Number fifty-eight on the Fortune 500 is literally bulldozing the competition. Caterpillar – the company known for its iconic black and yellow construction equipment – is the highest ranked company in the construction and farm machinery industry. 20-18 revenues shot up twenty-percent to nearly 55-billion. And company profits skyrocketed more than seven-hundred percent.

Feeling thirsty? Chances are number four-oh-nine on the Fortune 500 has you covered. Thanks to last summer’s 19-billion-dollar merger of Keurig Green Mountain and Dr. Pepper Snapple, the combined company has one-hundred-and-twenty-five beverage brands. Now named “Keurig Dr. Pepper” – or K-D-P – it offers coffee brands such as Peet’s and Donut Shop and soft drinks like 7-up and Canada Dry.

Lockheed Martin appeared on the very first Fortune 500 list sixty-five years ago. Landing at number sixty this year, the aerospace and defense powerhouse has seen profits soar one-hundred-and-fifty-two percent to more than five-billion. At the helm of Lockheed is C-E-O Marillyn Hewson – who also happens to top Fortune’s list of the World’s Most Powerful Women.

The number of people buying homes was on the upswing in 2018. It’s no surprise then, that all FIVE home construction companies listed on the Fortune 500 jumped up the list this year. The industry’s combined revenue in 20-18 was $61-billion -- up from $47-billion in 20-17. One notable player--luxury home-builder Toll Brothers -- jumped 52 spots to number 400-28. When the housing bubble burst in 2008 it knocked Toll Brothers off the Fortune 500.

Asked to name a life insurance company, many people might immediately think of commercials featuring a loud-mouthed duck, or the company who ‘like a good neighbor’ – is there. But at least 27-million people might name the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. That’s how many customers the New York-based firm serves. Founded in 18-60, Guardian is now one of the nation’s ten largest mutual insurance companies.

Americans continue to spend more and more online. Shoppers spent over 500-17 BILLION dollars online last year, up fifteen percent from the year before. That’s great news for the companies that deliver all those boxes to our doorsteps. The second-largest shipper, FedEx Corporation, saw its revenues rise to sixty-five-point-five billion in 20-18. That’s still about six-billion less than its larger rival – the United Parcel Service.

At some point this week you likely drove past - or walked past - a C-V-S. Eighty percent of American families live within 10 miles of one. The company sits at number eight on the Fortune 500 this year. But it’s primed to make a big jump. Last year, C-V-S Health acquired Aetna, the country’s third-largest insurance carrier. The seventy billion dollar deal made C-V-S the world’s largest publicly traded health care company.

Back in the late nineties, I-B-M brought in more revenue than any other U.S. tech company on the Fortune 500. This year, the tech giant generated 79-point-6 billion and landed at number 38 on the list. But it trails four other tech giants by revenue in its sector: Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft and Dell. To give you a sense of just how much the competition has changed--this year’s number 15 on the list--Alphabet--- didn’t even exist until 1998.

Big tobacco is still big business for number one-sixty-two on this year’s Fortune 500. Altria Group is the parent company of Philip Morris U-S-A – the nation’s largest cigarette maker, best known for its Marlboro brand. In 2-thousand-and-eight, Altria spun off Philip Morris INTERNATIONAL – number one-ten on this year’s list – so it could focus on the lucrative and less-restrictive overseas markets.

Are you in good hands? That iconic slogan belongs to number 82 on the Fortune 500. In 19-50, insurance giant Allstate debuted a print campaign showing two hands holding a car. The original tagline: You’re in Good Hands. Clearly, Allstate itself has been in good hands … this is its 24th year on the 500. The 88-year old company sells home, life and auto insurance alongside retirement and investment products.