In an earlier post about a month ago, I found that the 768 largest US Corps, with either Core Pretax Earnings or Losses of at least $200 mil in 2010 or in 2009, registered Total Pretax Earnings growth of a torrid 72% in 2010.
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, which were shown as an update at the bottom of my earlier post, 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%.
Since the 2010 Earnings base has increased so much due to this soaring earnings growth in 2010, it only makes sense that Earnings growth should substantially moderate in 2011.
But guess what? Core Pretax Earnings Growth of US Big Corps continued to explode upwardly in the first quarter of 2011. And this happened despite real US GDP growth of only 1.8% in the 1Q 2011, despite the disastrous Japanese earthquake and tsunami, despite energy prices going through the roof, despite the US Economic Stimulus winding down, despite still sky-high US unemployment and underemployment rates, despite the horrible US housing crisis continuing unabated, despite a Federal Government Debt level north of $14 trillion, and despite nearly all State Budgets continuing to be under extreme financial pressure.
And about half of the country still thinks the Obama Administration hasn’t helped the absolutely horrible US economy it inherited, which was clearly headed for an almost certain depression. And these same people, including many in business, still think the Obama Administration has not helped businesses of any size, and has severely harmed US Big Business.
My gosh, the US stock market has doubled in the past two years, driven by these substantially higher US Big Business earnings. The Obama Administration, along with wise actions by Ben Barnanke and the Fed, have propped up this extremely weak financial infrastructure, creating a US economic environment which permits US Big Corps to flourish.
Clearly, many more very bold US government actions are needed to bring down US unemployment and underemployment, to help spur small business growth, to bring down US gas prices, to make the US much more energy independent, to turn around the horrible US housing crisis, and to reduce the US Government annual deficit and projected long-term debt level. But for someone to assert that the US economy hasn't improved in the past two years, that is as crazy as still asserting that President Obama was born in Kenya or in Indonesia.
Anyway, from a thorough review of their most recent quarterly earnings releases, later below here are the US Big Corps that have reported their quarterly earnings in the first quarter of 2011.
I have defined US Big Corps here as ones that generated either Core Pretax Earnings or Losses of at least $150 mil in either the first quarter of 2011 or in the first quarter of 2010.
I have defined Core Pretax Income as excluding certain items. Most companies exclude many more items than I do in deriving their Core Pretax Income, or a similar term.
The items I exclude are large Fixed Asset Impairments, particularly those related to Intangible Assets, large Acquired In Process R&D Charges, large Gains and Losses on Debt Extinguishment, and clearly one-time, and clearly unusual large Charges or Credits.
I don't think it makes any sense to exclude Restructuring Charges and Merger and Related Costs 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!
I also think Stock-based Compensation is a necessary ongoing employee benefit cost, and thus should not be excluded from Pretax Income in deriving Core Pretax Income.
And I use Pretax Income rather than After-tax Net Income. When I want to find out how US businesses are thriving economically, I don't think creative tax strategies should come into play in making this economic assessment. I find that so many companies magically institute these tax strategies to make up for quarterly and annual Pretax Earnings shortfalls. Their huge Tax Reserves create a lot of opportunities for this fine-tuning of reported earnings.
And because of these creative tax measures, the growth in US Big Corps after-tax Net Income is significantly higher than their growth in Pretax Income.
Let me just cite a couple of the many large firms benefiting from huge tax breaks here.
Procter & Gamble's first quarter 2011 Pretax Income declined 3% from last year's first quarter. So what happened to its After-tax Net Income in the first quarter 2011? It amazingly increased by 11%.
And Microsoft's March 2011 Pretax Income increased 13% over last year. How did it's After-tax Net Income do? Well, it increased by a substantially higher 31%.
Further, these US Big Corps' EPS growth is even much higher than their growth in after-tax Net Income, due to many US Big Corps being very aggressive in their stock buybacks, which reduces the denominator in the EPS computation.
Let me cite a couple of the many large firms benefiting dramatically from huge stock buyback programs.
IBM's Net Income increased by 10% in the first quarter 2011. It's Earnings Per Share(EPS) increased by a substantially higher 17% in the first quarter 2011.
Procter and Gamble's Net Income increased by 11% in the first quarter 2011. It's EPS increased by a much higher 16%.
Health Insurer UnitedHealth Group's Net Income increased by 14% in the first quarter 2011. It's EPS increased by a much higher 18%.
But taking the cake with this financial engineering was Health Insurer WellPoint, whose Net Income increased 6% in the first quarter 2011. What happened with its EPS? It grew by an absolutely amazing 25% in the first quarter. This huge span between Net Income growth and EPS growth was caused by WellPoint spending $5.1 bil in just the past 15 months to buy back its own stock.
The problem with these massive stock buybacks is that the US economy would be so much more robust now if these massive amounts of money were instead invested by these large US Corps on growing their domestic businesses.....on US capital expenditures, on US research and development, and on hiring workers in the US.
Perhaps what is needed here is a wisely-designed disincentive for companies having clearly excessive stock buyback programs. I think it might make sense for companies using such a strategy to pay an annual financial fee to the US government for clearly excess stock buybacks.
Also, excessive stock buybacks have an additional risk to the country and its citizens....they substantially reduce the financial strength of businesses. The TARP 1 and TARP 2 bailouts would have been substantially less costly to the US Government if the financial companies bailed out would not have previously had substantial stock buyback programs.
Further, in the case of industries like Big Oil and Big Health Insurance, when you follow the money, just where did the massive amount of clearly windfall profits end up? In the hands of stockholders of firms like Exxon Mobil, WellPoint and UnitedHealth Group due to these companies' very huge stock buyback programs.....a bit of Robin Hood in Reverse. To show the magnitude of these numbers, in the most recent six years, Exxon Mobil returned $150 bil to its stockholders in stock buybacks.
Anyway, there were 66 of these Non-Utility US Big Corps with either January or February 2011 quarter ends. The Total Core Pretax Earnings of these 66 US Big Corps increased by a very healthy 20% in the first quarter 2011. Leading this hot earnings growth were the 14 Technology Big Corps, which registered strong earnings growth of 29%, after registering earnings growth of more than double that in 2010. Whew!
