Two Georgia-based companies figure prominently on Fortune magazine’s latest list of the nation’s 500 largest companies, but not because of their balance sheet.Both Atlanta-based soft drink maker Coca-Cola and Columbus-based insurer Aflac, with thousands of Twitter followers and Facebook friends, received kudos for being among the Fortune 500’s “social media stars.”
Sixteen Georgia companies appear on the annual Fortune 500 list of the nation’s largest companies by revenue. The Georgia companies among the top 100 include Home Depot (No. 34), Sandy Springs-based United Parcel Service (53), Coca-Cola (57) and Atlanta-based Delta (83). Home Depot moved up one spot, and UPS fell by one. Coke moved up two positions, while Delta maintained its ranking from year ago.
Rock-Tenn, a Norcross-based packaging company, moved the most up the 500 list, from No. 449 last year to No. 291 this year, a 158-position jump. Other big gainers were Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks, up 32 positions to 239; and Duluth-based farm equipment maker AGCO, up 20 positions to 272.
Losing the most ground were Southern Co. (171) and Newell Rubbermaid (443), both Atlanta-based companies that each fell 19 positions from last year’s ranking.
Wal-Mart reclaimed the top spot on the overall list, helped by a nearly 6 percent sales gain at $443.9 billion for the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer. Wal-Mart was followed by Exxon Mobil (No. 2), Chevron (3); Phillips 66 (4), Berkshire Hathaway (5), Apple (6), General Motors (7), General Electric (8), Valero Energy (9) and Ford Motor (10).
When it comes to outshining their peers on Facebook and Twitter, Aflac and Coke are among the companies that rule, Fortune noted.
Fortune called Aflac’s “Duck” a “social media superstar” that has a verified Twitter account of nearly 20,000 followers and more than 350,000 Facebook friends, which Fortune said “is an impressive number considering how difficult it is to type without fingers.”
In addition to broadcast commercials, the duck has figured prominently in Aflac’s philanthropic efforts, which raised more than $2 million for childhood cancer projects. Aflac, which is No. 118 on the Fortune list, said more than 540,000 people checked in online during a Thanksgiving drive last year when the company pledged a dollar per check-in.
Despite Coca-Cola’s references earlier this year to an in-house study that suggested social media buzz didn’t have an immediate short-term impact on sales, social media is a major part of the company’s marketing strategy, especially when it is incorporated with other mediums, the magazine cites Wendy Clark, senior vp of integrated marketing communications and capabilities, as saying on her blog. Coke has more than 63 million Facebook likes and 709,000 Twitter followers. Fortune said Coke is targeting “lifelong customers.”
Dunwoody-based HD Supply gets recognition on the Fortune list as one of “6 spinoff successes.” Since Home Depot sold its industrial supply division in 2007 to a group of investors that included Bain Capital, HD Supply’s locations have grown to more than 600 and sales last year were nearly $8 billion, ranking the company No. 330 on the 500 list.
Still, by traditional financial yardsticks such as net income, HD Supply and First Data, which ranks No. 254 on the Fortune list, don’t look as successful. Both companies reported losses after taking on heavy debt loads when Bain Capital and other private equity firms acquired major stakes in the firms.
Home Depot, which sold HD Supply for $8.5 billion, still has a 12 percent stake in the company and is one of HD Supply’s main customers.
If the Fortune 500 were a country, it would be the world’s second-largest economy behind the U.S., with total sales of $12.1 trillion, the magazine said.
