Apple topped the list of the world's most profitable companies released by Bloomberg on May 15 with a net profit of $57.2 billion, which is the fourth time Apple has won the championship in a row. China's four major state-owned banks ranked in the top ten, with two oil and gas companies on the list.
China's four major state-owned banks all ranked in the top ten. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China ranked second with net profit of 45 billion US dollars in the past year; China Construction Bank ranked third with net profit of 38 billion US dollars; Agricultural Bank of China ranked seventh with net profit of 31 billion US dollars; and Bank of China ranked tenth with net profit of 27 billion US dollars.
Two oil and gas companies ranked among the top 15 most profitable companies, Shell ranked 12th with a net profit of 24 billion US dollars, and Russian Natural Gas Industry Corporation ranked 13th with a net profit of 23 billion US dollars.

There are also four U.S. financial institutions on the list, which can be said to be in two places with China. JPMorgan Chase ranked sixth with net profit of $33 billion, Bank of America ranked eighth with $29 billion, Berkshire Hathaway ranked eleventh with $27 billion and Wells Fargo ranked fourteenth with $23 billion.
Microsoft ranked fourth, with net profit of $35 billion, Samsung ranked fifth, with net profit of $34 billion, and Alphabet, Google's parent company, ranked ninth, with net profit of $28 billion.
In this year's list, none of the top 15 profitable companies has a pharmaceutical company or a car company, the first time Bloomberg has conducted the survey in eight years.
This list calculates the profits of the past year up to the end of March, based on GAAP accounting standards and current exchange rates. The list lists 15 of the most profitable companies.