Getting more real time, I have found 256 similarly-defined Non-Utility US Big Corps that have March 2011 quarter ends, which have released, in the month of April 2011, their first quarter 2011 earnings.
How did they do? Well, the first quarter 2011 earnings growth totaled an incredible 29%. And this torrid first quarter earnings growth was after the even more torrid earnings growth in 2010.
What drove this strong first quarter earnings growth of these March quarter end US Big Corps?
As expected, US Big Oil was the main driver, registering total Pretax Earnings growth in the March 2011 quarter of a massive 47%. I included both BP and Royal Dutch Shell with the US Big Oil group, since they have such massive operations in Houston, and also since they make substantial sales to US customers.
Something clearly needs to be done here with these windfall profits of Big Oil, which have just devastated the entire US economy in the past decade.
Clearly, it would be wise to have very healthy energy tax credit incentives for businesses to make commercial building green retrofit investments. For multinational corps, this could be wisely paid for by providing a somewhat discounted federal income tax rate on a like amount of foreign earnings repatriated by businesses making these green investments. And the energy tax credits for purely domestic businesses of all sizes making these green investments can be fairly paid for by closing Big Oil tax loopholes and by instituting a windfall profits tax on Big Oil.
Just like 100% first-year tax expensing of equipment has worked so well in spurring US economic growth, this commercial building green retrofit investments proposal will do likewise. And the added benefits of the latter proposal is that it will create a lot of jobs in the very troubled construction industry, help prop up the very troubled commercial real estate market, and most important of all, make significant progress toward the key goal of US energy independence.
I think I would even go so far as to consider something really bold as either breaking up, or perhaps even nationalizing, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips. When US Big Oil companies are only interested in maximizing their already windfall profits, while the rest of the country suffers so much, the US government must act in the best interests of all of its citizens.
Right behind US Big Oil in really strong first quarter 2011 earnings growth were the 36 US Technology Big Corps, whose total earnings growth in the March 2011 quarter was a very impressive 28%. And this strong growth occurred on top of earnings growth of more than double that in 2010. Also, this strong growth occurred despite many US technology companies having severe supply disruptions caused by the Japan earthquake and tsunami.
Next came the 55 US Big Financial Corps, whose total earnings in the March 2011 quarter increased by a very strong 29%. On the downside here, a substantial portion of this earnings growth was due to much lower Loan Loss Provisions. Something needs to be done to spur loan growth by these financial institutions to small businesses. And much bolder action is needed to get large financial institutions to write down underwater first and second home mortgages.
How did the late reporting March 2011 Quarter End Big Corps do?
Well, those releasing their March 2011 quarter earnings in the month of May 2011 did substantially better than those reporting their March quarterly earnings in the month of April 2011. This exceptionally strong earnings performance was driven in large part by the Big Financial Corps.
The month of May earnings reporters registered a blistering earnings growth of 69% in the March 2011 quarter, bringing the total March 2011 Quarter End earnings increase to a very strong 35%, which was on the back of a torrent 77% total annual earnings increase in the year 2010 over 2009. Whoa!...now that is 15 months of spectacular earnings growth.
Here is a summary of all first quarter 2011 earnings reported by US Big Corps:
......................................# of
......................................Big............1Q...........1Q........Increase.
.....................................Corps.......2011.......2010.....Amount..%
........................................................millions of dollars
Jan/Feb QTR Ends...........66.......43,486.....36,244.....7,242..20%
March QTR Ends:
..April Releases..............256.....255,517...197,556...57,961..29%
..May Releases...............128.......51,912.....30,798....21,114..69%
..= All March QTR Ends..384....307,429...228,354...79,075..35%
All 1Q Ends....................450.....350,915...264,598...86,317...33%
First, here are the March 2011 Quarter End 256 US Big Corps, which have released their first quarter 2011 earnings by the end of the month of April 2011.
................................................................................Increase
........................................Pretax Income(Loss)......(Decrease)...
..........................................1Q 2011...1Q 2010......Amount.....%.
...................................................(millions of dollars)....
March 2011 Quarter Ends
Month of April Releases
Big Oil&Gas
Exxon Mobil.......................18,917.....12,068.........6,849.....57%
Royal Dutch Shell................16,423......9,966.........6,457.....65%
BP (1)..................................11,268......9,378..........1,890.....20%
Chevron..............................11,122......7,650.........3,472.....45%
ConocoPhillips.....................5,796......3,990..........1,806.....45%
Occidental Petroleum (2)......2,622......1,867.............755.....40%
Apache.................................1,927......1,207............720.....60%
Hess......................................1,485.........966.............519.....54%
Schlumberger.......................1,238.........888.............350.....39%
Halliburton..............................741.........333............408....123%
Valero Energy (3)....................686........(112)............798....713%
Natl Oilwell Varco....................593.........616.............(23).....(4)%
Baker Hughes...........................588.........194.............394....203%
Kinder Morgan Egy Prtnrs LP...347........228.............119......52%
Noble Energy (4)......................323.........198.............125......63%
Diamond Offshore....................297.........406...........(109)...(27)%
Southwestern Energy...............226.........282.............(56)...(20)%
Whiting Petroleum (5)..............166.........125...............41......33%
Helmerich & Payne...................159..........98...............61......62%
Newfield Exploration (6)..........155..........151................4........3%
Cameron Intl............................140.........161..............(21)...(13)%
Ensco Intl...................................83.........197............(114)...(58)%
Noble Corp.................................70.........426............(356)...(84)%
Total 23 Oil&Gas..................75,372.....51,283.........24,089....47%
Big Technology
Apple....................................7,900......4,029..........3,871.....96%
Microsoft...............................6,025......5,341.............684.....13%
Intel.......................................4,371......3,446............925.....27%
IBM........................................3,817......3,515............302.......9%
Google....................................2,892......2,506............386.....15%
Qualcomm (7)........................1,372.........965............407.....42%
Honeywell................................975.........702............273.....39%
Texas Instruments (8)...............918.........957.............(39).....(4)%
Corning (9)...............................862..........861................1......0%
EMC..........................................624.........483.............141.....29%
Ebay.........................................568.........495...............73.....15%
Danaher....................................562.........393.............169.....43%
Johnson Controls.....................475.........384..............91......24%
Xerox.......................................350..........(10)...........360.....NM
Sandisk.....................................331..........323................8......2%
Amazon (10).............................307.........401.............(94)...(23)%
KLA Tencor...............................302..........80.............222....278%
Goodrich...................................260.........181..............79.....44%
Altera........................................245.........160..............85.....53%
