2 Louisiana companies made it to Fortune 500 this year

Driving the news: These are the Louisiana companies on the lists.

• Lumen Technologies (No. 237) is a telecommunications company based in Monroe.
• Entergy (No. 302) is a power utility based in New Orleans.
• Pool Corp. (No. 566) is a distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment and outdoor products. It's headquartered in Covington.

Why it matters: Being home to Fortune 500 companies is a bragging point for any city, as Axios' Katie Soloff notes. These corporations employ thousands of people throughout the region and play a prominent role in shaping how the city operates and how it grows.

• Walmart, headquartered in our neighboring state of Arkansas, is No. 1 on the list. Arkansas had five more in the Fortune 1000.
• Texas had 109 in the top 1000, while Alabama had three, and Mississippi had none.