Thursday, March 31, 2011

768 Largest US Corps Core Pretax Earnings Up 72% in 2010...Including a May Update

Below here is a US State Summary of Core Pretax Earnings in 2010 and 2009 of the 40 US States and DC with Big Corps.

Big Corps are defined here as those with Core Pretax Income or Core Pretax Loss of more than roughly $200 mil in either of the most recent two years: 2010 and 2009. Core Pretax Income here excludes large Asset Impairment Charges, large Acquired In Process R&D Charges, large Gains and Losses on Debt Extinguishment, and large clearly non-recurring Credits and Charges.

Yeah, the overall 2010 Earnings increase for these 768 Big US Corps is an amazing 72%. There are some large Utility companies included in these 768 Big Corps. If these Utility Corps were excluded, the 72% increase would be somewhat higher.

This 72% earnings increase in 2010 tells you why the Stock Market has gone up so much in the past couple of years. The stock market is driven by earnings....both current and projected future earnings. In addition, the risk in attaining future earnings projections is also factored into stock market valuation.

The country owes a great deal of gratitude to the Obama Administration's Very Broadly-Defined Economic Team. Not only did they help create the economic environment for US Big Corps to prosper, and thus markedly increase their previously-depressed earnings, but also they instituted very wise initiatives that substantially lowered the risk of companies attaining future earnings projections.

And then, of course, Ben Bernanke also played a key role here.

And so did many members of the US Congress, who are so often vilified by citizens. To their credit, many of them, on both sides of the aisle, played key roles in resurrecting the US economy from what was in late 2008 and early 2009 a very likely future near-term Depression, to a thriving US economy, granted with still some bumps, like Too High Unemployment, Too High Underemployment, Too Low Median Wages, the continuing Housing Crisis, the continuing Extremely High Energy Costs, Too High US Debt, the continuing State Budget Crisis, and the continuing economic pressure on many small businesses.

But there clearly has been substantial economic progress made and the US Stock Market is signaling that, with its massive increase in the past couple of years. The US Stock Market was also signaling two years ago just how awful the US economy was back then, with little likelihood of improvement anticipated. Things have clearly changed for the better.

...........................# of......2010..........2009
............................Big.......Core...........Core....Increase(Decrease)
.......State...........Corps.....PTI(L)......PTI(L).....Amount.....%
...........................................(millions of dollars)....

Texas*................107.....238,996....167,362.....71,634....43%
New York.............82.....222,026....135,809.....86,217....63%
California.............85.....209,728....144,432.....65,296....45%
Illinois.................38.......56,829......43,151......13,678....32%
New Jersey..........30.......50,821......42,979.......7,842....18%
Minnesota............26.......44,257......36,126.......8,131.....23%
Washington State..12.......38,201......26,273.....11,928....45%
Connecticut..........19.......33,223......22,230.....10,993....49%
Ohio.....................30.......32,986......19,500.....13,486....69%
Pennsylvania........32.......32,888......16,899.....15,989....95%
Georgia.................22.......28,887......16,229.....12,658....78%
North Carolina......17.......28,026......18,708.......9,318....50%
Arkansas................6........27,249......24,023......3,226....13%
Nebraska................7.......26,308......17,174.......9,134....53%
Michigan...............16.......25,243.....(31,410)....56,653...180%
Massachusetts......24.......25,062......19,889........5,173....26%
Arizona.................13.......17,448......11,179........6,269....56%
Indiana.................15.......17,114......12,596........4,518....36%
Florida..................30......17,004......11,491........5,513....48%
Colorado...............16.......15,604......10,575.......5,029....48%
Virginia.................24.......14,523......(2,798).....17,321...619%
Missouri................17.......14,391......12,143........2,248....19%
Tennessee.............15.......13,020.......8,700.......4,320....50%
Oklahoma..............11.......10,918.......7,019........3,899....56%
Maryland..............12.........8,161........6,431........1,730....27%
Rhode Island..........4.........7,311.......7,757.........(446)...(6)%
Wisconsin.............13.........7,089.........292........6,797..2328%
Kentucky................6.........4,924.......4,359..........565.....13%
Oregon...................4.........4,868.......4,424..........444.....10%
Delaware................2.........3,043.......2,144..........899.....42%
Louisiana...............3.........2,144.......1,338...........806.....60%
Iowa......................3.........1,871.......1,706...........165.....10%
Idaho.....................1.........1,483......(1,852).......3,335...180%
North Dakota..........1...........367.........401............(34)....(8)%
South Carolina........1...........304.........214.............90.....42%
Nevada..................7...........284........(716).......1,000...140%
Mississippi.............1...........207.........128.............79.....62%
Alabama................4...........166........(261)...........427...164%
Utah......................3...........102......(1,645).......1,747...106%
Kansas...................6.......(2,767)....(3,830)......1,063.....28%
Washington DC......3......(11,525)...(71,369)....59,844.....84%

Totals 40 States
.....and DC.........768...1,268,784..739,800...528,984....72%

* Texas numbers include both Royal Dutch Shell and BP, which have heavy operations in Houston.

As you can see from the above numbers, more than half of the earnings come from Big Corps based in the Big 3 States: Texas, New York, and California.

The above research, where I found 768 US Big Corps, was performed through the end of March 2011. Since then, in April and May 2011, I extended this research, and I found 134 additional US Big Corps. These 134 US Big Corp Late Additions had Total Core Pretax Income growth in 2010 of a blistering 4039%, more than 50 times the torrid 72% earnings growth of the 768 US Big Corps I researched earlier. These late additions step up the Total Core Pretax Income growth in 2010 for these 902 US Big Corps to a superlative 77%.

Below here are these 134 additional US Big Corps, sorted by State.

..........................................2010.......2009.........Increase
...........................................Core........Core........(Decrease)
.......State..........................PTI(L)......PTI(L).....Amount.....%
..............................................(millions of dollars)....
Late Big Corp Additions

New York (22)
AXA Equitable Life Insur...3,015.......(3,079)......6,094....198%
New York Life Insurance...2,519.........1,759..........760.....43%
HSBC USA.........................2,300..........(299).......2,599....869%
TIAA.................................1,381..........(452)........1,833....406%
Assured Guaranty Ltd..........636............133...........503....378%
Apollo Global Management..635............(67)..........702..1048%
Chimera Investment............534............324...........210.....65%
AllianceBernstein LP...........466............624..........(158)...(25)%
Newcastle Investment.........356...........(425)..........781....184%
Guardian Life Insurance.......328............191...........137.....72%
Alleghany............................277............395..........(118)...(30)%
Veeco Instruments..............271.............(12)..........283.....NM
MFA Financial.....................270.............268..............2........1%
Primus Guaranty, Ltd...........247..........1,467......(1,220)..(83)%
Lazard Ltd...........................244............(182)..........426....234%
Atlas Air WW.......................233.............124...........109.....88%
Sothebys.............................226...............16...........210.....NM
Phillips Van Heusen.............217.............212..............5........2%
First Niagara Fincl...............212.............120.............92......77%
Towers Watson....................209.............202..............7........3%
AXA Financial....................(119)........(4,582).......4,463.....97%
Fortress Investment Grp...(727)...........(914)..........187......20%

California (18)
Toyota Motor Credit Corp..2,618......1,009........1,609....159%
Pacific Life Insurance...........580.........464...........116......25%
Flextronics..........................528........(340).........868....255%
First Republic Bank..............470.........606.........(136)...(22)%
Life Technologies.................442.........195...........247....127%
HCP (REIT)...........................389........277...........112......40%
Herbalife Ltd........................380.........291............89......31%
Hansen Natural Corp............349.........336............13........4%
Edwards Lifesciences...........268.........217.............51......24%
ResMed................................261.........202.............59......29%
East West Bancorp................256........(366)..........622....170%
Copart..................................239.........228.............11........5%
Synopsys..............................199.........233............(34)...(15)%
SVB Financial........................198...........46...........152....330%
VCA Antech..........................192.........220...........(28)...(13)%
DreamWorks Animation........176........202...........(26)...(13)%
Tutor Perini..........................159.........205...........(46)...(22)%
PMI Group..........................(799)....(1,061)..........262.....25%

Illinois (13)
Molex...................................364.........(80)..........444....555%
Stericycle.............................332.........278.............54......19%
Career Education..................319.........230.............89......39%
Corn Products Intl................275.........239.............36......15%
LKQ Corp..............................270.........205.............65......32%
Unitrin..................................261.........230.............31......13%
IDEX Corp.............................232.........169.............63......37%
Ventas..................................228..........194.............34......18%
Alberto Culver......................218..........186.............32......17%
Anixter Intl...........................211..........117.............94......80%
Jones Lang LaSalle................203.............3............200.....NM
CNA Surety...........................197..........169.............28......17%
HSBC Finance Corp...........(2,906).....(7,466).......4,560.....61%

Pennsylvania (12)
Cephalon..............................719............517..........202......39%
Urban Outfitters...................417............344............73......21%
Vishay Intertechnology.......406............(40)..........446.....NM
Dentysply............................358............363.............(5).....(1)%
Dick's Sporting Goods...........298............223............75......34%
Education Management........297...........166...........131......79%
American Eagle Outftrs........295............304.............(9)......(3)%
InterDigital..........................238............113...........125.....111%
Gardner Denver...................232............124...........108......87%
Penn Natl Gaming.................230...........204............26......13%
Ansys...................................216............174............42......24%
Radian Group...................(1,580).........(242).....(1,338)..(553)%

Massachusetts (7)
Teradyne............................395...........(142)..........537...378%
Affiliated Managers.............379............246...........133.....54%
Boston Properties...............280............274.............6........2%
Varian Semiconductor........248................5...........243.....NM
Skyworks Solutions.............231..............86...........145....169%
Sun Life Assurance (US)......205..........1,212......(1,007)..(83)%
Interactive Data Corp...........35.............210..........(175)..(83)%