Broadcom..................................232.........212..............20......9%
Lam Research............................199.........151..............48.....32%
Yahoo........................................195.........274............(79)...(29)%
Fiserv........................................176.........193.............(17)....(9)%
Motorola Solutions....................173.........109.............64......59%
Juniper Networks.......................171.........162..............9.......6%
Linear Technology......................171.........138.............33....24%
Xilinx..........................................169.........162..............7.......4%
Maxim Integrated Prods (11)......162.........130.............32.....25%
Western Digital (12).....................159........440..........(281)...(64)%
VMware.......................................156.........98............58......59%
Flextronics..................................154.........66............88.....133%
CheckPoint Software....................152........123............29......24%
Seagate Technology (12)..............122........522.........(400)...(77)%
Lexmark.....................................106.........126..........(20)...(16)%
Motorola Mobility.......................(51).......(199).........148.....74%
Freescale Semicond (13)............(151).......(214)...........63.....29%
..Total 36 Technology............35,451.....27,705.......7,746....28%
Big Financial
JP Morgan Chase (14)...............8,057......4,537........3,520.....78%
Wells Fargo..............................5,386......4,001.........1,385.....35%
Citigroup.................................5,285......4,216..........1,069.....25%
Goldman Sachs........................4,040......5,159........(1,119)..(22)%
Bank of America......................2,780......4,389........(1,609)..(37)%
GE Fincl Services (15)..............2,251.........165..........2,086....NM
American Express...................1,732......1,252............480.....38%
Morgan Stanley (16)................1,527......2,515...........(988)...(39)%
US Bancorp..............................1,395........824............571.....69%
Capital One Fincl......................1,386........964............422.....44%
PNC Financial...........................1,140........899............241.....27%
Travelers....................................969........857............112.....13%
Bank NY Mellon..........................949........884..............65.......7%
BlackRock..................................813........656.............157.....24%
Allstate......................................734........107............627...586%
Chubb........................................685........604..............81.....13%
Franklin Resources....................679........508............171.....34%
State Street................................660........702............(42)...(6)%
AFLAC (17)...............................600........974...........(374)..(38)%
Progressive...............................545........439............106.....24%
CME Group................................512........399.............113.....28%
Lincoln National.......................469........349.............120.....34%
Charles Schwab (18)..................394........209.............185.....89%
KeyCorp....................................393.......(123)............516...420%
Fifth Third Bancorp...................382.........(18)............400....NM
AON..........................................356.........247............109.....44%
T Rowe Price Group...................315.........244..............71.....29%
M&T Bank...................................309........220.............89.....40%
BB&T.........................................287.........242.............45.....19%
SLM..........................................276.........406...........(130)..(32)%
TD Ameritrade..........................275.........217.............58.....27%
Ameriprise Financial.................271.........361............(90)...(25)%
Hudson City Bancorp (19).........253.........248...............5.......2%
Reinsurance Group...................242.........193.............49.....25%
Arch Capital Group Ltd(20).......239.........185.............54.....29%
Moodys.....................................235........183.............52.....28%
Northern Trust..........................230........238.............(8)....(3)%
Transatlantic Hldgs (21).............224..........19...........205....NM
Interactive Brokers...................222..........65............157....242%
SunTrust Banks..........................220.......(353)..........573....162%
NYSE Euronext..........................213........173.............40.....23%
Torchmark (22).........................194..........189..............5.......3%
NY Community Bank..................189.........193............(4).....(2)%
Invesco Ltd...............................175.........265...........(90)...(34)%
Huntington Bancshares..............161............2............159..7950%
WR Berkley................................160.........161.............(1).....(1)%
Everest Re Group Ltd (23)...........153.........(10)..........163....NM
Nasdaq OMX Group....................152..........89............63......71%
CIT Group..................................136.........189...........(53)...(28)%
Blackstone Group.......................117........(228)..........345....151%
Regions Financial.........................57........(357)..........414....116%
CapitalSource...............................14........(198)..........212....107%
MGIC Investment.......................(32)........(151)...........119....79%
Synovus Financial.......................(80).......(275)..........195.....71%
Marshall & Ilsley........................(212).......(199)..........(13)...(7)%
Total 55 Financial...................49,114...38,026.......11,088....29%
Big Health Care
JNJ (24)...................................4,856......4,783...........73.......2%
Merck (25)...............................2,397........616........1,781....289%
UnitedHealth Group.................2,103......1,891..........212.....11%
Bristol Myers Squibb................1,767......1,452..........315.....22%
Eli Lilly (26).............................1,662......1,758..........(96)....(5)%
Wellpoint.................................1,427......1,335...........92.......7%
Abbott Labs (27)......................1,382......1,437..........(55).....(4)%
Amgen.....................................1,306......1,420.........(114).....(8)%
Aetna (28)..................................898........731...........167.....23%
Gilead Sciences...........................875......1,160........(285)...(25)%
Baxter (29).................................731........700...........31........4%
Covidien.....................................570........529...........41........8%
Medco Health Sols......................556........532...........24........5%
Express Scripts...........................513........414...........99......24%
Becton Dickinson........................428........411...........17........4%
Biogen IDEC (30)........................426........335...........91......27%
Cardinal Health..........................425........363...........62......17%
Stryker.......................................412........446..........(34).....(8)%
Forest Labs (31).........................408........315..........93......30%
Amerisource Bergen...................346........292..........54......18%
Celgene (32)...............................299........288..........11........4%
Thermo Fisher Scien...................299........260..........39......15%
St Jude Medical..........................296........326.........(30).....(9)%
Zimmer Holdings........................286........280............6........2%
Quest Diagnostics........................239........277.........(38)....(14)%
Assurant.....................................215........248.........(33)....(13)%
Lab Corp of America...................214........223..........(9)......(4)%
Boston Scientific (33)..................210.........83..........127.....153%
Universal Health Svcs.................204........128...........76......59%
CR Bard.......................................184........175............9........5%
Coventry Healthcare...................171........155...........16......10%
Intuitive Surgical.........................154........134...........20......15%
Varian Medical Sys.......................151........135...........16......12%
Hospira........................................143........185..........(42)...(23)%
Total 34 Health Care................26,553...23,817......2,736......11%
Big Other Sectors
AT&T........................................5,270......5,401........(131).....(2)%
