P.M. BRIEFING : ‘Super 50’ Challenges Fortune

Forbes magazine fired a volley across the bow of competitor Fortune today with a new list of the 50 most powerful U.S. corporations.

Dubbed the “Super 50,” the Forbes list ranks the biggest companies in America based on their “across-the-board strength” in sales, profits, assets and the market value of their stock. The new Forbes list was introduced on the same day as the venerable Fortune 500 list in a thinly veiled attempt to steal some of Fortune’s traditional thunder.

A press release from Forbes describing the new Super 50 labeled the Fortune list, which is limited to industrial companies ranked by sales, as “one-dimensional.”

General Motors Corp. topped the Super 50, placing first among all U.S. companies in both sales and profits. GM also topped the Fortune 500.

General Electric wes ranked second by Forbes, followed by Exxon, IBM, Ford Motor Co. and Philip Morris. Rounding out the top 10 were AT&T;, Mobil, Du Pont and Sears.