Top Public Companies In Illinois: Forbes

CHICAGO, IL — Warren Buffett's Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway is number one on Forbes' inaugural list of America's top public companies, but it's got company in the top 50 with four companies all based in the Land of Lincoln.

Forbes' methodology weighs revenue, profit, assets and market value equally. "Weighing these four metrics equally helps account for nuances in the myriad ways that investors value a company," according to Forbes.

Here's a look at the four Illinois-based corporates to earn a spot near the top

• Chicago-based Boeing flew in at No. 28, with a market value of $107.5 billion
• Walgreens Boots Alliance, based in Deerfield, is No. 33 with a value $89.7 billion
• Chicago's Kraft Heinz Company, with a value of $110.5 billion, came in at No. 44
• AbbVie of North Chicago, with a value of $103.9 billion, came in at No. 46

Not far behind was McDonald's ($106.2 billion), which is based in Oak Brook (for now) at No. 72.

While the rankings released by Forbes in May are an inaugural list, the magazine drew some comparisons with the Forbes' Global 2000 list, which ranks the public companies across the world.

Forbes notes that Goldman Sachs, Disney and Oracle broke into the top 25 when compared with their comparative position on the global list. Another trend pointed out by Forbes is the relative stability of tech companies over the past year, potentially because of decreasing investor optimism or fears of a Silicon Valley bubble, the magazine notes.

In the oil and gas industry, turbulent oil prices "yanked" these companies throughout the year.
Companies across 38 states and the District of Columbia are represented on the list.

The top 10 American public companies in 2017 are:

1. Berkshire Hathaway
2. Apple
3. JPMorgan Chase
4. Wells Fargo
5. AT&T
6. Bank of America
7. ExxonMobil
8. General Electric
9. Walmart Stores
10. Microsoft

Click here to see the full Forbes list.

Feroze Dhanoa (Patch National Staff) contributed to this article.

Photo by Pictures of Money via Flickr