GE (34).....................................4,235......2,807........1,428.....51%
Verizon....................................3,881......3,940.........(59)......(1)%
Procter & Gamble.....................3,641......3,762........(121).....(3)%
Freeport McMoran...................2,841.....1,888..........953.....50%
Philip Morris Intl......................2,794.....2,492..........302.....12%
Ford.........................................2,776.....2,135..........641.....30%
Coca Cola..................................2,511.....2,179..........332.....15%
DuPont (35)..............................1,845.....1,557..........288.....18%
Caterpillar................................1,763.......469........1,294....276%
McDonalds...............................1,699.....1,557..........142.......9%
United Technologies.................1,630.....1,352..........278.....21%
PepsiCo (36).............................1,563.....1,401..........162.....12%
3M............................................1,545.....1,403..........142.....10%
Altria Group.............................1,450.....1,281..........169.....13%
United Parcel Service................1,352.......953..........399.....42%
Dow Chemical (37)....................1,313.......655..........658....100%
Union Pacific.............................1,011.......834..........177.....21%
Newmont Mining.........................973.......886...........87......10%
Colgate Palmolive (38).................899.......933..........(34).....(4)%
General Dynamics........................896.......874..........22.........3%
Boeing (39)..................................883.....1,050.........(167)...(16)%
Lockheed Martin..........................786.......879..........(93)....(11)%
Northrop Grumman.....................758.......609..........149.....24%
Southern Copper..........................718.......588..........130.....22%
Viacom (40).................................666.......463..........203.....44%
Illinois Tool Works.......................644.......502..........142.....28%
CSX..............................................638.......501..........137.....27%
Time Warner Cable.......................582.......488...........94......19%
Cliff's Natural Resources...............562.......147..........415....282%
Praxair........................................556.......447..........109.....24%
Raytheon.....................................553.......681.........(128).....(19)%
Reynolds American......................525.......512...........13.......3%
Cummins......................................522.......257..........265....103%
Norfolk Southern..........................515.......456...........59......13%
Alcoa (41)....................................505.........41..........464...1132%
Kimberly Clark.............................484.......609.........(125)...(21)%
Air Prods & Chems........................422.......343...........79.....23%
Lorillard.......................................394.......373...........21.......6%
Parker Hannifin.............................390.......206..........184.....89%
Starbucks......................................389.......337...........52.....15%
Tyco Intl.......................................377.......361...........16.......4%
TE Connectivity Ltd (42)...............374.......377..........(3)......(1)%
International Paper (43)................368.........29..........339..1169%
Yum Brands..................................358.......323...........35.....11%
PPG Industries..............................351.......206..........145.....70%
Eaton............................................335.......187..........148.....79%
Discovery Comm (44)....................322.......220..........102.....46%
L-3 Communications......................311.......350..........(39)....(11)%
Waste Management........................306.......302............4........1%
Omincom Group............................290.......267...........23........9%
Paccar...........................................286.........96..........190....198%
Coach (45).....................................279.......251...........28.....11%
Bunge Ltd......................................278.........89..........189....212%
Western Union..............................275.......276..........(1).......0%
Eastman Chemical.........................271.......157..........114.....73%
Nucor............................................266........64..........202....316%
WW Grainger.................................261.......181...........80.....44%
Republic Services (46)..................260.......248...........12.......5%
VF Corp........................................258.......210...........48.....23%
Lubrizol........................................255.......252............3........1%
Hershey........................................252.......230...........22.....10%
CONSOL Energy.............................251.......142..........109.....77%
Peabody Energy............................247.......193...........54.....28%
Dover............................................241.......177...........64.....36%
Wynn Resorts Ltd..........................228........63..........165....262%
Simon Property Group..................219.......186...........33.....18%
Rockwell Collins............................219.......196...........23.....12%
Avnet............................................213.......157...........56.....36%
Mead Johnson Nutritional.............210.......186...........24.....13%
NII Holdings..................................204.......103..........101...98%
Rockwell Automation....................204.......134...........70.....52%
Lear..............................................203........80..........123....154%
CNH Global NV..............................198........69..........129....187%
Arrow Electronics.........................196.......127...........69.....54%
McGraw-Hill.................................195.......168...........27.....16%
EQT..............................................194.......138...........56.....41%
OReilly Automotive (47)...............192.......158...........34.....22%
Genuine Parts...............................192.......162...........30.....19%
Goodyear.....................................186.........29..........157...541%
Harley Davidson...........................183.......130...........53.....41%
Stanley Black & Decker..................182......(107)........289...270%
Cooper Industries.........................181.......147...........34.....23%
Celanese (48)................................180.........65..........115...177%
Dr Pepper Snapple........................178.......157..........21......13%
Amphenol....................................178.......135..........43......32%
ITT...............................................171.......219.........(48)...(22)%
Timken.........................................171.........75...........96....128%
Borg Warner.................................170.......102...........68.....67%
Ingersoll-Rand.............................169.........74...........95....128%
Steel Dynamics.............................167.........98...........69.....70%
Sigma Aldrich...............................165.......145...........20.....14%
Ball Corp (49)...............................159.........99...........60.....61%
Safeway........................................157.......148............9.......6%
CH Robinson WW..........................157........136...........21.....15%
Whirlpool (50)..............................155........217..........(62)...(29)%
Energen........................................152........183..........(31)...(17)%
Marriott.......................................152........129...........23.....18%
Gannett........................................137........174..........(37)...(21)%
Pitney Bowes................................134........160..........(26)...(16)%
Oshkosh.......................................112........450........(338)..(75)%
US Steel........................................(70)......(165)..........95.....58%
Hertz Global Holdings(50A).........(107).....(158)..........51.....32%
United Continental.......................(211).......(82)........(129).(157)%
Eastman Kodak (51).....................(273).......347......(620)..(179)%
Delta Air Lines.............................(389)......(246).......(143)..(58)%
Sprint Nextel...............................(402)......(794).......392.....49%
AMR............................................(436)......(505)..........69.....14%
Total 108 in Other Sectors........69,027....56,725....12,302....22%
Total 256 Big US Corps...........255,517..197,556....57,961....29%
And then, here are the March 2011 Quarter End 128 US Big Corps, which have released their first quarter 2011 earnings in the month of May 2011.
