Eighteen Georgia companies made the Fortune 500 list released Wednesday, though the coronavirus pandemic reshuffled the 2021 rankings.
Delta Air Lines, which was pummeled when the bottom fell out of the travel industry, dropped 110 spots, from 68 to 178.
Home Depot, the Georgia company that ranks highest, did well, selling home improvement and building supplies to workers stuck at home. It moved up eight spots, from 26 to 18.
“Eight spots is a big jump for a company already that high in the rankings,” said Roger Tutterow, the director of the Econometric Center and professor economics at Kennesaw State University.
“There is clearly a pandemic effect in the rankings.”
“In Georgia, one of the large droppers was Delta Air Line, which was fully expected. It was hard to have been in the transportation industry and expected to have done well,” Tutterow said. “I think as we go into 2021, we will see its revenue jump again as we see the effects of the pandemic fade.”
Some other clear winners emerged in the rankings, which are based on revenue. Pulte, the homebuilder, moved up 25 spots to 284 on the list. Given the increase in housing prices, that was not surprising, Tutterow said. The shipping giant UPS and packaging company WestRock moved up as consumers moved sharply to home delivery during the health crisis.
One Georgia newcomer moved onto the list. Global Payments, the financial technology company, benefited from a merger with TSYS and joined the list at 394.
HD Supply dropped out of the top 500.
How Georgia’s Top 10 Fortune 500 companies fared
Company, rank, and change in position in 2021
Home Depot: 18, +8
UPS: 35, +8
Coca-Cola: 93, -5
Aflac: 131, +15
Southern Co.: 145, +7
WestRock: 170, +7
Genuine Parts: 173, -2
Delta Air Lines: 178, -110
Pulte Group: 284, +25
Mohawk Industries: 321, 0
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