The business strength of the Tampa Bay region is getting some validation from the newly released Fortune 500 list for 2016.
Tampa Bay now has five companies on the list, up from four in 2015, including a company that ranks among the 100 leading firms nationwide in what Fortune says is its key benchmark for business success.
Publix Super Markets Inc. comes in at No. 87 on the newly released Fortune 500 list for 2016, up from No. 101 in 2015. Publix, headquartered in Lakeland and with $32.6 billion in revenue in 2015, is the largest employee-owned company in the United States.
New to the Fortune 500 is Raymond James Financial Inc. (NYSE: RJF). The St. Petersburg-based financial services firm is in the No. 482 spot on the list, up from No. 521 a year ago, with a 6.9 percent increase in revenue to $5.3 billion in 2015.
Tech Data Corp. (NASDAQ: TECD), a Clearwater-based IT distributor with $26.4 billion in revenue, is No. 108, slipping one place on the list from 2015.
Tech Data was the only Tampa Bay company to drop in rankings on the Fortune 500.
Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL), a St. Petersburg-based electronics firm, is at No. 158 on the 2016 list, up 33 places from its previous rank of 191. Jabil posted $17.9 billion in revenue in 2015, up 9.6 percent from a year earlier.
WellCare Health Plans Inc. (NYSE: WCG), a managed care company in Tampa, moved up 32 places, to No. 202. WellCare, which focuses on government-sponsored health programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, had a 7.2 percent gain in revenue in 2015, to $13.9 billion.
The gains for the Tampa Bay companies come amidst a tough year overall for the 500, Fortune said. Revenues were down 4.2 percent from a year earlier, and profits were down 11 percent. Overall, the Fortune 500 had revenues of $12 trillion dollars, roughly two-thirds the size of the U.S. GDP.
Jun 6, 2016, 9:22am EDT – Margie Manning