................................................................................Increase
........................................Pretax Income(Loss)......(Decrease)...
..........................................1Q 2011...1Q 2010......Amount.....%.
...................................................(millions of dollars)....
March 2011 Quarter Ends
Month of May Releases
Big Oil&Gas
Marathon Oil(52)..................2,038..........591.........1,447....245%
Anadarko Petroleum(53).........759..........657...........102......16%
Devon Energy(54)...................748..........968..........(220)....(23)%
Spectra Energy........................514..........459.............55......12%
Murphy Oil..............................460..........286...........174......61%
Entrprse Prods Partners LP.....442..........401..............41......10%
Chesapeake Energy(55)...........428..........486............(58)....(12)%
Williams Cos(56)......................386..........364.............22.......6%
EOG Resources(57)..................310..........267.............43......16%
El Paso Corp(58)......................305..........352............(47)....(13)%
OneOK.....................................284..........284.................0......0%
Energy Transfer Partners LP....258..........246...............12.......5%
Transocean..............................245..........830..........(585)...(70)%
Frontier Oil..............................220..........(65)...........285....438%
Energy Transfer Equity LP.......209..........209...............0........0%
Atmos Energy..........................206..........185.............21.......11%
Cimarex Energy(59).................205..........270...........(65)...(24)%
Plains All American Ppln LP.....198...........151.............47.....31%
Tesoro......................................177.........(239)..........416....174%
Denbury Resources(60)...........164............34............130....382%
El Paso Ppln Partners LP...........163..........187............(24)...(13)%
Concho Resources(61)..............154............88.............66.....75%
Total 22 Big Oil&Gas..............8,873........7,011........1,862.....27%
Big Technology
Activision Blizzard...................676...........511...........165.....32%
CA Technologies......................289..........217.............72.....33%
CSC..........................................282...........298...........(16)....(5)%
Cognizant Technology..............281..........179............102.....57%
Symantec(61A)........................233..........209.............24.....11%
Scripps Ntwks Inter..................209..........141.............68.....48%
Harris Corp..............................206...........246...........(40)...(16)%
Electronic Arts(62)..................157.............80............77.....96%
First Solar................................133...........195...........(62)...(32)%
Total 9 Big Technology..........2,466.......2,076............390.....19%
Big Financial
Berkshire Hathaway(63).......4,043.......3,369...........674.....20%
KKR......................................2,348.......2,407...........(59)....(2)%
AIG(64)................................1,815.......1,309............506.....39%
MetLife.................................1,483.......1,185............298.....25%
Visa.......................................1,377.......1,113...........264.....24%
Mastercard...............................836.........695............141.....20%
Loews.......................................761.........896...........(135)...(15)%
Annaly Capital Mgt(65).............712.........288...........424....147%
Prudential Financial.................704.......1,009.........(305)...(30)%
Merrill Lynch(66).....................621........3,223......(2,602)...(81)%
ACE Ltd(67)..............................603.........879.........(276)...(31)%
Freddie Mac...........................602....(6,792)......7,394...109%
HSBC USA..................................562........858..........(296)...(34)%
Santander Holdings USA............494........135............359....266%
Marsh & McLennan....................447........377.............70.....19%
Erie Indemnity..........................412.........228............184.....81%
Hartford Fincl Svcs....................410.........535...........(125)..(23)%
CNA Financial............................335.........357............(22)....(6)%
Unum Group..............................330.........361............(31)....(9)%
Principal Financial.....................319.........288.............31.....11%
Apollo Global Management........260.........(69)..........329....477%
IntercontinentalExchange..........196.........157............39.....25%
Assured Guaranty Ltd................192.........437..........(245)..(56)%
ING Life Insur&Annuity.............171.........105............66.....63%
Chimera Investment...................164.........126............38.....30%
XL Capital Group(68)..................155.........141.............14.....10%
Fidelity Natl Info Svcs................149.........154.............(5)....(3)%
Ally Financial(69).......................141.........305.........(164)...(54)%
Radian Group.............................100........(497).........597....120%
Sun Life Assurance (US)...............25..........164.........(139)...(85)%
PMI Group.................................(126).......(246).........120......49%
HSBC Finance Corp.....................(212).......(998).........786......79%
Fortress Investment Group........(234)......(260)...........26.....10%
First Data...................................(332)......(347)...........15.......4%
AXA Financial............................(415).......269.........(684)..(254)%
AXA Equitable Life Ins..............(887).......444.......(1,331)..(300)%
MBIA......................................(1,556)....(2,259)........703.....31%
Fannie Mae.............................(6,469)...(11,596)......5,127....44%
Total 38 Big Financial.............10,536.....(1,250)....11,786...943%
Big Health Care
Pfizer(70)...............................3,747.........3,291.........456.....14%
CVS Caremark.........................1,177.........1,282........(105)....(8)%
HCA(71)....................................698............685............13.......2%
Cigna.........................................600............422.........178.....42%
McKesson..................................558............532............26.......5%
Humana.....................................497............417...........80.....19%
Allergan(72)..............................291............275...........16.......6%
Cephalon(73).............................179............149...........30.....20%
Davita........................................178............199..........(21)...(11)%
Mylan Labs(74)..........................155............126...........29.....23%
Tenet Healthcare(74A)...............153.............93...........60.....65%
Total 11 Big Health Care..........8,233.........7,471........762.....10%
Big Corps in Other Sectors
General Motors(75)................2,110..........1,582........528.....33%
Comcast..................................1,635..........1,470........165.....11%
Disney.....................................1,568..........1,535.........33......2%
Kraft Foods(76).......................1,200.............881........319.....36%
NewsCorp(77).........................1,064..........1,156........(92)....(8)%
DIRECTV(78)...........................1,032............858........174.....20%
Time Warner..............................982...........1,114.......(132)...(12)%
Burlington No Santa Fe(79)........965.............853........112.....13%
LyondellBasell NV......................925............(187).....1,112...595%
Emerson Electric........................833..............601........232.....39%
Archer Daniels Midland..............791.............534........257.....48%
AES(80).....................................670.............605.........65.....11%
Liberty Media(81)......................611................77........534....694%
Publix Super Markets.................604..............554.........50.......9%
DISH Network(82).....................540..............354........186.....53%
Kellogg......................................505..............573........(68)...(12)%
CF Industries(82A)...................450..............(26).......476...1831%
Sysco(83)..................................441..............403.........38.......9%
Las Vegas Sands.........................410...............61........349....572%
Precision Castparts....................400..............358.........42.....12%
CenturyLink...............................375..............450........(75)..(17)%