Texas (6)
Alcon...............................2,527.........2,313............214......9%
LyondellBasell NV............1,512........(1,322)........2,834...214%
Energy Transfer Prtnrs LP...686............804..........(118)..(15)%
Fossil Inc............................384............220...........164.....75%
Chicago Bridge & Iron.........292............295............(3)......(1)%
Kirby..................................190............206...........(16).....(8)%

Wisconsin (6)
Northwestern Life Insur......720...........517...........203.....39%
American Family Insur.......661............291...........370....127%
Bucyrus Intl........................461............447.............14.......3%
Bemis..................................327............240............87.....36%
Snap-On..............................277............205............72.....35%
Regal Beloit.........................221.............138............83.....60%

New Jersey (5)
American Water Works........449.............338...........111....33%
Verisk Analytics..................407.............265..........142....54%
Warner Chilcott plc.............307.............166...........141....85%
John Wiley & Sons...............200.............164............36.....22%
Avaya................................(853)...........(520).......(333)..(64)%

Ohio (5)
Kroger..............................1,734.........1,702............32.......2%
Big Lots...............................355............323............32.....10%
Mettler Toledo....................308............225............83.....37%
TransDigm...........................251............251.............0.......0%
Nordson..............................231............116...........115.....99%

Florida (3)
Citrix Systems.....................334............194...........140.....72%
BankUnited.........................313.............199...........114.....57%
Rayonier.............................233.............154............79.....51%

Louisiana (3)
Shaw Group.........................280............231.............49......21%
Amedisys............................186.............222...........(36)....(16)%
McMoRan Exploration.......(117)..........(207)...........90......43%

Maryland (3)
American Capital Agency.....289............119...........170....143%
American Capital Ltd...........204............135.............69......51%
CapitalSource.....................(161)..........(775).........614......79%

Michigan (3)
Credit Acceptance...............253.............229............24.....10%
Gentex................................203...............96...........107....111%
Chrysler.............................(513)........(8,325).......7,812.....94%

North Carolina (3)
Babcock & Wilcox................236.............232.............4........2%
Cree....................................205...............40...........165....413%
Triad Guaranty...................102.............(612)..........714....117%

Connecticut (2)
ING Life Insur&Annuity.....578..............404...........174.....43%
FactSet Research................222..............212.............10.......5%

Kansas (2)
Waddell & Reed...................246.............162............84.....52%
Compass Minerals...............195.............237...........(42)...(18)%

Missouri (2)
Cerner.................................362.............293............69.....24%
Commerce Bancshares.........318.............242............76.....31%

New Hampshire (2)
GT Solar...............................244............105...........139....132%
White Mountain Insur..........151............764..........(613)...(80)%

States with (1) Each
Proassurance.......AL..........333.............319.............14........4%
QEP Resources.....CO..........453.............333...........120......36%
Intelsat................DC.........(256)..........(272)............16........6%
Delphi Financial...DE..........226..............119...........107.....90%
Primerica.............GA..........399.............760..........(361)..(48)%
Bank of Hawaii......HI..........260.............222.............38.......17%
Sauer-Danfoss.......IA..........195............(220)..........415.....189%
Springleaf FinanceIN.........(253)...........(888)..........635......72%
Tempur Pedic.......KY..........231.............128............103.....80%
IDEXX Labs..........ME.........202.............175.............27.......15%
Land O'Lakes........MN..........189.............232...........(43)....(19)%
Buckle..................NE..........215..............204............11.........5%
AVX......................SC..........312..............113...........199....176%
Strayer Education VA.........217..............174............43......25%
Green Mntn Coffee VT.........191..............100............91......91%
Symetra Financial WA.........289..............181...........108.....60%
Cloud Peak EnergyWY.........166..............249...........(83)...(33)%

Total 134 Late Additions..44,117.........1,066......43,051...4039%

Earlier Research 768
..Big Corps in 40 States
..plus DC.....................1,268,784.......739,800...528,984....72%

Adjusted Total 902
..Big Corps in 45 States
..plus DC.....................1,312,901.......740,866....572,035...77%

If you wish to see the detailed Big Corps Earnings Results for any State, all you have to do is to click on that State's Blog Archived Article Post included on the right side of the computer screen. The 28 larger US States have separate posts. The Big Corp earnings details of the following 17 US Smaller States, as well as DC, are all included in the Blog Post entitled "Big Corps in Smaller States Post Superlative Earnings Growth in 2010":

...Utah
...Idaho
...Kansas
...Iowa
...North Dakota
...Kentucky
...Alabama
...Louisiana
...South Carolina
...Mississippi
...Rhode Island
...Delaware
...Hawaii
...Maine
...New Hampshire
...Vermont
...Wyoming

Big Corps in Smaller States Post Superlative Earnings Growth in 2010

In the past five weeks, I have made separate postings of Core Pretax Earnings in 2010 and 2009 for Big Corps based in 28 large US States. The Big Corps in these 28 States had substantial operations.

I have defined Big Corps as ones which made either Core Pretax Income or Core Pretax Losses of more than roughly $200 mil in either of the most recent two years.

I have defined Core Pretax Income as excluding certain items. Most companies exclude many more items than I do in deriving Core Pretax Income, or a similar term.

The items I exclude are large Asset Impairments, Acquired In Process R&D, Gains and Losses on Debt Extinguishment, and clearly one-time, clearly unusual Charges or Credits.

I don't think it makes any sense to exclude Restructuring Charges because these frequently end up being recurring items.

I also don't think it makes any sense to exclude Amortization of Purchased Intangible Assets, since this is a continuing cost of making acquisitions.

I further think it's crazy to exclude items such as Amortization of Inventory Acquired in an acquisition. Many companies do, particularly drug companies. It's like saying a company they bought had Inventory on its books at $10, but when they bought the company, they paid $14 for the inventory. Now assume the inventory is later sold for $16. These companies are very aggressively saying that their true profit on this inventory is $6, not the $2 recorded under GAAP. Pure aggressive make believe, in my book!

Anyway, in this post, I am summarizing the Non-Utility Big Corps in all the other smaller US States, and also in DC, that weren't already included in the 28 larger States I have already covered. And again, I am defining Big Corps as ones with Core Pretax Income or Core Pretax Loss of more than roughly $200 mil in either of the most recent two years.

I found 12 additional US States plus DC that had Non-Utility Big Corps. Altogether, I found 38 additional Big Corps, including DC-based Fannie Mae.

These 37 Big Corps, other than Fannie Mae, in these 12 smaller States and in DC, generated Total Core Pretax Income of $21.7 bil in 2010, up a monstrous 80% from 2009. And when I add in Fannie Mae, these 38 Big Corps increased their Total Core Pretax Earnings by a gargantuan $68.5 bil in 2010, or by 113%.

Below here are the individual current earnings for these 38 largest publicly-held Corps in these 12 smaller US States and in DC, as was disclosed in either their most recent annual Fiscal Year Ended (FYE) 2010 earnings releases or in their most recent SEC annual report filings.

Smaller US States 38 Largest Publicly-Held Corps Most Recent Annual Core Pretax Earnings (PTI)

.................................................................................Increase
.......................................FYE......PTI(L)..PTI(L)......(Decrease)...
......................................2010......2010...2009......Amount.....%.
...................................................(millions of dollars)....

West
.Utah 3 Big Corps
..Questar........................Dec….......302.......285...........17........6%
..Huntsman(1)................Dec….......203.....(266)........469.....176%
..Zions Bancorp(2).........Dec…......(403)...(1,664)....1,261......76%
..Total Utah 3 Big Corps.................102....(1,645)....1,747....106%

.Idaho 1 Big Corp
..Micron Technology(3).Aug….....1,483....(1,852)...3,335....180%

Heartland and Midwest
.Kansas 6 Big Corps
..Garmin, Ltd................Dec…........577........809.......(232)...(29)%
..Seaboard....................Dec…........364..........89.........275....309%
..Spirit Aerosystems.....Dec…........298........273...........25........9%
..Hawker Beechcraft(4).Dec….......(303)......(416)........113......27%
..YRC Worldwide(5)......Dec….......(404)....(1,091).......687.....63%
..Sprint Nextel..............Dec…....(3,299)...(3,494)........195.......6%
..Total Kansas 6 Big Corps.........(2,767)...(3,830).....1,063....28%

.Iowa 3 Big Corps
..Principal Financial.....Dec…........841.........746...........95.....13%
..Rockwell Collins(6)....Sep(6).......814.........826..........(12)....(1)%
..Meredith(7)..............Jun(7).......216.........134...........82.....61%
..Total Iowa 3 Big Corps.............1,871.....1,706..........165.....10%

.North Dakota 1 Big Corp
..MDU Resources(8).....Dec…........367........401..........(34)....(8)%

Southeast
.Kentucky 6 Big Corps
..Humana....................Dec…......1,750.....1,602.........148.......9%
..Yum Brands..............Dec…......1,594......1,396.........198.....14%
..Brown Forman(9).....Apr(9).......726........684...........42.......6%
..Lexmark...................Dec….........422........187.........235....126%
..Ashland....................Sep….........392........158.........234....148%
..Omnicare(10)...........Dec…...........40........332........(292)..(88)%
..Total Kentucky 6 Big Corps......4,924.....4,359.........565.....13%

.Alabama 4 Big Corps
..Energen...................Dec…..........458.......400...........58.....15%
..Protective Life.........Dec…..........389.......417..........(28)....(7)%
..Healthsouth.............Dec…..........204.......124...........80.....65%
..Regions Financial.....Dec…........(885)...(1,202).......317.....26%
..Total Alabama 4 Big Corps..........166......(261)........427....164%

.Louisiana 3 Big Corps
..CenturyLink.............Dec…......1,532........815.........717.....88%
..Albemarle................Dec…........430........183.........247....135%
..Tidewater(11)..........Mar(11)......182........340.......(158)....(46)%
..Total Louisiana 3 Big Corps.....2,144.....1,338.........806.....60%

