On June 5, 2023, the annual Fortune 500 list was released, showcasing America’s largest corporations based on their 2022 fiscal year revenue. The minimum revenue to qualify for the Fortune 500 list reached $7.2 billion, an increase of 13% from the previous year. This year’s list of companies generated $18.1 trillion in revenue (up 13%), while profits were down 15%. A notable highlight was the presence of 52 women CEOs leading companies on the 2023 Fortune 500 list, a record high, up from 44 in the previous year.

Fortune 500 companies and three-letter .com domain names

57 of the companies on the Fortune 500 list use the power of three-letter .com domain names, including ATT.com, ADM.com, DXC.com, UPS.com, UHS.com, JNJ.com, RTX.com, IBM.com, ICE.com, IFF.com, KEY.com, UHS.com, LPL.com and others.

Three-letter .com domains are valued for their brevity and adaptability, serving as effective acronyms for longer business names. With only 17,576 possible three-letter combinations, all .com variants have already been claimed and are only available for resale. The number of registered .com domains exceeds 150 million, and so owning a three-letter .com domain has become a symbol of prestige status, as well as a strategic investment in long-term brand identity and recognition.

Johnson & Johnson

Founded in 1886 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, by Robert, Edward, and James Johnson, Johnson & Johnson is a prominent healthcare industry leader, ranked 40th on the 2023 Fortune 500 list.

We’re building a world where complex diseases are prevented and cured, treatments are smarter and less invasive—and solutions are personal.

Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson initially concentrated on producing wound care items and baby products. During the Spanish-American War, the company donated 300,000 packaged compression surgical dressings for soldiers in the field and created a trauma stretcher for field medics. During the 1901 smallpox epidemic, Johnson & Johnson vaccinated all its employees and provided aid during the 1900 Galveston Hurricane and the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. The company has been instrumental in advancing health products, particularly in baby and maternity care, enhancing the safety and hygiene of home births.

Over recent decades, Johnson & Johnson has strategically broadened its scope through key acquisitions, simultaneously enhancing its reputation in philanthropy by providing aid in times of war and disaster. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnson & Johnson played a vital role by developing vaccines and producing ventilators. 

Johnson & Johnson has built an impressive online presence with a portfolio of over 81,900 domains, including the three-letter domain JNJ.com. This large collection of domains helps protect the brand and its various subdivisions and ensures direct online traffic for key services. This strategic approach highlights Johnson & Johnson’s commitment to enhancing the customer experience, maintaining brand integrity, and establishing a strong presence in the competitive marketplace.

Two-letter .com domain name amongst Fortune 500 brands

Two-letter .com domain names are known as some of the most valuable and sought-after assets in digital branding and marketing. These types of domain names are highly desired due to their uniqueness and rarity, as there are only a total of 676 two-letter .com domain names in existence.

11 Fortune 500 companies have the privilege of owning such premium domains. Examples include Hewlett Packard (HP.com), General Motors (GM.com), Procter & Gamble (PG.com), Union Pacific (UP.com), Becton Dickinson (BD.com). These companies effectively use their two-letter domain names to create a strong brand identity, cultivate a solid online presence, and inspire trust among their customers.

You can also see global brands like Apple using two-letter domains for side products. The company uses the domain ME.com for its iCloud.

HP Inc. 

HP Inc. is a leading American multinational in the information technology sector, specialising in personal computers (PCs), printers, related supplies, and 3D printing solutions. HP stands as the 63rd largest corporation in the United States by total revenue, according to the 2023 Fortune 500 list.

We are a technology company born of the belief that companies should do more than just make a profit. They should make the world a better place. Our efforts in climate action, human rights, and digital equity prove that we are doing everything in our power to make it so. With over 80 years of actions that prove our intentions, we have the confidence to envision a world where innovation drives extraordinary contributions to humanity.

HP Inc.

The origins of Hewlett-Packard trace back to 1939, founded by Stanford University electrical engineering graduates Bill Hewlett and David Packard. Beginning its journey in the iconic HP Garage in Palo Alto, the company witnessed a significant transformation on November 1, 2015, when it split into two entities. HP Inc. emerged to focus on consumer-oriented computer and printer businesses, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise (ranked 143rd) focuses on servers and enterprise services.

HP Inc. operates on the premium two-letter .com domain HP.com, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise can be found on the three-letter .com domain HPE.com. A good domain strategy is a crucial element in building a strong brand identity, facilitating increased engagement with the business.

Personal Names as Brand Names

The practice of adopting personal names as brand names has been a winning strategy for numerous successful companies throughout the decades. This approach serves as a means to create a unique and memorable brand identity that deeply resonates with consumers. Using a personal name can imbue the brand with a sense of familiarity and trust, simplifying the process of connecting with and remembering the company. It also allows brands to create a sense of personality and identity, which plays a pivotal role in establishing brand recognition and fostering customer loyalty.

A multitude of Fortune 500 companies have embraced this strategy, incorporating personal names into their brand identities. These include Colgate, Nestlé, Ford, Hewlett Packard (HP), Tesla, McDonald’s, Nike, Dell, Disney, Kellogg’s, Heinz, Hilton, Johnson & Johnson, Morgan Stanley, C.H. Robinson, Estée Lauder, Williams, and others.

