News in brief

Walmart again No. 1 on Fortune 500 list

Walmart Inc. remained No. 1 on Fortune magazine's list of the 500 largest companies by revenue in the U.S.

The Bentonville-based retailer holds the top spot for the sixth-straight year after reporting $500.3 billion in revenue during its latest fiscal year. That was more than the combined total of Exxon Mobil's $244.4 billion and Berkshire Hathaway's $242.1 billion, which were second and third on the Fortune 500 list.

Walmart is among the Fortune 500 for the 24th time and is one of six Arkansas-based companies on this year's list.

Springdale-based Tyson Foods, with revenue of $38.3 billion, moved up two spots to No. 80, while El Dorado-based Murphy USA, with $10.9 billion, climbed 12 spots to No. 279. Lowell-based J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. booked revenue of $7.2 billion and climbed 12 places to No. 395, while Little Rock-based Dillard's Inc., with $6.4 billion in sales, fell 22 spots to No. 439. Little Rock-based Windstream Holdings, with $5.9 billion, moved up 11 places to No. 474.

-- Robbie Neiswanger

Firm's poultry school draws 50 attendees

An international group convened in Northwest Arkansas for this year's "poultry boot camp."

Fifty people participated in this year's World Technical School led by poultry genetics company Cobb-Vantress, which is based in Siloam Springs. Tyson Foods acquired all of Cobb's stock in 1994.

The 11-day program allowed attendees to tour the region's farms and hatcheries, a processing plant, a feed mill and a research lab, and to learn from workshops and poultry experts. Robin Jarquin, the program's support director, called it a "poultry boot camp."

They covered different aspects of poultry production. Challenges related to high feed and gas costs and the industry's transition to antibiotic alternatives to control diseases are at the forefront of industry concerns.

Attendees represented 28 countries.

They left for home on Monday.

-- Nathan Owens

Index climbs 3.72 to close at 428.05

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, jumped 3.72 to 428.05 Monday.

"Stocks surged on Monday powered by industrial stocks, $28 billion of announced mergers and rumblings that the trade war between the U.S. and China has eased," said Chris Harkins, managing director with Raymond James & Associates in Little Rock.

Total volume for the index was 25.2 million shares.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.

Business on 05/22/2018

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