.South Carolina 1 Big Corp
..Sonoco(12)..............Dec….........304........214...........90.....42%

.Mississippi 1 Big Corp
..Sanderson Farms.....Oct….........207........128...........79......62%

Northeast
.Rhode Island 4 Big Corps
..CVS Caremark..........Dec….......5,629.....5,913.......(284).....(5)%
..FM Global(13)..........Dec…..........978.....1,259.......(281)...(22)%
..Hasbro.....................Dec…..........508........530........(22).....(4)%
..Textron(14).............Dec…..........196..........55.........141....256%
.Total Rhode Island 4 Big Corps..7,311....7,757......(446).....(6)%

.Delaware 2 Big Corps
..Dupont.....................Dec….......3,711.....2,184.....1,527.....70%
..Wilmington Trust......Dec….......(668).......(40).....(628).....NM
..Total Delaware 2 Big Corps.......3,043.....2,144.......899.....42%

.Washington DC 3 Big Corps
..Without Fannie Mae
...Danaher(15)............Dec….......2,052.....1,425.......627.....44%
...Washington Post.....Dec…...........523........213.......310....146%
..Total 2 DC W/O Fannie Mae......2,575.....1,638.......937.....57%

..Fannie Mae(16)........Dec…...(14,100).(73,007).58,907...81%
..Total DC 3 Big Corps.............(11,525).(71,369)..59,844...84%

Total 37 Big Corps
.....W/O Fannie Mae.................21,730...12,097....9,633....80%

Total 38 Big Corps
.....With Fannie Mae.................7,630..(60,910)..68,540...113%

(1) Utah-based Huntsman 2010 PTI excludes Loss on Debt Extinguishment. Its 2009 PTL excludes large Terminated Merger Income.
(2) Utah-based Zions Bancorp 2009 PTL excludes large Goodwill Impairment Charge, large Gain on Debt Modification, and Acquisition Gain.
(3) Idaho-based Micron Technology 2010 PTI excludes large Acquisition Gain.
(4) Kansas-based Hawker Beechcraft 2009 PTL excludes Intangible Asset Impairment Charge and Gain of Debt Extinguishment.
(5) Kansas-based YRC Worldwide 2009 PTL excludes Gain on Debt Redemption.
(6) Iowa-based Rockwell Collins PTI in both years is for the 12 months ended December.
(7) Iowa-based Meredith PTI in both years is for the 12 months ended December. Its 2009 PTI excludes large Intangible Asset Impairment Charge.
(8) North Dakota-based MDU Resources 2009 PTI excludes large Ceiling Test Asset Impairment Charge.
(9) Kentucky-based Brown Forman PTI in both years is for the 12 months ended January 2011 and 2010.
(10) Kentucky-based Omnicare 2010 PTI excludes Asset Impairment Charges.
(11) Louisiana-based Tidewater PTI in both years is for the 12 months ended December.
(12) South Carolina-based Sonoco 2010 PTI excludes Loss on Debt Extinguishment.
(13) Rhode Island-based FM Global is a Mutual company.
(14) Rhode Island-based Textron 2010 PTI excludes both Asset Impairment Charge and Exchange Loss Reclassification. Its 2009 PTI excludes both Asset Impairment Charge and Gain of Sale.
(15) Washington DC-based Danaher 2010 PTI excludes Gain on Contribution of Businesses to a Joint Venture.
(16) Washington DC-based Fannie Mae 2009 PTL includes an extremely large Provision for Guarantee Losses.

The above research, was performed through the end of March 2011. Since then, in April and May 2011, I extended this research, and I found 134 additional US Big Corps. Below here are the 17 additional US Big Corps in these smaller states, sorted by State.

.............................................2010.........2009.........Increase
..............................................Core..........Core........(Decrease)
.......State.............................PTI(L)........PTI(L).....Amount.....%
..............................................(millions of dollars)....
Late Big Corp Additions

Louisiana (3)
Shaw Group.........................280............231.............49......21%
Amedisys............................186.............222...........(36)....(16)%
McMoRan Exploration.......(117)..........(207)...........90......43%

Kansas (2)
Waddell & Reed...................246.............162............84.....52%
Compass Minerals...............195.............237...........(42)...(18)%

New Hampshire (2)
GT Solar...............................244............105...........139....132%
White Mountain Insur..........151............764..........(613)...(80)%

States with 1 Each
Proassurance.......AL..........333.............319.............14........4%
Intelsat................DC.........(256)..........(272)............16........6%
Delphi Financial...DE..........226..............119...........107.....90%
Bank of Hawaii......HI..........260.............222.............38.......17%
Sauer-Danfoss.......IA..........195............(220)..........415.....189%
Tempur Pedic.......KY..........231.............128............103.....80%
IDEXX Labs..........ME.........202.............175.............27.......15%
AVX......................SC..........312..............113...........199....176%
Green Mntn Coffee VT.........191..............100............91......91%
Cloud Peak EnergyWY.........166..............249...........(83)...(33)%

(1) Louisiana-based Shaw Group excludes Foreign Currency Translation Losses in both years.
(2) New Hampshire-based GT Solar has a March fiscal year end. The above earnings numbers are for the 12 months ended December.
(3) White Mountain Insurance is a Bermuda Corp, but with an SEC location code in New Hampshire.
(4) Intelsat SA is a Luxembourg Company, but with a DC area external CPA firm. Its earnings numbers above exclude Asset Impairment charges in both years. Its 2010 PTL also excludes both Derivative Losses and Losses on Debt Retirement.
(5) Iowa-based Sauer-Danfoss 2009 PTI excludes Asset Impairment charge.
(6) South Carolina-based AVX PTI numbers are for the 12 months ended December.
(7) Green Mountain Coffee Roasters PTI numbers are for the 12 months ended March 2011 and 2010.
(8) Wyoming-based Cloud Peak Energy 2010 PTI excludes Tax Agreement Expense.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Tennessee Big Corp Earnings Surge in 2010

I found 15 Big Corps based in the State of Tennessee. I am defining these Big Corps as ones that had more than $200 mil in Core Pretax Earnings or Losses in either of the most recent two years: 2010 and 2009.

These 15 Tennesse Big Corps generated Total Core Pretax Income of $13.0 bil in 2010, which was an exceptional 50% increase over 2009. And all 15 of them had earnings increases in 2010.

It is pretty clear to me that the Obama Administration was very effective in working with Big Corps in all US States, not just the Blue and Purple States which voted for him. These extremely strong 2010 earnings of Tennessee Big Corps is a good testament to that. And the Big Corps in the other States that I have studied so far, which didn't vote for Obama....Georgia, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas, and Missouri....all had just superb 2010 earnings. And I am pretty certain that the Big Corps in nearly all of the other Red States that I will be studying, and will be later reporting on, will also show very strong earnings increases in 2010.

Below here are the individual current earnings for these Tennessee 15 largest publicly-held Corps, as was disclosed in either their most recent annual Fiscal Year Ended (FYE) 2010 earnings releases or in their most recent SEC annual report filings.

Tennessee 15 Largest Publicly-Held Corps Most Recent Annual Core Pretax Earnings (PTI)

.....................................FYE.......PTI......PTI(L).....Increase...
TN Big Corp.................2010......2010....2009....Amount....%.
.................................................(millions of dollars)....

HCA(1).........................Dec…....2,354....2,045......309....15%
FedEx(2)......................May(2).2,178....1,229.......949....77%
Unum Group.................Dec…....1,331....1,292........39.......3%
Autozone(3).................Aug(3)..1,206....1,051......155.....15%
International Paper(4)..Dec…....1,201......133....1,068...803%
Dollar General............Jan 11........985......552.......433....78%
Tenn Valley Auth(5)......Dec…......972......726.......246....34%
Eastman Chemical(6).....Dec…......751......433.......318....73%
Community Health Sys..Dec…......508......446.........62....14%
HealthSpring.................Dec…......309......210.........99....47%
Tractor Supply..............Dec…......265......190.........75....39%
Corrections Corp Amer..Dec…......252......231.........21......9%
Lifepoint Hospitals........Dec…......241......222.........19.......9%
Amsurg.........................Dec…......216......214...........2.......1%
Psychiatric Solut(7)......Dec…......202......147.........55....37%
First Horizon National...Dec….......49.....(421)......470...112%

Total All 15 TN Big Corps.......13,020....8,700...4,320....50%

(1) HCA PTI in both years exclude Asset Impairment Charges.
(2) FedEx PTI is for the 12 months ended November. Also, both years' PTI exclude Asset Impairment and Other Charges.
(3) Autozone PTI is for the 12 months ended November.
(4) International Paper 2010 PTI excludes Franklin Mill Shutdown Costs of 315. Its 2009 PTI excludes Mill Shutdown Costs for Albany, Franklin and Pineville, totaling 861. Its 2009 PTI also excludes Loss on Debt Extinguishment of 185. Further, and more importantly, its 2009 PTI excludes Alternative Fuel Mixture Tax Credits totaling a massive 2,063.
(5) Tennessee Valley Authority, a US Government Corporation, is the Nation's largest public power system.
(6) Eastman Chemical 2010 PTI excludes Loss on Debt Extinguishment. Its 2009 PTI excludes Asset Impairment Charges.
(7) Psychiatric Solutions PTI is just for the 9 months ended September in each year.

Six of the above 15 Tennessee Big Corps are Health Care companies. It's pretty clear that the Affordable Health Care Plan very positively impacted the earnings of each of these six Tennessee Health Care companies.

Due to very effective lobbying by the Hospital Industry, Nashville Area For-Profit Hospital Big Corps were particularly endowed financially by the new Health Care Plan. Probably more than anyone, HCA investors just flat-out cleaned up when its stock recently went back onto the public stock market.

