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%
