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.