While Nashville For-Profit Hospitals did very well in 2010, I think their earnings will do even much better after the new Health Care Plan is fully implemented. Their future robust earnings prospects will be driven by the many new patients, and by the substantial drop in Bad Debts Expense, both caused by wisely designed provisions in the new Health Care Plan.

I do have to question just what went on in 2009 with all of these Massive Alternative Fuel Mixture Tax Credits that I keep seeing when reviewing these income statements. For instance, did the country really get its money worth for the $2,063,000,000 (yeah, that's $2.1 bil) of Alternative Fuel Mixture Tax Credits that Tennessee-based International Paper received just in 2009? This monstrous earnings uptick for these Tax Credits just dwarfs by more than 15 times International Paper's regular Core Pretax Earnings in that same year.

I think it might be wise for the US Government to perform a study, detailing the amount of all of these Alternative Fuel Mixture Tax Credits received, and whether the benefit here was worth this massive cost. We certainly want to be Energy Independent as a country, but can we really afford a program like this Alternative Fuel Mixture Tax Credit? I think there are much better ways to get a better bang for your buck, like wise Business Energy Tax Credits for Commercial Building Green Retrofit Upgrades.....if properly designed, this one will more than pay for itself.

Oregon Big Corp Earnings Higher in 2010, Led By Nike

I found 5 Big Corps based in the State of Oregon. I am defining these Big Corps as ones that had more than $200 mil in Core Pretax Earnings or Losses in either of the most recent two years: 2010 and 2009.

One of these 5 Oregon Big Corps is a Utility. The other 4 had their Total Pretax Income for 2010 increase 10% over 2009, clearly driven by Nike's 19% earnings growth.

Below here are the individual current earnings for these Oregon 5 largest publicly-held Corps, as was disclosed in either their most recent annual Fiscal Year Ended (FYE) 2010 earnings releases or in their most recent SEC annual report filings.

Oregon 5 Largest Publicly-Held Corps Most Recent Annual Core Pretax Earnings (PTI)

..............................................................................Increase
......................................FYE........PTI.......PTI......(Decrease)...
Oregon Big Corp............2010......2010....2009....Amount...%.
...............................................(millions of dollars)....

OR Non-Utility Big Corps
Nike(1).........................May(1)...2,754.....2,320......434.....19%
Precision Castparts(2)..Mar(2)....1,468.....1,448........20.......1%
FLIR Systems................Dec…........363.......340........23.......7%
Stancorp.......................Dec…........283.......316.......(33)...(10)%

Total OR Non-Utility Big Corps....4,868...4,424.......444.....10%

OR Big Utility
PacifiCorp.....................Dec…........777.....784.........(7).....(1)%

(1) Nike PTI is for the 12 months ended February 2011 and 2010.
(2) Precision Castparts PTI in both years is for the 12 months ended December.

Nevada Big Corp Losses Turn Positive in 2010, Driven By Strong Macau Operations

I found 7 Big Corps based in the State of Nevada. I am defining these Big Corps as ones that had more than $200 mil in Core Pretax Earnings or Losses in either of the most recent two years: 2010 and 2009.

On an overall basis, these 7 Nevada Big Corps generated Total Core Pretax Income in 2010 of $284 mil, which was a turnaround from the Total Core Pretax Loss in 2009 of $(716) mil.

On the downside, the Core Pretax Losses of both Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts grew in 2010.

But on the upside, both Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts had dramatic earnings improvements in 2010, driven by their strong operations in Macau.

Below here are the individual current earnings for these Nevada 7 largest publicly-held Corps, as was disclosed in either their most recent annual Fiscal Year Ended (FYE) 2010 earnings releases or in their most recent SEC annual report filings.

Nevada 7 Largest Publicly-Held Corps Most Recent Annual Core Pretax Earnings (PTI)

..............................................................................Increase
.......................................FYE......PTI(L)..PTI(L)....(Decrease)...
Nevada Big Corp............2010......2010....2009....Amount...%.
...................................................(millions of dollars)....

Las Vegas Sands(1)...........Dec…....856.....(204)....1,060....520%
Wynn Resorts, Ltd(2).......Dec…....407........23........384...1670%
Intl Game Technology(3)..Sep…....377......297.........80......27%
NV Energy........................Dec…....341......258..........83......32%
Amerco(4).......................Mar…....259........57........202....354%
MGM Resorts(5)...............Dec…...(741)....(317).....(424)..(134)%
Caesars Entertainment(6).Dec….(1,215)...(830).....(385)...(46)%

Total All 7 NV Big Corps................284.....(716)....1,000....140%

(1) Las Vegas Sands 2009 PTI excludes Asset Impairment Charges.
(2) Wynn Resorts PTI in both years exclude Gains and Losses on Debt Extinguishment.
(3) International Game Technology PTI in both years exclude Asset Impairment Charges.
(4) Amerco PTI in both years is for the 12 months ended December.

(5) MGM Resorts Reported PTL in 2010 of $(2,216) excludes:
…..Investment in City Center Impairment Charge of $1,313
…..City Center Residential Impairment Charge of $166
…..Investment in Borgata Impairment Charge of $128
…..Gain on Debt Extinguishment of $(132)
…..= Core PTL in 2010 of $(741)

…..MGM Resorts Reported PTL in 2009 of $(2,013) excludes:
…….Investment in City Center Impairment Charge of $956
…….Atlantic City Renaissance Point Impairment Charge of $548
…….City Center Residential Impairment Charge of $203
…….M Resort Note Impairment of $176
…….Gain on Sale of Treasure Island of $(187)
…….= Core PTL in 2009 of $(317)

(6) Caesars Entertainment, formerly called Harrahs Entertainment, PTL in both years exclude both Gains on Debt Extinguishment and Intangible Asset Impairment Charges.

It is pretty clear that Nevada's economy is highly dependent on California visitors. Thus, California's Big Corp substantial earnings improvement in 2010 should eventually bode well for Nevada. However, to substantially help spur Nevada's economy, California's very high unemployment and underemployment rates must drop significantly.

I think there are two things that the US Government could do to really help Nevada's severely depressed economy.

First, an effective US government program is needed to get the greedy huge Financial Institutions to write down underwater home mortgages. If their accounting is proper, these Financial Institutions should have already reflected the economic loss of these underwater mortgages on their books. Thus, there should be no significant earnings charge to them for taking such an action.

Based on their incredible, nearly miraculous, earnings turnaround in 2010, driven by wise US Government, including Fed, initiatives, I don't think it is too much to ask, and yes even require, these large Financial Institutions to help severely hurt citizens, who are underwater on their home mortgages. And I think the US Government should consider providing some temporary tax incentives, which can be easily designed to have no CBO-scored cost to the US Government over a ten-year scoring period, to incentivize Big Financial Corps to write down these principal balances of underwater home mortgages, both on first mortgages and on second mortgages.

And second, a Refundable Business Energy Tax Credit on Commercial Building Green Retrofit Upgrades should be really beneficial to Nevada businesses, as well as spurring job growth in the Nevada Construction Industry.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Arizona Big Corps Had Wholescale Hot Earnings Surges in 2010

I found 13 Big Corps based in the State of Arizona. I am defining these Big Corps as ones that had more than $200 mil in Core Pretax Earnings or Losses in either of the most recent two years: 2010 and 2009.

These 13 Arizona Big Corps generated Total Core Pretax Income of $17.4 bil in 2010, which was an exceptionally strong 56% increase over 2009. And all 13 Arizona Big Corps experienced earnings increases in 2010, with 9 of them having double-digit percentage earnings increases, and with the other 4 having triple-digit percentage earnings growth.

It is pretty clear to me that the Obama Administration was very effective in working with Big Corps in all US States, not just the Blue and Purple States which voted for him. These just incredible 2010 earnings of Arizona Big Corps is a good testament to that. And the Big Corps in the other States that I have studied so far, which didn't vote for Obama....Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas, and Missouri....all had just superb 2010 earnings. And Tennessee's 2010 earnings numbers also look like they are going to be very strong.

Below here are the individual current earnings for these Arizona 13 largest publicly-held Corps, as was disclosed in either their most recent annual Fiscal Year Ended (FYE) 2010 earnings releases or in their most recent SEC annual report filings.

Arizona 13 Largest Publicly-Held Corps Most Recent Annual Pretax Earnings (PTI)

......................................FYE......PTI........PTI........Increase...
Arizona Big Corp..........2010.....2010.....2009....Amount....%.
.................................................(millions of dollars)....

Freeport McMoran........Dec…...8,512.....5,816.....2,696....46%
Southern Copper...........Dec…...2,431.....1,404.....1,027....73%
Apollo Group(1)............Aug.....1,364......1,148.......216.....19%
Republic Services(2).....Dec…...1,038........862.......176.....20%
Avnet(3).......................Jun…......765........292.......473...162%
First Solar.....................Dec…......762........686........76......11%
Pinnacle West Capital....Dec…......515........389.......126......32%
US Airways...................Dec…......502.......(243)......745...307%
Microchip Technol(4)...Mar….....425.........182.......243....134%
PetSmart....................Jan 11.......370........309.........61.....20%
ON Semiconductor.......Dec…......306..........71.......235....331%
Amkor Technology.......Dec…......251........127.......124......98%
Medicis Pharma............Dec…......207.......136.........71......52%

Total All 13 AZ Big Corps........17,448...11,179....6,269.....56%

(1) Apollo Group PTI in both years exclude Litigation Losses. Its 2010 PTI also excludes Intangible Asset Impairment Charge.
(2) Republic Services PTI in both years exclude Loss on Debt Extinguishment. Its 2009 PTI also excludes both Gain on Asset Dispositions.
(3) Avnet earnings numbers in both years are for the 12 months ended December.
(4) Microchip Technology earnings numbers in both years are for the 12 months ended December.

