Twenty-six Houston-area companies landed on the latest Fortune 500 list. Photo via Getty Images

Houston maintained its No. 3 status this year among U.S. metro areas with the most Fortune 500 headquarters. Fortune magazine tallied 26 Fortune 500 headquarters in the Houston area, behind only the New York City area (62) and the Chicago area (30).

Last year, 23 Houston-area companies landed on the Fortune 500 list. Fortune bases the list on revenue that a public or private company earns during its 2024 budget year.

On the Fortune 500 list for 2025, Spring-based ExxonMobil remained the highest-ranked company based in the Houston area as well as in Texas, sitting at No. 8 nationally. That’s down one spot from its No. 7 perch on the 2024 list. During its 2024 budget year, ExxonMobil reported revenue of $349.6 billion, up from $344.6 billion the previous year.

Here are the rankings and 2024 revenue for the 25 other Houston-area companies that made this year’s Fortune 500:

  • No. 16 Chevron, $202.8 billion
  • No. 28 Phillips 66, $145.5 billion
  • No. 56 Sysco, $78.8 billion
  • No. 75 Conoco Phillips, $56.9 million
  • No. 78 Enterprise Products Partners, $56.2 billion
  • No. 92 Plains GP Holdings, $50 billion
  • No. 143 Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, $30.1 billion
  • No. 153 NRG Energy, $28.1 billion
  • No. 155 Baker Hughes, $27.8 billion
  • No. 159 Occidental Petroleum, $26.9 billion
  • No. 183 EOG Resources, $23.7 billion
  • No. 184 Quanta Services, $23.7 billion
  • No. 194 Halliburton, $23 billion
  • No. 197 Waste Management, $22.1 billion
  • No. 214 Group 1 Automotive, $19.9 billion
  • No. 224 Corebridge Financial, $18.8 billion
  • No. 256 Targa Resources, $16.4 billion
  • No. 275 Cheniere Energy, $15.7 billion
  • No. 289 Kinder Morgan, $15.1 billion
  • No. 345 Westlake Corp., $12.1 billion
  • No. 422 APA, $9.7 billion
  • No. 443 NOV, $8.9 billion
  • No. 450 CenterPoint Energy, $8.6 billion
  • No. 474 Par Pacific Holdings, $8 billion
  • No. 480 KBR Inc., $7.7 billion

Nationally, the top five Fortune 500 companies are:

  • Walmart
  • Amazon
  • UnitedHealth Group
  • Apple
  • CVS Health

“The Fortune 500 is a literal roadmap to the rise and fall of markets, a reliable playbook of the world's most important regions, services, and products, and an indispensable roster of those companies' dynamic leaders,” Anastasia Nyrkovskaya, CEO of Fortune Media, said in a news release.

Among the states, Texas ranks second for the number of Fortune 500 headquarters (54), preceded by California (58) and followed by New York (53).

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8 Houston energy giants top global corporate startup index for 2025

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Eight major players in Houston’s energy industry rank among the world’s top 20 energy companies for corporate startup activity.

The inaugural Corporate Startup Activity Index 2025, published by StartupBlink, ranks global corporations by industry. The eight Houston-area employers fall into the index’s energy and environment category.

Researchers from StartupBlink, an innovation research platform, scored more than 370 companies based on three factors: corporate involvement in startup activity, startup success and ecosystem integration.

The eight Houston-area energy employers that landed in the energy and environment category’s top 20 are:

  • No. 3 BP. Score: 13.547. U.S. headquarters in Houston.
  • No. 5 Saudi Aramco. Score: 7.405. Americas headquarters in Houston.
  • No. 7 Eni. Score: 6.255. Headquarters of Eni U.S. Operating Co. in Houston.
  • No. 8 Shell. Score: 6.217. U.S. headquarters in Houston.
  • No. 11 Occidental Petroleum. Score: 5.347. Global headquarters in Houston.
  • No. 15 Engie. Score: 3.352. North American headquarters in Houston.
  • No. 17 Repsol. Score: 2.980. U.S. headquarters for oil and gas operations in The Woodlands.
  • No. 19 Chevron. Score: 2.017. Global headquarters in Houston.

“Building a startup is hard, and navigating corporate innovation can be just as complex. This ranking is a step toward making the connection between startups and corporations more transparent, enabling startups and corporations to collaborate more effectively for mutual success,” said Eli David Rokah, CEO of StartupBlink.

Salesforce topped the global index with a score of 380.090, followed by Intel, Google, Qualcomm, and Comcast.

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This article originally appeared on InnovationMap.com.

Houston nonprofit launches new energy education platform

energy ed

The Energy Education Foundation, a Houston-based nonprofit, will roll out a new app-based education platform just in time for back-to-school season.

Starting this fall, EEF will offer its new EnergyXP platform to students in middle schools and through community and education events across the country. The STEM-focused platform aims to boost exposure to oil and gas concepts and career paths, according to a release from the non-profit.

EnergyXP represents a fully redesigned, interactive version of the foundation's former Mobile Energy Learning Units, which now feature upgraded technology, enhanced curricula and app integration.

“EnergyXP marks the most recent development in our educational initiatives. We aim to inspire students nationwide to explore real-world energy concepts and careers,” Kristen Barley, executive director of the Energy Education Foundation, said in the release. “Our collaborative approach involves strong partnerships with educators, industry experts and local organizations to ensure that our programs are responsive to community needs. By prioritizing equitable access to quality STEM education, we can help build a more inclusive, future-ready energy workforce.”

The new platform offers 16 hands-on and digital STEM activities that introduce a variety of energy concepts through real-world applications while "showcasing the relevance of energy in everyday life," according to the release.

EEF will host two virtual sneak peeks of the platform on Aug. 7 and Aug. 8. Register here.

Enbridge's new Texas solar project to power Meta data centers

solar deal

Construction is underway on a new 600-megawatt solar project in Texas that will supply renewable energy to Meta Platforms Inc., the owner of Facebook, Instagram and other tech platforms.

Calgary-based Enbridge Inc., whose gas transmission and midstream operations are based in Houston, announced that Meta has agreed to purchase 100 percent of the power generated by its new $900 million solar project known as Clear Fork.

The clean energy developed at Clear Fork will be used to support Meta’s data center operations, according to a news release from Enbridge. Meta has had net-zero emissions across its operational portfolio since 2020, according to its 2024 environmental report. The company matches 100 percent of its data center usage with renewable energy.

"We are thrilled to partner with Enbridge to bring new renewable energy to Texas and help support our operations with 100% clean energy, " Urvi Parekh, Head of Global Energy at Meta, said in a news release.

The Clear Fork project is expected to be operational by the summer of 2027. It will join Enbridge’s first solar power project in Texas, Orange Grove, which was activated earlier this year, as well as the company’s Sequoia solar project, which is scheduled to go online in early 2026.

"Clear Fork demonstrates the growing demand for renewable power across North America from blue-chip companies who are involved in technology and data center operations," Matthew Akman, executive vice president of corporate strategy and president of power at Enbridge, said in the news release. "Enbridge continues to advance its world-class renewables development portfolio using our financial strength, supply chain reach and construction expertise under a low-risk commercial model that delivers strong competitive returns."