year, Charter became briefly embroiled in a standoff with The Walt Disney Co., the parent company of Bristol-based ESPN, over a new carriage contract. The companies reached a compromise that allows Charter subscribers to access the basic Disney+ and ESPN+ streaming services.

At the end of last year, Charter served about 32 million customers nationwide.

No. 121: Philip Morris International, Stamford, $35.2 billion

The tobacco producer has been headquartered in Stamford for about a year and a half, following the relocation of its main offices from Manhattan.

As one of the world's largest tobacco companies, PMI ships hundreds of billions of cigarettes outside the U.S. each year. It does not sell any cigarettes in the U.S.

At the same time, PMI is aiming to significantly increase sales of "smoke-free" products in the next few years. Its smoke-free products available in this country include Zyn nicotine pouches, while it is planning the U.S. launch this year of its IQOS heated-tobacco brand.

PMI officials acknowledge tobacco's massive public health impact, but they argue that immediately shutting down cigarette production would be counter-productive. Many anti-smoking advocates remain unconvinced by the company's strategy.

No. 166: Hartford Financial Services Group (The Hartford), Hartford, $24.5 billion

The property-and-casualty insurer and provider of group benefits saw gains in a number of areas in 2023, including an 11 percent year-over-year increase in "core earnings."

The Hartford is also a major producer of research on worker well-being. A study conducted last year found that most U.S. workers are at least somewhat happy at work, but that burnout persists as a widespread issue.

No. 190: Booking Holdings, Norwalk, $21.4 billion

After being acutely affected during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the online travel-services provider has benefited in the past few years from the comeback in tourism and business travel.

In Europe, regulators have expressed concerns about Booking's market dominance. The company was recently added to the European Union's list of companies under heightened digital scrutiny.

No. 191: Synchrony, Stamford, $21.0 billion

In 2023, inflation continued to exert significant pressure on consumer spending — but the country's largest provider of store-brand and private-label credit cards still saw robust activity. Its average of about 71.5 million active customer accounts in the fourth quarter of last year was up 5 percent from the same period in 2022.

No. 263: Stanley Black & Decker, New Britain, $15.8 billion

Through a program launched in the summer of 2022, the toolmaker is aiming to achieve about $2 billion in cost savings by the end of 2025. The initiative has resulted in job losses in states such as South Carolina and Texas, but it is unclear how it has affected employment levels in Stanley's home state.

Stanley officials have indicated they remain confident the cost-cutting will help the company reach its financial goals.

"As we report our first-quarter performance, we are energized by our transformation efforts," CEO and President Donald Allan Jr. said during an earnings call on May 2. "I am confident that by executing our strategy, we are positioning the company to deliver high levels of organic revenue growth, profitability and cash flow to drive strong long-term shareholder returns."

No. 298: United Rentals, Stamford, $14.3 billion

The world's largest equipment-rental company has a long history of acquisitions. It did not purchase any other companies in 2023, but it completed in March 2024 the acquisition of Hattiesburg, Mississippi-based Yak Access for about $1.1 billion.

No. 301: Otis Worldwide, Farmington, $14.2 billion

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

Otis' machinery operates in buildings around the world, including in the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

CEO Judy Marks is one of 52 women to serve as CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and the only woman to lead a Connecticut-headquartered Fortune 500 firm this year.

No. 324: Emcor Group, Norwalk, $12.6 billion

The provider of construction, infrastructure and building services, announced last year that it would acquire Oshkosh, Wisconsin-based ECM Holding Group, which specializes in energy efficiency retrofit services. The amount of the acquisition was not disclosed.

No. 325: Amphenol, Wallingford, $12.6 billion

The electronic-components manufacturer last year acquired Bloomingdale, Ill.-based wireless technology services provider PCTEL for about $140 million. It followed up that deal by completing last month the approximately $2 billion acquisition of the wire-and-cable business of Carlisle Cos.

Among other developments in the past year, Amphenol, which is a longtime supplier to the U.S. military, last year reached an $18 million settlement with the federal government to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims for electrical connectors.

No. 340: W.R. Berkley, Greenwich, $12.1 billion

Among initiatives launched last year, the property-and-casualty insurer announced the formation of Berkley Specialty Excess to offer excess liability coverage in certain markets, with an initial focus on the environmental and energy industries.

No. 402: GXO Logistics, Greenwich, $9.8 billion

After being spun off from fellow Fortune 500 firm XPO in 2021, warehouse operator GXO makes its third appearance in the Fortune 500.

In April, it completed the nearly $1 billion acquisition of Chippenham, England-based logistics firm Wincanton. Last year, it acquired the Leeds, England-based Clipper Logistics for about $1.1 billion.

GXO describes itself as the "largest pure play logistics operator," and it employs with more than 130,000 employees 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. 473: Interactive Brokers Group, Greenwich, $7.8 billion

The ascension into the Fortune 500 of one of the world's largest electronic brokerages reflects a surge in trading since the beginning of the pandemic. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Interactive Brokers recorded a daily average of 1.93 million revenue-producing trades, more than double the total in the same period in 2019. Those trades include stocks and contracts for futures and options, with the firm making money from trade commissions.

As it has grown in the past few years, Interactive Brokers has faced challenges, including a customer backlash in early 2021 over short-lived trading restrictions imposed in response to the rise of meme stocks.

The company has also faced regulatory pressure. Last year, it reached settlements totaling $55 million with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission that resolved charges that it committed record-keeping and supervision violations through unapproved forms of communication.

Interactive Brokers' founder and chairman is Thomas Peterffy. He is one of the world's wealthiest people, ranking No. 40 in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a net worth of $38.4 billion, as of Monday. Beyond Interactive Brokers, he is active in politics as a top Republican donor.

No. 475: XPO, Greenwich, $7.7 billion

XPO has undergone far-reaching changes in the past few years.

The company's transformation started in 2021, with the spin-off of GXO. In 2022, it spun off its truck-brokerage business, which is now known as RXO and headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. Also in 2022, XPO sold its intermodal shipping business for $710 million.

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.

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