Clearly, just like Technology firms in California's Silicon Valley, as well as ones in other high-tech corridors throughout the country, Arizona's high-tech earnings just flat out exploded upwardly in 2010. Here are Arizona's Big Corp high tech firms and their earnings growth in 2010:

...ON Semiconductor........+331%
...Avnet...........................+162%
...Microchip Technology..+134%
...Amcor Technology.........+98%

Yeah, the first-year 100% tax expensing of equipment acquired in the latter part of 2010 markedly helped all of these high tech firm. And this 100% tax expensing will apply to all of 2011. Thus, this bodes well for the earnings prospects of technology firms in 2011, particularly so in the latter part of 2011.....companies have little economic reason to make equipment investments early in 2011, since they get precisely the same first-year 100% tax expensing in 2011, even if the equipment addition occurs at the very end of 2011.

The one disappointment to me here is that the lowest earnings growth in 2010 at 11% was First Solar, an extremely well-regarded green firm. I think this just shows that even though energy independence is where the country wants to be, the earnings of these green energy renewable companies won't come easily, even when you provide very nice tax incentives.

On the other hand, that won't be the case if you provide wise, attractive business energy tax credit incentives for Commercial Building Green Retrofit Improvements. When you do that, just watch what happens to both Construction and to the Commercial Real Estate Market, two really soft spots in the US economy, desperately needing uplifts.

Also, unlike what happens to energy renewable firms receiving tax incentives, when you provide wise healthy tax incentives to US high tech firms, the earnings will just explode upwardly, as you can see from what happened to the earnings of these high tech firms, on a whole-scale basis, in 2010.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Maryland Big Corps Posted Solid Earnings Growth in 2010

I found 12 Big Corps based in the State of Maryland. I am defining these Big Corps as ones that had more than $200 mil in Core Pretax Earnings or Losses in either of the most recent two years: 2010 and 2009.

Anyway, one Giant Corp clearly dominates the Maryland-based Big Corp earnings landscape. US Defense Contractor Lockheed Martin posted Pretax Earnings in 2010 of $3.8 bil, down 10% from 2009. On the very positive side, this profit reduction no doubt put somewhat less pressure on the massive US Deficit.

I think it would be helpful to analyze from SEC filings the past Pretax Profits, Net Sales, and the Profit Margin (i.e. Pretax Profits divided by Net Sales) of Lockheed Martin over the past decade to see where it leads us.

...............Pretax.........Net.......Profit
...............Profits.......Sales.....Margin %

Bush/Cheney Years
2001.....$0.1 bil...$24.0 bil....0.6%
2002.....$0.6 bil...$26.6 bil.....2.2%
2003.....$1.5 bil...$31.8 bil.....4.8%
2004.....$1.7 bil...$35.5 bil.....4.7%
2005.....$2.6 bil...$37.2 bil.....7.0%
2006.....$3.6 bil..$39.1 bil.....9.2%
2007.....$4.4 bil...$40.7 bil...10.7%
2008.....$4.6 bil...$41.4 bil....11.2%
Enter Obama/Biden
2009.....$4.2 bil...$44.0 bil....9.6%
2010.....$3.8 bil...$45.8 bil....8.4%

To put it simply, in 2001, Lockheed Martin was generating just over half of a dollar (55 cents unrounded, which rounds up to 60 cents) of profit for every $100 of sales it made. Most of these sales were to the US government.

And look how that just over half of a dollar of profit continually and monstrously grew during the Bush/Cheney Presidency, which ended in 2008.

Yeah, that just over half of a dollar (really 55 cents, unrounded) earned in 2001 on each $100 of sales grew eight-fold in just two years to be just short of five dollars by 2003, and then nearly doubled in only three more years from 2003 to reach over nine dollars in 2006, and then grew by another two dollars, or by 22%, in two years to reach above eleven dollars in 2008.

Thus, when you go from 55 cents of profit on each $100 of Sales in 2001 to $11 dollars and 18 cents of profit for each $100 of Sales in 2008, the math says you get a twenty-fold increase in Profit Margin Percentage in just seven years. Whew!

And the country is still trying to figure out how we got such a monstrous Deficit? A good chunk of it is due to horrible fiscal controls by the US Government during the 2000s laissez-faire Lost Decade.

So how has the Obama Administration dealt with this 11.2 dollars of profit earned by Lockheed Martin for every $100 of Sales it made in 2008?

Well, it actually has made progress in cutting into this profligate profit. In just two years, it has pared precisely 25% of the 11.2 dollars of profligate Lockheed Martin profit it inherited in 2008, down to 8.4 dollars in 2010.

And it's just not US Defense Contractor Lockheed Martin generating these profligate profit margins on the back of US citizens. It's also the other huge US Defense Contractors.

Here's the Pretax Profit Margin Percentages for the four largest US Defense Contractors for the first and last years of the Bush Administration:

Bush/Cheney Years:
...................................2001.......2008.....Increase

Lockheed Martin.......0.55%......11.18%.....10.63%
Raytheon...................0.69%.....10.88%.....10.19%
Northrop Grumman...5.16%.......7.86%......2.70%
General Dynamics.....11.71%.....12.30%......0.60%
All Four Combined.....3.56%.....10.54%......6.98%

So, it wasn't just Big Oil that flourished during the Bush/Cheney Presidential years....it was also the Big US Defense Contractors.

And then as a comparison, here's the Pretax Profit Margin Percentages for the huge US Defense Contractors, that the Obama Administration inherited in 2008, as well as what they were in 2010:

Obama/Biden Years So Far:
................................2008........2010.....Decrease

Lockheed Martin.....11.18%.......8.35%......2.83%
Raytheon.................10.88%......9.66%......1.22%
Northrop Grumman...7.86%......7.47%.....0.39%
General Dynamics....12.30%.....11.67%.....0.63%
All Four Combined...10.54%......9.61%......0.93%

Perhaps even more telling are the total dollars of Pretax Income and Net Sales for these four huge US Defense Contractors Combined for each of the years from 2001 through 2010:

...........Pretax Income.....Net Sales.....Profit Margin %
.....................(in billions of dollars)
2001...............$2.4.............$66.6...........3.56%
2002...............$4.0............$74.4...........5.32%
2003...............$4.7............$92.7...........5.07%
2004...............$5.6...........$104.8...........5.38%
2005...............$8.1...........$106.7...........7.61%
2006.............$10.2...........$113.0...........9.03%
2007.............$12.3...........$121.3..........10.16%
2008.............$13.3...........$126.2..........10.54%
2009.............$12.9...........$134.6............9.61%
2010.............$12.6...........$138.2............9.15%

Just look at the above numbers! With a severe Recession early in the 2000 Decade and nearly a Depression in the later years of the 2000 Decade, these huge US Defense Contractors' sales and earnings just kept continually powering forward, unabated.....great for their stockholders, executives and employees, but just financially devastating to their main customer, the US Government, and thus also to US citizens.

I think it would be a very wise initiative for the US Government to review the profit margins of every US government contractor, with the goal to wisely and dramatically reduce all profligate profit margins.

Such an initiative is how you make substantial progress in effectively reducing the US Deficit, rather than the way the House Republicans are continually doing, going off course by spending nearly all of their time on attempting to cut many highly-controversial, minor dollar programs. Instead, the House's time should be spent on job creation and energy independence initiatives, which is what the country is shouting out for.

Enough for Lockheed Martin and the massive US Deficit.

The other 11 Maryland Big Corps generated Total Core Pretax Income in 2010 of $4.3 bil, up a massive 97% over 2009.

Maryland is blessed with so many bright, very influential US Senators and US House members....US Senators Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin, and also US House members like Steny Hoyer, Chris Van Hollen, Elijah Cummings, and John Sarbanes. No doubt this cadre of very effective advocates for all of the State of Maryland's businesses helped create the economic environment for these firms to flourish in 2010.

Below here are the individual current earnings for these Maryland 12 largest publicly-held Corps, as was disclosed in either their most recent annual Fiscal Year Ended (FYE) 2010 earnings releases or in their most recent SEC annual report filings.

Maryland 12 Largest Publicly-Held Corps Most Recent Annual Pretax Earnings (PTI)

................................................................................Increase
.......................................FYE......PTI(L).....PTI(L)..(Decrease)..
Maryland Big Corp..........2010......2010......2009...Amount..%.
...................................................(millions of dollars)....

Giant US Defense Contractor
Lockheed Martin.............Dec….....3,826....4,230....(404)..(10)%

Other 11 MD Big Corps
T Rowe Price Group.........Dec….....1,070.......689......381....55%
Coventry Health Care(1)..Dec…........965.......505......460....91%
Constellation Energy(2)...Dec…........833.......513......320....62%
Marriott(3)......................Dec…........551........334.....217....65%
McCormick......................Nov….......463.......417........46....11%
Legg Mason(4).................Mar….......365......(379).....744...196%
WR Grace.........................Dec…........240........93.......147...158%
Magellan Health...............Dec…........222.......164........58....35%
FTI Consulting.................Dec…........117.......227.....(110)..(48)%
Host Hotels & Motels.......Dec….......(159).....(236).......77....33%
Ciena(5)...........................Oct….......(332).....(126)...(206).(163)%

Total Other 11 MD Big Corps...........4,335....2,201....2,134....97%

(1) Coventry Health Care 2010 PTI excludes Class Action Charge.
(2) Constellation Energy 2010 PTI excludes both huge Investment Impairment Losses and Gains on Divestitures. Its 2009 PTI excludes both an enormous Gain on Sale of Membership Interest in CENG and Losses on Divestitures.
(3) Marriott 2009 PTI excludes large Time Share Strategy Impairment Charge
(4) Legg Mason earnings numbers for each year are for the 12 months ended December. Its 2009 PTL excludes Asset Impairment Charge, but includes large Fund Support Charge.
(5) Ciena 2009 PTL excludes large Goodwill Impairment Charge. Its 2010 earnings have much higher R&D expense and also much higher Acquisition and Integration Expenses than it did in 2009.