Qwest Comm(84)........................357..............289.........68.....24%
TRW Automotive........................347..............263.........84.....32%
CBS.............................................338.................6........332....NM%
Vornado Realty Trust.................318..............248.........70.....28%
Fluor..........................................241..............233..........8.......3%
Tyson Foods...............................241..............249.........(8)....(3)%
Scott's Miracle-Grow..................232..............183.........49.....27%
Estee Lauder(85)........................229..............108........121....112%
Avon Products...........................225..............126.........99.....79%
Clorox........................................219..............209.........10.......5%
Liberty Global(85A)...................213...............24........189....788%
AGL Resources...........................210..............227........(17)....(7)%
Sara Lee.....................................197..............197..........0.......0%
National Fuel Gas.......................188..............130.........58.....45%
Cablevision Systems...................182..............145.........37.....26%
Public Storage(86).....................180..............164.........16.....10%
Advance Auto Parts...................176..............177.........(1)....(1)%
American Tower........................163..............125.........38.....30%
Chrysler....................................160.............(162).......322....199%
Expeditors Intl Wash.................150..............103.........47.....46%
Polo Ralph Lauren.....................112...............167........(55)..(33)%
NewPage....................................(87)............(175)........88 .....50%
YRC Worldwide........................(107)............(276).......169.....61%
MGM Resorts(87).....................(144)............(213)........69.....32%
Avaya(87A).............................(167)...........(300).......133.....44%
Clear Channel Comm(88)..........(224)............(311)........87.....28%
Caesars Entertain(89)...............(256)............(252)........(4)....(2)%
Total 48 in Other Sectors.......21,804..........15,490...6,314.....41%
Total 128 Big Corps................51,912..........30,798..21,114....69%
And below here are the 66 US Big Corps with either January or February 2011 quarter ends.
.................................................................................Increase
.........................................Pretax Income(Loss)......(Decrease)...
............................................1Q 2011...1Q 2010......Amount.....%.
...................................................(millions of dollars)....
Jan and Feb 2011 Quarter Ends
Technology
Hewlett Packard....................3,297........2,804............493.....18%
Oracle...................................2,799........1,582..........1,217.....77%
Cisco Systems.......................1,730........2,355...........(625)..(27)%
Dell.......................................1,127..........469.............658....140%
Accenture...............................774..........639.............135.....21%
Applied Materials...................680...........119..............561....471%
Adobe Systems.......................286...........166.............120.....72%
Analog Devices.......................259...........148.............111.....75%
Marvell Technology................226...........216..............10.......5%
Paychex.................................200...........169..............31.....18%
Agilent Technologies..............198.............83.............115....139%
SAIC.......................................195...........191................4.......2%
NetApp..................................190...........118...............72.....61%
Micron Technology................158...........370...........(212)...(57)%
Total 14 Technology...........12,119.......9,429..........2,690....29%
Retail
Walmart..............................7,472........6,989............483.......7%
Target..................................1,588........1,409............179.....13%
Walgreens............................1,189........1,064............125.....12%
Macy's (90)..........................1,026..........850............176.....21%
Best Buy...............................1,000.......1,273..........(273)....(21)%
Home Depot (91).....................950..........569............381.....67%
Kohls......................................788..........691..............97.....14%
TJX (92)..................................675..........633.............42.......7%
Limited Brands (93)................666..........536............130.....24%
GAP........................................597..........587.............10.......2%
Costco....................................573..........474.............99.....21%
Sears Holding..........................569..........678..........(109)...(16)%
Bed Bath & Beyond..................463..........371.............92.....25%
Lowes.....................................456..........322............134.....42%
Kroger....................................449..........388.............61.....32%
JC Penney...............................400..........318.............82.....26%
Staples....................................374..........365...............9.......2%
Nordstrom..............................373..........277.............96.....35%
GameStop...............................370..........338.............32.......9%
Dollar General (94)..................343..........258.............85.....33%
Tiffany....................................267..........210.............57.....27%
Ross Stores.............................261..........229.............32.....14%
Dollar Tree..............................258..........217.............41.....19%
Autozone................................232..........194.............38.....20%
Darden Restaurants.................199..........175.............24.....14%
Family Dollar Stores................196..........178.............18.....10%
Williams Sonoma.....................184..........141.............43.....30%
Big Lots...................................176..........169..............7.......4%
Dillards....................................163..........116.............47.....41%
Guess?......................................151..........125.............26.....21%
Aeropostale.............................144..........159............(15)....(9)%
Supervalu (95).........................129..........156............(27)...(17)%
Rite Aid..................................(204)........(187)..........(17)....(9)%
Total 33 Retail.....................22,477.....20,272........2,205......11%
Other Sectors
Monsanto..............................1,454........1,249...........205.....16%
Medtronic.............................1,013........1,063...........(50)....(5)%
Deere.......................................746..........364............382....105%
Mosaic.....................................723..........357............366....103%
Discover Fincl Svcs..................720.........(171)...........891....521%
Nike.........................................707..........662.............45.......7%
General Mills............................570..........467...........103.....22%
HJ Heinz...................................374..........366..............8.......2%
FedEx.......................................360..........381...........(21)....(6)%
Campbell Soup..........................328..........365...........(37)...(10)%
ConAgra Foods.........................326..........321..............5.......2%
Hormel Foods...........................230..........170............60.....35%
Brown Forman..........................219..........167............52.....31%
CHS...........................................214...........93............121...130%
JM Smucker (96).......................213..........207.............6.......3%
Apollo Group (97).....................196..........215...........(19)....(9)%
Smithfield Foods (98)................177...........29............148...510%
Jefferies Group..........................163..........122.............41.....34%
Carnival (99).............................157..........116.............41....35%
Total 19 in Other Sectors........8,890.......6,543.......2,347....36%
Total 66 Jan/Feb Qtr Ends...43,486......36,244.......7,242....20%
(1) BP PTI exclude non-operating items, which include Gulf of Mexico oil spill Charges, impairments and gains of sale of businesses and fixed assets, and FMV gains and losses from embedded derivatives.