The Walt Disney Company

Ranked 48th on the 2023 Fortune 500 list, The Walt Disney Company, widely known as Disney, stands as one of the world’s largest and most iconic companies. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as Disney Brothers Studio, later Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before officially becoming The Walt Disney Company in 1986. Initially, the company established itself as a leader in the animation industry and debuted the widely popular character Mickey Mouse, which became the company’s symbol.

Disney’s growth in the 1950s saw its diversification into live-action films, television, and theme parks. Today, Disney’s film studio division, Walt Disney Studios, includes subsidiaries like Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, 20th Century Animation, and Searchlight Pictures. Beyond film production, Disney operates in various sectors, such as television, broadcasting, streaming media, theme parks, consumer products, publishing, and international markets. Key holdings include the ABC broadcast network, cable channels like Disney Channel, ESPN, Freeform, FX, and National Geographic, and publishing, merchandising, music, and theater divisions. Its streaming services portfolio features Disney+, Star+, ESPN+, Hulu, and Hotstar. Under the umbrella of Disney Experiences, the company also manages several theme parks, resort hotels, and cruise lines globally. 

Renowned for producing some of the greatest films of all time and revolutionising the theme park industry, Disney marked a century of entertainment and innovation with its 100th anniversary on October 16, 2023.

From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to its preeminent name in the entertainment industry today, Disney proudly continues its legacy of creating world-class stories and experiences for every member of the family.

The Walt Disney Company

Given Disney’s expansive range of sub-brands and services, it’s no surprise that the company manages a vast portfolio of over 258,400 domain names. This extensive collection plays a crucial role in protecting the brand’s diverse interests and exemplifies Disney’s dedication to maintaining a strong and accessible digital presence, vital for its diverse and sprawling entertainment empire.

CVCV Domain Names

The trend of using CVCV domain names, an acronym for consonant-vowel-consonant-vowel, is gaining traction among businesses seeking a strong brand identity. These domain names are composed of short, easy-to-pronounce, and memorable words with a positive and rhythmic sound, making them attractive to customers from different languages and cultures.

Examples of this approach to naming can also be seen among companies on the Fortune List, such as Visa, Nike, Dana, and Citi. They have skillfully used CVCV domain names to create memorable brand identities, aiding their widespread recognition.

Nike

Nike, Inc., ranked 93rd in the 2023 Fortune 500 list, is a dominant player in the global sportswear market. Founded on January 25, 1964, as “Blue Ribbon Sports” by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, it officially became Nike, Inc. in 1971, named after the Greek goddess of victory. As the world’s largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel, Nike also manufactures sports equipment and runs retail stores under the Niketown name.

In its journey to diversification and expansion, Nike acquired several companies. This includes the shoe companies Cole Haan (1988, sold in 2012) and Converse, Inc. (2003), the sports-equipment producer Canstar Sports, Inc. (1994, later called Bauer and sold in 2008), and the athletic apparel and equipment company Umbro (2008, sold in 2012).

Nike’s success can be attributed to various factors, including endorsements from high-profile athletes such as Michael Jordan, Mia Hamm, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Tiger Woods, LeBron James, and Cristiano Ronaldo. These sponsorships, coupled with iconic slogans like “Just Do It” and the recognisable Swoosh logo, have contributed significantly to its brand recognition.

Nike’s mission is “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world. *If you have a body, you are an athlete. “

We are expanding sport. Fifty years of listening to athletes, alongside our culture of innovation, has lead us to product and services that are increasingly inclusive and consider body, mind and life.

Nike

In its domain strategy, Nike demonstrates its global brand’s seriousness, owning over 34,900 domain names. This includes their primary CVCV domain, Nike.com, local extensions for operating markets (such as nike.fr or nike.com.au), domains aligning with their slogans or marketing campaigns (like JustDoIt.com), and domains of other brands they own, such as Jordan.com. This extensive domain portfolio is a testament to Nike’s comprehensive approach to digital presence and brand management.

Highlights

Fortune 500 brands with .com domain name extension

Over 99% of Fortune 500 companies of 2023 operate on a .com domain name. Only 3 companies out of 500 have chosen to operate on an alternative to the .com extension. This widely recognised and trusted extension makes it an ideal choice for businesses seeking to establish their online presence. The .com domain has dominated the internet for decades, and customers instinctively trust it, giving companies that use it a competitive advantage.

2 companies on the list use the .xyz extension.

.xyz was proposed as part of ICANN’s New generic top-level domain (gTLD) Program, and it went live on June 2, 2014. The .xyz domain extension made its big breakthrough in 2015 when Alphabet Inc. (one of the companies on the list) began using it.

Fortune 500 Brands with exact brand match domain names 

452 companies have invested in exact brand match domains, understanding their vital role in establishing a solid online presence. An exact-match top-level domain name is key for a business to be easily located online, as it aligns with what customers typically search for when trying to connect with a brand. Here, the owners of premium domain names highlight the benefits and importance of owning and investing in such domain names.

Uses of a dash in domain names of Fortune 500 companies

5 companies use a dash in their domains. Adding hyphens is not advised since it adds complexity for consumers who frequently overlook it while typing in a domain name.

While we make every effort to ensure the data on our site is accurate, complete, and up-to-date, we cannot guarantee its reliability. Our data is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal, financial, or other advice. We strongly recommend that you independently verify any information before relying on it.

Premium domain names are a valuable asset for any brand. They can help you establish credibility, improve your search engine rankings, and make it easier for customers to find and remember your website. If you’re interested in learning more about how premium domain names can benefit your brand, don’t hesitate to contact us for more information.

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