When you look at the above list of these 12 Maryland Big Corps, you have to be impressed with the overall very high quality of nearly all of them.

It is easy to see how firms like Marriott and Host would benefit from the Obama Administration's wise Energy Tax Credit Proposal for Commercial Building Green Retrofit Investments.

The above research, where I found 12 Maryland Big Corps, was performed through the end of March 2011. Since then, in April and May 2011, I extended this research, and I found 3 additional Maryland Big Corps, which are shown here below.

..........................................2010.......2009.........Increase
...........................................Core........Core........(Decrease)
.......State..........................PTI(L)......PTI(L).....Amount.....%
..............................................(millions of dollars)....
Late Big Corp Additions

Maryland (3)
American Capital Agency.....289............119...........170....143%
American Capital, Ltd..........204.............135............69......51%
CapitalSource......................(161)..........(775).........614.....79%

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Georgia Big Corp Earnings on Red Hotlanta Fire in 2010

I found 24 Big Corps based in the State of Georgia. I am defining these Big Corps as ones that had more than $200 mil in Core Pretax Earnings or Losses in either of the most recent two years: 2010 and 2009.

Two of these 24 Big Corps are Utilities.

Coca-Cola is the largest profit generator in Georgia. Its Core Pretax Earnings for 2010 were $9.7 bil, up 9% from 2009. This 9% earnings growth does not seem unusual to me because Coke's Earnings held up very well during the Great Recession. In fact, its Core Pretax Earnings of $9.7 bil in 2010 is significantly above its Pre-Great Recession Pretax Earnings of $6.6 bil in 2006 and $7.9 bil in 2007.

But the main story here is what happened to the 2010 earnings of the 20 Non-Utility Big Corps in Georgia other than Coke and its Bottler, Coca-Cola Enterprises.

These 20 Georgia Big Corps generated Total Core Pretax Income of $18.4 bil in 2010, which was a monstrous 181% increase over 2009. Whoa!....now that is what I call Moving the Earnings Needle.

It is pretty clear to me that the Obama Administration was effective in working with Big Corps in all US States, not just the Blue and Purple States which voted for him. These just incredible 2010 earnings of Georgia Big Corps is a good testament to that. And the Big Corps in the other States that I have studied so far, which didn't vote for Obama....Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas, and Missouri....all had just superb 2010 earnings. And I am pretty certain that all of the other larger Red States that I will be studying will also show very strong earnings increases in 2010.

Below here are the individual current earnings for these Georgia 24 largest publicly-held Corps, as was disclosed in either their most recent annual Fiscal Year Ended (FYE) 2010 earnings releases or in their most recent SEC annual report filings.

Georgia 24 Largest Publicly-Held Corps Most Recent Annual Pretax Earnings (PTI)

.............................................................................Increase...
....................................FYE.....PTI(L).....PTI(L)....(Decrease)...
GA Big Corp................2010.....2010......2009.....Amount....%.
.................................................(millions of dollars)....

Giant Beverage Corps
Coca-Cola(1)................Dec….....9,709.....8,946......763.....9%
Coca-Cola Enterprises..Dec…........746.......727.........19.....3%

Total Giant Beverage Corps......10,455.....9,673......782.....8%

All 20 GA Non-Utilities But Coke
United Parcel Service..Dec….....5,523......3,366....2,157....64%
Home Depot..............Jan 11.....5,273......3,982.....1,291....32%
AFLAC........................Dec….....3,585......2,235.....1,350...60%
Delta Air Lines(2)........Dec….....1,181.....(1,498)....2,679..179%
Invesco, Ltd................Dec….......834.........358.......476...133%
Genuine Parts..............Dec….......762.........644.......118.....18%
Intercontlexchange.....Dec….......610.........494........116....23%
Newell Rubbermaid(3).Dec….......519.........428.........91....21%
AGL Resources............Dec….......390.........384..........6......2%
Equifax.......................Dec….......375..........331.........44....13%
AGCO..........................Dec….......325..........193........132...68%
Global Payments.........May….......310.........292.........18.....6%
Rock-Tenn...................Sep….......295.........318........(23)..(7)%
RPC.............................Dec….......238.........(33).......271..821%
Flowers Foods.............Dec….......210.........208...........2......1%
Mohawk Industries......Dec….......193.........(78).......271...347%
SunTrust Banks(4).......Dec….........21......(1,699)...1,720...101%
Beazer Homes(5).........Sep…......(192).......(329)......137....42%
Synovus Financial.......Dec…......(849)....(1,606)......757....47%
First Data(6)................Dec…....(1,171)....(1,434)......263....18%

Total All 20 GA Non-Utility
....Big Corps But Coke...............18,432......6,556..11,876...181%

Utilities
Southern Co(7)...........Dec…......3,066......2,806.....260......9%
Mirant(8)....................Dec…........727.......1,217....(490)..(40)%

Total Utilities............................3,793......4,023....(230)....(6)%

(1) Coca Cola 2010 PTI excludes each of the following items:
…..Gain from Remeasuring CCE to FMV upon acquisition of CCE's North American business
…..Gain from Sale of Norway and Sweden Bottling Operations to CCE
…..Loss on debt extinguishment
…..Loss due to writeoff of Investment in Infrastructure Programs with CCE
…..Charitable Contribution made to Coca-Cola Foundation
…..Remeasurement of Venezuela's Subsidiary's Net Assets due to Hyper-inflationary Status
…..Transaction Costs related to acquisition of CCE NA business and to sale of Norway and Sweden Bottling Operations to CCE
(2) Delta Air Lines PTI(L) exclude Loss on Debt Extinguishment in both years. Its 2010 PTI also excludes Asset Impairment Charge.
(3) Newell Rubbermaid 2010 PTI excludes Loss on Debt Extinguisment.
(4) SunTrust Banks 2009 PTL excludes Intangible Asset Impairment Charge.
(5) Beazer Homes PTL in both years exclude Gain on Debt Extinguishment.
(6) First Data 2009 PTL excludes Asset Impairment Charge.
(7) Southern Company 2009 PTI excludes Litigation Settlement.
(8) Mirant 2010 PTI excludes Impairment Loss, and its 2009 PTI includes large Unrealized Derivative Gains.

As you can see from the above, Georgia Big Corps did just great in 2010. And due in no small part to the first-year 100% tax expensing of equipment being effective for all of 2011, I expect that these Georgia Big Corps will also do very well in 2011. But mathematically, it is not possible to achieve the same nosebleed level of percentage earnings growth as that experienced in 2010.

I do think that the Obama Administration's Business Energy Tax Credit Proposals for Green Commercial Building Retrofit Investments and for Renewable Energy Investments would be very beneficial to all of Georgia, but especially to the Atlanta Metro Area.

The above research, where I found 24 Georgia Big Corps, was performed through the end of March 2011. Since then, in April and May 2011, I extended this research, and I found 1 additional Georgia Big Corp, which is shown here below.

..........................................2010.......2009.........Increase
...........................................Core........Core........(Decrease)
.......State..........................PTI(L)......PTI(L).....Amount.....%
..............................................(millions of dollars)....
Late Big Corp Addition

Primerica.............GA........399...........760..........(361)..(48)%

Late Late Addition
Carters................GA.........233............184.............49.....27%

Arkansas Big Corps Report Solid Earnings Growth in 2010

I found 6 Big Corps based in the State of Arkansas. I am defining these Big Corps as ones that had more than $200 mil in Core Pretax Earnings or Losses in either of the most recent two years: 2010 and 2009.

Anyway, one Giant Corp clearly dominates the Arkansas-based Big Corp earnings landscape. Wal-Mart posted Pretax Earnings in the fiscal year ended(FYE) January 2011 of an incredible $23.5 bil, which was an increase of 6% over the previous year.

Wal-Mart's 6% earnings growth might seem low to some, but it doesn't surprise me. Wal-Mart just powered through the Great Recession, almost as if it didn't happen.

Here is the Pretax Income of Wal-Mart just before the Great Recession, during the Great Recession, and just after the Great Recession.

FYE January....Pretax Income
....2007................$19.0 bil
....2008................$20.2 bil
....2009................$20.9 bil
....2010................$22.1 bil
....2011................$23.5 bil

The other 5 Arkansas Big Corps generated Total Core Pretax Income in 2010 of $3.7 bil, up a massive 95% over 2009. The major earnings growth contributor here was Tyson Foods.

Below here are the individual current earnings for these Arkansas 6 largest publicly-held Corps, as was disclosed in either their most recent annual Fiscal Year Ended (FYE) 2010 earnings releases or in their most recent SEC annual report filings.

Arkansas 6 Largest Publicly-Held Corps Most Recent Annual Pretax Earnings (PTI)

.........................................................................Increase
.................................FYE.........PTI........PTI....(Decrease)...
Arkansas Big Corp...2010......2010......2009......Amount...%.
...............................................(millions of dollars)....

Ark Giant Corp That Rules
Wal-Mart...............Jan 11....23,538...22,118.....1,420.....6%

Ark 5 Other Big Corps
Murphy Oil(1)..........Dec…......1,414.....1,033........381....37%
Tyson Foods(2)........Sep…......1,203.........17......1,186....NM
Windstream.............Dec…........505........546........(41)...(8)%
JB Hunt Transports..Dec…........320.......224..........96.....43%
Dillards..................Jan 11.........269.........85.........184...216%

Total Ark 5 Other Big Corps....3,711....1,905......1,806....95%

(1) Murphy Oil 2009 PTI excludes Recovery of Federal Royalties Credit.
(2) Tyson Foods 2009 PTI excludes large Goodwill Impairment Charge.

