Alex Wood Morton

Executive Editor, Europe

Today’s Europe is dominated by automotive, energy, and finance. Notably, we found that the makeup of our 2024 list looks remarkably similar to the American 500 almost 20 years ago, before the likes of Google and Meta took over our lives.

Why does this matter? It’s the long-term outlook—many of the companies topping the European 500 today face an existential crisis as the world adapts to climate change and competition from China.

None more so than Volkswagen, which reached No. 1 on this year’s list. Yet as my colleague Ryan Hogg writes, Germany was once the economic engine of Europe, but a shifting world order has pulled the carpet out from underneath its economy, including VW.

The good news: Our Fortune 500 Europe 2024 cohort is embracing AI, albeit slowly. And perhaps most positively, one of the strengths of European business is its international nature. The collective leadership of the list is dominated by CEOs who boast extensive international experience—essential in a global economy.

The Fortune 500 Europe

LEADERSHIP

The rapid descent of Southwest Airlines: How the company plunged from customer cult-favorite to activist investor target

Southwest was a customer darling. Then it became a cautionary tale after a failure to change with the times led to a leadership shakeup.

How Abercrombie & Fitch’s former CEO, now accused of sex trafficking, almost ran the company into the ground

Mike Jeffries was ousted from the brand after eye-brow raising behavior and declining sales.

ELECTIONS

When politics take over the workplace—how bosses should handle election divisions

The risk of politics disrupting workplace productivity is not hypothetical.

TECH

Could Elon Musk’s alliance with Donald Trump hurt Tesla’s business? Not according to the company’s risk factors

Musk’s high-profile support of one of the world’s most controversial political figures goes well beyond the typical political activities of public company CEOs.

Investors pour into photonics startups to stop data centers from hogging energy and to speed up AI

An investment in Oriole Networks is the latest sign that investors are suddenly hot on photonic startups as a cure for AI’s insatiable power demands.

FINANCE

Morgan Stanley’s executive chairman rescued the bank during the Great Recession. Can he do the same for Disney?

James Gorman’s history of strategic leadership is now being leveraged to select the next CEO of Disney.

What went wrong at CVS? Departing CEO Karen Lynch’s reign started brilliantly, then unraveled fast

A trifecta of problems, some that started before she took the top job, ended the reign of one of the most powerful women in American business.

SUCCESS

7 in 10 office workers say they have a ‘work wife’ or ‘work husband’—here’s why experts warn they probably shouldn’t

Having a close friend at work is one of the key factors in determining an employee’s general job satisfaction.

PERSONAL FINANCE

An isolated island nation is a tax haven for the ultrarich to hide their money

The Cook Islands trust is referred to as the gold standard in asset protection.

How KIND’s founder went from mowing lawns to selling his company for $5 billion

Leadership Next: Inside Nextdoor’s next chapter

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