(2) Occidental Petroleum 2011 PTI excludes loss on debt extinguishment.
(3) Valero Energy 2011 PTI excludes loss on derivative contracts.
(4) Noble Energy PTI exclude gains and losses on commodity derivative instruments.
(5) Whiting Petroleum PTI exclude derivative gains and losses.
(6) Newfield Exploration PTI exclude derivative gains and losses.
(7) Qualcomm 2011 PTI excludes Goodwill impairment charge.
(8) Texas Instrument 2011 PTI was negatively impacted by Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami.
(9) Corning 2010 PTI excludes asbestos credit.
(10) Amazon 2011 PTI includes much higher infrastructure investment charges, which GAAP requires to be charged to expense when incurred.
(11) Maxim Integrated Products 2010 PTI includes various one-time charges.
(12) 2011 PTI for both Western Digital and Seagate Technology were negatively impacted by severe supply chain disruptions from the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami.
(13) Freescale Semiconductor 2010 PTI excludes loss on debt extinguishment.
(14) JP Morgan Chase PTI includes litigation charges. If these were excluded in both years, JP Morgan Chase's 1Q 2011 earnings growth would be 24%.
(15) GE Financial Services are shown here above separately, even though they are included in GE's consolidated income statement.
(16) Morgan Stanley 2011 PTI excludes loss from its 40% stake in a Japanese joint venture.
(17) AFLAC 2011 PTI includes large asset impairments/losses on sale of its investments in three Greek financial institutions.
(18) Charles Schwab 2010 PTI excludes class action litigation charge.
(19) Hudson City Bancorp 2011 PTI excludes huge loss on debt extinguishment.
(20) Arch Capital Group Limited 2010 PTI excludes catastrophe losses from the Japan and New Zealand Earthquakes, and from Australian Floods. Also, both years PTI exclude foreign exchange gains and losses.
(21) Transatlantic Holdings 2011 PTI excludes catastrophe charges related to the Japan Earthquake, the New Zealand Earthquake, and the Australian Floods.
(22) Torchmark PTI in both years are its reported Pretax Operating Income.
(23) Everest Re Group 2011 PTI excludes catastrophe charges related to the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami, and to the New Zealand Earthquake.
(24) JNJ PTI in both years exclude Litigation Expense(Income). Its 2011 PTI also excludes DePuy hip recall charges.
(25) Merck 2011 PTI excludes JNJ arbitration charges, In Process R&D impairment charges, and gains on sale of assets.
(26) Eli Lilly PTI excludes Acquired In Process R&D charges.
(27) Abbott Labs 2011 PTI excludes Acquired In Process R&D charge, Litigation Reserve charges, and charges from change to a calendar year for its international operations. Its 2010 PTI excludes Devaluation of the Venezuela bolivar charge.
(28) Aetna 2010 PTI excludes litigation insurance gain.
(29) Baxter 2010 PTI excludes large Colleague infusion pump charges.
(30) Biogen IDEC 2010 PTI excludes Acquired In Process R&D charge.
(31) Forest Labs 2010 PTI excludes Acquired In Process R&D charge.
(32) Celgene 2011 PTI excludes Acquired In Process R&D impairment charge and Acquisition Gain.
(33) Boston Scientific 2011 PTI excludes Goodwill Impairment charge and gains on divestitures. Its 2010 PTI excludes Intangible asset impairment charges and Acquisition milestone credit.
(34) GE 2011 PTI excludes huge NBCU pretax gain.
(35) DuPont PTI excludes Pretax exchange gains and losses.
(36) PepsiCo PTI includes many unusual charges and credits, which pretty much net out.
(37) Dow Chemical 2011 PTI excludes loss on debt extinguishment.
(38) Colgate Palmolive 2010 PTI excludes Venezuela hyperinflation transition charge.
(39) Boeing 2011 PTI includes much higher pension expense charge.
(40) Viacom 2011 PTI excludes loss on debt extinguishment. Its 2010 PTI excludes asset impairment charges.
(41) Alcoa 2010 PTI excludes asset impairment charges.
(42) TE Connectivity Ltd, formerly Tyco Electronics Ltd, 2010 PTI excludes tax credit adjustments included in Other Income.
(43) International Paper 2010 PTI excludes plant shutdown costs.
(44) Discovery Communications 2011 PTI excludes gains on dispositions.
(45) Coach 2011 PTI exclude charitable contribution charge.
(46) Republic Services 2010 PTI excludes loss on debt extinguishment.
(47) OReilly Automotive 2011 PTI excludes debt extinguishment charges.
(48) Celanese 2010 PTI excludes asset impairment charges.
(49) Ball Corp 2011 PTI excludes asset writeoffs.
(50) Whirlpool 2010 PTI excludes supplier quality-related issue accrual and Other Post-retirement Benefit curtailment gain.
(50A) Hertz Global Holdings 2011 PTL excludes loss on debt extinguishment.
(51) Eastman Kodak 2010 PTI excludes loss on debt extinguishment.