Nebraska Big Corp Earnings Surge in 2010, Led By Berkshire Hathaway

I found 7 Big Corps based in the State of Nebraska. I am defining these Big Corps as ones that had more than $200 mil in Core Pretax Earnings or Losses in either of the most recent two years: 2010 and 2009.

Anyway, one Giant Corp dominates the Nebraska-based Big Corp earnings landscape. Berkshire Hathaway, led by visionary Warren Buffett, posted Pretax Earnings in 2010 of an incredible $19.1 bil, which was an increase of a massive 65% over 2009.

For Berkshire Hathaway to increase its earnings by 65% over such a huge prior year earnings base is just an amazing accomplishment. It is pretty clear that Warren Buffett just sees things others don't see, and certainly much earlier than others.

Union Pacific is the second largest profit earner in Nebraska. It generated Pretax Earnings of $4.4 bil in 2010, an increase of a very robust 49% over 2009.

Below here are the individual current earnings for these Nebraska 7 largest publicly-held Corps, as was disclosed in either their most recent annual Fiscal Year Ended (FYE) 2010 earnings releases or in their most recent SEC annual report filings.

Nebraska 7 Largest Publicly-Held Corps Most Recent Annual Pretax Earnings (PTI)

..........................................................................Increase
.................................FYE.........PTI.........PTI....(Decrease)....
NE Big Corp.............2010......2010.......2009......Amount....%.
................................................(millions of dollars)....

Berkshire Hathaway..Dec…...19,051....11,552.....7,499....65%
Union Pacific............Dec….....4,433......2,974......1,459....49%
ConAgra Foods.........May…....1,085.........912.........173....19%
TD Ameritrade..........Sep….......912.......1,059.......(147)..(14)%
Nelnet(1)..................Dec….......357.........216..........141....65%
Mutual of Omaha(2)..Dec….......317.........235...........82....35%
Valmont Industries...Dec…......153..........226.........(73)..(32)%

Total 7 NE Big Corps...........26,308.....17,174......9,134....53%

(1) Nelnet 2010 PTI excludes Litigation Settlement Charge.
(2) Mutual of Omaha is a Mutual Company. The earnings numbers here are its Pretax Operating Earnings.

I think that just like New Jersey-based Honeywell and Connecticut-based GE, both Union Pacific and parts of Berkshire Hathaway are also both well positioned to be key players in helping the country get more intensely focused on what should be its critical energy independence path.

The above research, where I found 7 Nebraska Big Corps, was performed through the end of March 2011. Since then, in April and May 2011, I extended this research, and I found 1 additional Nebraska Big Corp, which is shown here below.

..........................................2010.......2009.........Increase
...........................................Core........Core........(Decrease)
.......State..........................PTI(L)......PTI(L).....Amount.....%
..............................................(millions of dollars)....
Late Big Corp Addition

Buckle..................NE........215...........204............11.........5%

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Washington State Big Corps Had a Caffeine-High Upward Earnings Jolt in 2010

I found 12 Big Corps based in the State of Washington. I am defining these Big Corps as ones that had more than $200 mil in Core Pretax Earnings or Losses in either of the most recent two years: 2010 and 2009.

The most significant finding when reviewing the earnings performance of these 12 very high-quality Washington Big Corps was that all 12 had earnings increases in 2010, the lowest earnings growth in 2010 was 19%, and the median earnings growth in 2010 was 61%, smack dab in the middle of well-run Nordstrom's 42% earnings growth and innovative F5 Network's 80% earnings growth. I bet these two fine companies thought they did quite well in 2010. But they were just in the middle of this 12 Pack of Washington Big Corps.

I think one key reason for this outstanding performance is that the Seattle area has the highest educated population of all the largest cities in the country. Hey, maybe the Obama Administration has something here with its "Out-Educate" initiative.

And then another reason for this strong performance is how the US government worked so well with businesses in the State of Washington. And it's not just the Obama Administration.....it's also the two very effective, diligent, extremely bright US Senators from Washington, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell. They work effectively for all of their State constituents, including businesses of all sizes.

Anyway, one Giant Corp dominates the Washington-based Big Corp earnings landscape. Global Giant Microsoft, posted Pretax Earnings in its fiscal year ended (FYE) June 2010 of an incredible $25.0 bil, which was an increase of 26% over 2009.

For Microsoft to increase its earnings by 26% over such a huge prior year earnings base is just an amazing accomplishment. But then I can remember over a decade ago, continually working intensely with Microsoft Excel software, and just being absolutely amazed at the intellectual composition of this product. Hey, maybe the Obama Administration also has something here with its "Out-Innovate" initiative.

Just like some other giants, whose earnings I have studied so far, like New York-based IBM and PepsiCo, New Jersey-based JNJ, California-based Apple, Google, and Wells Fargo, and Illinois-based McDonald's, Washington-based Microsoft powered through the Great Recession, with its June FYE 2010 Pretax Earnings of $25.0 bil, which was significantly higher than what it earned just before the Great Recession.....$18.3 bil in 2006, $20.1 bil in 2007, and $23.8 bil in 2008.

Microsoft 2010 Pretax Earnings were nearly double that of the combined total of the next 11 largest Washington Big Corps.

Boeing moved its executive offices to Chicago, but I have included it with the Washington Big Corps because it still has an SEC State Code of Washington, and has such substantial operations in Washington.

Boeing is the second largest profit earner in Washington. It generated Pretax Earnings of $4.5 bil in 2010, an increase of 160% over 2009. It should be pointed out that Boeing's 2009 earnings were hampered by problems with its inability to market three 787 Flight Test Aircraft.

So how did these other 10 Washington Big Corps do in 2010?

Well, their Total Core Pretax Earnings in 2010 were $8.7 bil, up an incredibly high 84% over 2009.

Below here are the individual current earnings for these Washington 12 largest publicly-held Corps, as was disclosed in either their most recent annual Fiscal Year Ended (FYE) 2010 earnings releases or in their most recent SEC annual report filings.

Washington 12 Largest Publicly-Held Corps Most Recent Annual Pretax Earnings (PTI)

....................................FYE.......PTI.......PTI(L).....Increase....
WA Big Corp................2010.....2010......2009.....Amount....%.
.................................................(millions of dollars)....

WA Giant That Rules
…Microsoft..................Jun....25,013....19,821.....5,192....26%

WA Giant Aircraft Corp
...Boeing(1)..................Dec.....4,507.....1,731.....2,776...160%

Rest of WA Big Corps(10)
Costco.........................Aug.....2,054.....1,727.......327....19%
Amazon.com................Dec.....1,497.....1,161........336....29%
Starbucks.....................Sep.....1,437........560.......877...157%
Nordstrom.................Jan 11.....991........696........295....42%
Paccar(2).....................Dec.......660........109........551...506%
Expedia........................Dec.......621........458........163....36%
Expeditors Intl Wash....Dec.......564.......403.........161....40%
Alaska Air Group..........Dec.......406.......203........203...100%
F5 Networks.................Sep.......238........132........106....80%
Weyerhaeuser(3)..........Dec.......213.......(728)......941...129%

Total Rest of WA 10 Big Corps..8,681.....4,721....3,960....84%

All 12 WA Big Corps...............38,201...26,273...11,928....45%

(1) Boeing 2009 PTI includes Charges related to its three 787 Flight Test Aircraft.
(2) Paccar 2009 PTI excludes Curtailment Charge.
(3) Weyerhaeuser is now organized as a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). Both years earnings numbers exclude Asset Impairment Charges. Its 2009 PTI also excludes Alternative Fuel Credits.

Just like Big Corps in California's Silicon Valley, Washington's Big Corps performed exceptionally well in 2010. And due in no small part to the first-year 100% tax expensing of equipment and computer software being effective for all of 2011, I expect that these Washington Big Corps, as well as the Big Corps in Silicon Valley, will also do very well in 2011. But mathematically, it is not possible to achieve the same nosebleed level of percentage earnings growth as that experienced in 2010.

The above research, where I found 12 Washington Big Corps, was performed through the end of March 2011. Since then, in April and May 2011, I extended this research, and I found 1 additional Washington Big Corp, which is shown here below.

..........................................2010.......2009.........Increase
...........................................Core........Core........(Decrease)
.......State..........................PTI(L)......PTI(L).....Amount.....%
..............................................(millions of dollars)....
Late Big Corp Addition

Symetra Financial WA.......289............181...........108.....60%

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Connecticut Big Corp Profits on Fire in 2010

I found 19 Big Corps based in Connecticut. I am defining these Big Corps as ones that had more than $200 mil in Core Pretax Earnings or Losses in either of the most recent two years: 2010 and 2009.

One Giant Corp dominates the Connecticut-based Big Corp Earnings landscape. Global Conglomerate GE, which has a Major Finance Segment, posted Pretax Earnings in 2010 of $14.2 bil, which surged by a massive 42% over 2009.

GE's 2010 earnings were precisely 75% of the Total Core Pretax Earnings of the remaining 18 Connecticut Big Corps.

So how did these other 18 Connecticut Big Corps do in 2010?

Well, in the aggregate, they performed even better than GE.

Their Total Core Pretax Earnings in 2010 were $19.0 bil, up an incredibly high 55% over 2009.

Below here are the individual current earnings for these Connecticut 19 largest publicly-held Corps, as was disclosed in either their most recent annual Fiscal Year Ended (FYE) 2010 earnings releases or in their most recent SEC annual report filings. All of them have December year ends.

Connecticut 19 Largest Publicly-Held Corps Most Recent Annual Pretax Earnings (PTI)

.................................................................................Increase...
...................................................PTI(L)....PTI(L)....(Decrease)...
CT Big Corp..................................2010......2009.....Amount....%.
..............................................(millions of dollars)......

