ITT Exelis becomes 10th Fairfax County-based company to crack the Fortune 500

Fairfax has more companies on 2012 list than 34 states, and is in top 10 of U.S. counties with most ranked companies

Fairfax County, Virginia USA, Wednesday, May 16, 2012 -

ITT Exelis, which spun off from ITT Corporation in 2011 and established its headquarters in the Tysons Corner area of Fairfax County, becomes the 10th Fairfax County company to crack Fortune magazine’s list of the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the United States. The 2012 list is in the May 21 edition of Fortune and is available online.

Fairfax County has more companies on the prestigious list than 34 states. Fairfax also is in the top 10 counties with the most ranked headquarters.

Fortune based its rankings on annual revenue in 2011. Here are the Fairfax County companies on the list and their main industry sectors:

25.       Freddie Mac, mortgage securities

92.       General Dynamics, defense and aviation

104.     Northrop Grumman, defense and security

148.     Capital One, financial services

162.     CSC, technology consulting and systems integration

245.     SAIC, engineering and research

369.     NII Holdings, mobile communications services

422.     ITT Exelis, defense and security

439.     Booz Allen Holding, technology consulting

465.     Gannett, publishing and television

In addition, Exxon Mobil, which maintains its refining, retailing and marketing headquarters in Fairfax County, tops the 2012 list.

“Thirty years ago no Fortune 500 companies were based here, but now 2 percent of the largest companies in the nation are headquartered in one place – Fairfax County,” said Gerald L. Gordon, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. “This shows not just a rapid growth of the county as a headquarters location but the confidence that major corporations have in the county to provide the kind of business assets they need and the quality of life their employees want.”

Other interesting notes about Fairfax County’s Fortune 500 companies:

• The Fairfax County total accounts for 50 percent of the 20 listed companies from the Washington, D.C., region.
• The Fairfax County companies account for 41.7 percent of the 24 companies from Virginia on this year’s list.
• The Fairfax County companies had revenues of nearly $218 billion in 2011, which was 61.3 percent of the revenue of all Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Virginia.
• Fairfax County’s Fortune 500 companies accounted for 45.3 percent of the revenues of all Fortune 500 companies based in the Washington region.
• The Fairfax County companies had more than twice the combined revenue of the six Fortune 500 companies based in Maryland – $218 billion compared to $95 billion.
• The Fairfax County companies had 36 percent more combined revenue than the three Fortune 500 companies based in Washington, D.C. – $218 billion compared to $160 billion.
• The revenue of the Fairfax County companies roughly equaled the gross domestic product of Ireland, according to the International Monetary Fund.