(52) Marathon Oil 2011 PTI excludes loss on debt extinguishment. Its 2010 PTI excludes both gains on asset disposals and asset impairments.
(53) Anadarko Petroleum excludes derivative gains and losses.
(54) Devon Energy excludes derivative gains and losses.
(55) Chesapeake Energy excludes hedging gains and losses.
(56) Williams Companies 2010 PTI excludes loss on debt extinguishment.
(57) EOG Resources 2011 PTI excludes gain on property dispositions, losses on derivatives, and asset impairment charges. Its 2010 PTI excludes asset impairment charges.
(58) El Paso Corp excludes derivative gains and losses. Its 2011 PTI also excludes loss on debt extinguishment.
(59) Cimarex Energy excludes derivative gains and losses.
(60) Denbury Resources 2011 PTI excludes both derivative losses and loss on debt extinguishment. Its 2010 PTI excludes both derivative gains and gain on sale of Genesis.
(61) Concho Resources excludes derivative gains and losses.
(61A) Symantec 2011 PTI excludes intangible asset impairment.
(62) Electronic Arts 2011 PTI excludes acquisition related contingent consideration charge.
(63) Berkshire Hathaway
..............................................................1Q 2011.....1Q 2010
................................................................millions of dollars
Pretax Income as Reported......................2,234.......5,098
Catastrophe Charges (Japan and
....New Zealand Earthquakes and
....Australia Floods)..................................1,673
Investment Gains........................................(99)......(1,318)*
Derivative Gains........................................(271)........(411)
Investment Impairment Charges
....Reclassified from Other Comprehensive
....Income to Regular Income Statement.....506
=Core Pretax Income...............................4,043........3,369
* Includes Holding Gain on Investment in Burlington No Sante Fe
(64) AIG
..............................................................1Q 2011.....1Q 2010
................................................................millions of dollars
Pretax Income(Loss) as Reported...........(1,380).......1,641
Loss on Debt Extinguishment....................3,313
Catastrophe Charges (Japan and
....New Zealand Earthquakes and
....Australia Floods)..................................1,688
Change in Fair Value of AIA Securities.....(1,062)
Change in Fair Value of Investment
....in Maiden Lane......................................(744)
Bargain Purchase Gain...............................................(332)
=Core Pretax Income...............................1,815........1,309
(65) Annaly Capital Management includes unrealized gains and losses from interest rate swaps.
(66) Merrill Lynch is owned by Bank of America and its earnings numbers are embedded in Bank of America's numbers. It reports its separate results with the SEC.
(67) ACE Ltd 2011 PTI excludes catastrophe charges from the Japan earthquake and tsunami.
(68) XL Capital Group 2011 PTI excludes catastrophe charges from the Japan earthquake and tsunami, the New Zealand earthquake and the Australian floods. Both years also exclude foreign currency gains and losses.
(69) Ally Financial excludes losses on debt extinguishment.
(70) Pfizer 2011 PTI excludes both certain legal charges and In Process R&D charges. Its 2010 PTI excludes certain legal charges.
(71) HCA 2011 PTI excludes termination of management agreement charge.
(72) Allergan 2011 PTI excludes upfront collaboration and co-promotion fee charge. Its 2010 PTI excludes upfront licensing fee charge.
(73) Cephalon 2011 PTI excludes change in fair value of investments and acquired In Process R&D charges.
(74) Mylan Labs 2011 PTI excludes litigation settlement charge.
(74A) Tenet Healthcare 2011 PTI excludes litigation settlement charge.
(75) General Motors
...............................................................1Q 2011.....1Q 2010
.................................................................millions of dollars
Pretax Income as Reported......................3,548.......1,705
Gain on Sale of Delphi Auto.....................(1,600)
Gain on Sale of Ally Fincl Preferred Stock...(339)
Goodwill Impairment Charge......................395
Impairment of Investment in India JV........106
Gain on Sale of SAAB Auto..........................................(123)
=Core Pretax Income................................2,110........1,582
(76) Kraft Foods 2010 PTI excludes both transaction related fees and acquisition financing fees.
(77) NewsCorp 2011 PTI excludes litigation settlement charge.
(78) DIRECTV 2010 PTI excludes Liberty transaction and related gains.
(79) Burlington Northern Santa Fe is owned by Berkshire Hathaway and its earnings numbers are embedded in Berkshire's numbers. It reports its separate results with the SEC.
(80) AES excludes foreign currency gains and losses.
(81) Liberty Media excludes gains on financial instruments. Its 2010 PTI also excludes gains on dispositions.
(82) DISH Network 2011 PTI excludes litigation income.
(82A) CF Industries earnings exclude gains on sales of assets.
(83) Sysco 2011 PTI excludes pension plan withdrawal charge.
(84) Qwest Communications
(85) Estee Lauder 2011 PTI excludes intangible asset impairment charge.
(85A) Liberty Global excludes derivative losses, foreign currency gains and losses, and gains and losses on changes in the fair value of investments and debt.
(86) Public Storage excludes foreign currency gains and losses.
(87) MGM Resorts 2010 PTI excludes both gain on debt extinguishment and asset impairment charges.
(87A) Avaya 2011 PTL excludes loss on debt extinguishment.
(88) Clear Channel Communications 2010 excludes gain on debt extinguishment.
(89) Caesars Entertainment excludes gains and losses on debt extinguishment.
(90) Macy's 2010 PTI excludes asset impairment charges.
(91) Home Depot 2010 PTI excludes Investment in HD Supply impairment charge.
(92) TJX 2011 PTI excludes AJ Wright Division charges.
(93) Limited Brands excludes gain related to Express.
(94) Dollar General 2010 PTI excludes loss on debt retirement and sponsor advisory agreement termination charge.
(95) Supervalu 2011 PTI excludes intangible asset impairment charge.
(96) JM Smucker PTI excludes asset impairment charges.
(97) Apollo Group 2011 PTI excludes intangible asset charges. Its 2010 PTI excludes litigation loss.
(98) Smithfield Foods 2011 PTI excludes gain on fire insurance recovery.
(99) Carnival 2010 PTI excludes gain from sale of P&O Cruise Artemis.