CT Giant That Rules
...GE..........................................14,208......9,995......4,213....42%

Rest of CT Big Corps(18)
United Technologies...................6,538.....5,760.........778....14%
Aetna..........................................2,644.....1,901.........743....39%
Hartford Financial Services(1).....2,417...(1,728).....4,145...240%
Praxair(2)...................................1,964.....1,724.........240....14%
Xerox............................................893........668.........225....34%
Priceline.com................................746........442.........304....69%
Amphenol.....................................664........447.........217....49%
WR Berkley...................................603........382..........221....58%
Pitney Bowes.................................535........693........(158)..(23)%
Odyssey Re Holdings.....................431........494..........(63)..(13)%
Interactive Brokers Group.............341........544........(203)..(37)%
Hubbell.........................................320........262...........58.....22%
Frontier Communications(3).........271........239...........32.....13%
Stanley Black & Decker(4)..............237........239..........(2)....(1)%
Silgan Holdings..............................222........248.........(26)..(10)%
Emcor Group(5)............................216.........259.........(43)..(17)%
Crane.............................................211........185...........26.....14%
Terex Corp..................................(238)......(524)........286.....55%

Rest of CT Big Corps(18)...........19,015.....12,235.....6,780....55%

All 19 CT Big Corps..................33,223.....22,230....10,993....49%

(1) Hartford Financial Services 2010 PTI excludes Goodwill Impairment Charge.
(2) Praxair 2009 PTI excludes Brazil Tax Amnesty Charge.
(3) Frontier Communications 2009 PTI excludes Loss on Debt Extinguishment.
(4) Stanley Black & Decker 2009 PTI excludes Gain on Debt Extinguishment.
(5) Emcor Group 2010 PTI excludes Intangible Asset Impairment Charge.

Connecticut's 7.5% State Corporate Income Tax Rate is pretty much smack dab in the middle of all US States. However, the actual State Corporate Income Tax Rate paid by Connecticut's Big Corps is only 1.40%, the second lowest of all larger US States, second only to Indiana's 1.28% actual State Corporate Income Tax Rate paid by its Big Corps.

I do think that the Obama Administration's Business Energy Tax Credit Proposals for both Renewable Energy Investments and for Commercial Building Retrofit Green Investments would be very beneficial to the economy of all States, but especially so to those close to the Metro New York area. And I also think that just like New Jersey-based Honeywell, Connecticut-based GE could be one of the key players in helping the country get more intensely focused on what should be its critical energy independence path.

The above research, where I found 19 Connecticut Big Corps, was performed through the end of March 2011. Since then, in April and May 2011, I extended this research, and I found 2 additional Connecticut Big Corps, which are shown here below.

..........................................2010.......2009.........Increase
...........................................Core........Core........(Decrease)
.......State..........................PTI(L)......PTI(L).....Amount.....%
..............................................(millions of dollars)....
Late Big Corp Additions

Connecticut (2)
ING Life Insur&Annuity.....578...........404..........174......43%
FactSet Research..CT........222...........212............10.........5%

Monday, March 21, 2011

New Jersey Big Corps Post Solid Earnings Growth in 2010

I found 32 Big Corps based in New Jersey. I am defining these Big Corps as ones that had more than roughly $200 mil in Core Pretax Earnings or Losses in either of the most recent two years: 2010 and 2009.

Two of these 32 New Jersey Big Corps are Utilities.

One Giant Corp dominates the New Jersey Big Corp Earnings landscape. Health Care Giant JNJ posted Pretax Earnings in 2010 of $16.9 bil, which was precisely 50% of the Total Core Pretax Earnings of the remaining 29 New Jersey Non-Utility Big Corps.

At first thought, JNJ's earnings growth in 2010 of 8% might seen low. But just like New York-based IBM, JNJ's earnings held up very well during the Great Recession, and thus 8% earnings growth in 2010 doesn't surprise me.

In fact, JNJ's Pretax Earnings in 2010 of $16.9 bil, were much higher that its Core Pretax Earnings in the two years immediately preceding the Great Recession of $15.1 bil in 2006 and $14.8 bil in 2007.

The 29 New Jersey Non-Utility Big Corps other than the Giant JNJ registered Total Core Pretax Earnings percentage growth in 2010 of 24%, which was 3 times that of JNJ. I find that this 24% earnings growth is particularly robust since New Jersey has a very heavy dose of Health Care Big Corps, whose earnings tend to hold up very well during recessions.

Below here are the individual current earnings for these New Jersey 32 largest publicly-held Corps, as was disclosed in either their most recent annual Fiscal Year Ended (FYE) 2010 earnings releases or in their most recent SEC annual report filings.

New Jersey's 32 Largest Publicly-Held Corps Most Recent Annual Pretax Earnings (PTI)

..................................................................................Increase...
........................................FYE......PTI(L)....PTI(L)....(Decrease)...
New Jersey Big Corps......2010.....2010......2009.....Amount....%.
......................................................(millions of dollars)......

NJ Giant That Rules
JNJ..................................Dec…...16,947....15,755.....1,192.....8%

All NJ Big Corps but JNJ and Utilities
Merck(1)..........................Dec….....5,044.....4,597.......447....10%
Prudential Financial.........Dec….....4,422.....1,552.....2,870..185%
Chubb..............................Dec….....2,988......2,962.........26......1%
Honeywell.......................Dec….....2,843......2,049........794....39%
Medco Health Sol.............Dec….....2,334......2,103........231....11%
Automatic Data Proc.......Jun….....1,863......1,900........(37)..(2)%
Becton Dickinson.............Sep….....1,661......1,579.........82......5%
Tyco Intl(2).....................Sep….....1,270........935........335....36%
Campbell Soup.................Jul….....1,242......1,079........163....15%
Quest Diagnostics............Dec….....1,184......1,228........(44)..(4)%
Celgene(3).......................Dec….....1,134......1,011........123....12%
Ingersoll-Rand, plc..........Dec….....1,007.......589........418....71%
Bed Bath & Beyond...........Feb….......985........683........302....44%
Hudson City Bancorp.......Dec….......892........874.........18......2%
Cognizant Tech Solutions.Dec….......879........637........242....38%
CR Bard...........................Dec….......718........672.........46......7%
Everest Re Group, Ltd.....Dec….......591.........939......(348).(37)%
Wyndham Worldwide......Dec….......563........493.........70....14%
Church & Dwight.............Dec….......418.........392.........26......7%
Dun & Bradstreet.............Dec….......388........433........(45).(10)%
Sealed Air(4)...................Dec….......382........330.........52....16%
Foster Wheeler................Dec….......305........455.......(150).(33)%
WABCO Hldgs(5)..............Dec….......223.........13........210..1615%
Rockwood Holdings.........Dec….......205.........10........195..1950%
Cytec Industries..............Dec….......195........(20).......215..1075%
Covance(6).....................Dec…........163........238........(75)..(32)%
Toys R Us(7).................Jan 11........155........293.......(138)..(47)%
PHH................................Dec….......115........280.......(165)..(59)%
Hovnanian Entprs(8).......Oct….....(295)...(1,082).......787....73%

All 29 NJ Non-Utility
.....Big Corps but JNJ................33,874....27,224.....6,650....24%

NJ Utilities
Public Svc Entepr Grp......Dec…...2,616......2,636......(20)....(1)%
NRG Energy.....................Dec….....753......1,669.....(916)..(55)%

Total NJ Utilities.........................3,369.....4,305....(936)...(22)%

(1) Merck 2010 PTI excludes both large Acquired Intangible Asset Charge and large Vioxx Reserve Charge. Its 2009 PTI excludes both a huge Gain on the Merck/Schering-Plough Partnership and a huge Gain on Disposition of its Merial Ltd interest.
(2) Tyco International 2009 PTI excludes a huge Goodwill and other Intangible Asset Impairment Charge.
(3) Celgene PTI in both years exclude Upfront R&D Collaboration Payment Charge.
(4) Sealed Air 2010 PTI excludes Loss on Debt Redemption.
(5) WABCO Holdings 2010 PTI excludes large European Commission Fine.
(6) Covance 2010 PTI excludes Asset Impairment Charge.
(7) Toys R Us 2010 PTI excludes Litigation Settlement Charge. Its 2009 PTI excludes Litigation Settlement Gain.
(8) Hovnanian Enterprises 2009 PTL excludes large Gain on Debt Extinguishment.

It looks to me like New Jersey Big Corps have recently done very well as compared with the overwhelming majority of New Jersey Citizens. New Jersey's 9% State Corporate Income Tax Rate is indeed very high, but it's just a Sticker, Stated Tax Rate, with the actual tax rate paid by New Jersey Big Corps just barely above 2.0%. Thus, I think it is very difficult to argue that the entire New Jersey State Budget shortfall should be put on the backs of New Jersey Citizens.

I do think that the Obama Administration's Business Energy Tax Credit Proposals for Green Commercial Building Retrofit Investments and for Renewable Energy Investments would be very beneficial to New Jersey. And I also think that New Jersey-based Honeywell could be one of the key players in helping the country get more intensely focused on what should be its critical energy independence path.

The above research, where I found 32 New Jersey Big Corps, was performed through the end of March 2011. Since then, in April and May 2011, I extended this research, and I found 5 additional New Jersey Big Corps, which are shown here below.

..........................................2010.......2009.........Increase
...........................................Core........Core........(Decrease)
.......State..........................PTI(L)......PTI(L).....Amount.....%
..............................................(millions of dollars)....
Late Big Corp Additions

New Jersey (5)
American Water Works(1)....449.............338...........111....33%
Verisk Analytics..................407.............265...........142....54%
Warner Chilcott plc(2).........307.............166...........141....85%
John Wiley & Sons...............200.............164............36.....22%
Avaya(3)............................(853)...........(520).......(333)..(64)%

(1) American Water Works 2009 PTI excludes asset impairment charge.
(2) Warner Chilcott plc is an Ireland Corp, but with a New Jersey external CPA firm. Its 2009 PTI excludes gain on sale of assets.
(3) Avaya 2009 PTI excludes intangible asset impairment charge.