I found 16 Big Food Corps with Pretax Earnings (PTI) or Pretax Losses above $100 mil each in the most recent quarter, which have released their 3Q 2011 earnings so far.
These 16 Big Food Corps had a Total Pretax Earnings decline of 1% in the 3Q 2011, a sharp reversal from the very strong 25% earnings growth in the 2Q 2011.
Four of the 16 Big Food Corps bucked the trend and generated very strong earnings growth in the 3Q 2011: Kraft Foods, Archer Daniels Midland, Corn Products International, and Mead Johnson Nutrition, all with their Corporate HQs in Illinois, although the latter has its Operational HQs in Evansville, Ind.
Here's how the US Big Food Sector total earnings decline of 1% in the 3Q 2011 stacks up with US Big Oil and US Big Financial.
3Q 2011 Pretax Earnings Growth (Decline) over 3Q 2010:
.....16 US Big Food Corps......................................(1)%
......4 US Largest Credit Card Corps.......................23%
......7 US Largest Financial Corps..........................25%
.....21 US Next Largest National/Regional Banks...38%
......6 US Largest Oil Corps....................................57%
......7 US Next Largest Oil Corps..........................107%
I don't think it is good for the US economy for its high-quality Big Food sector's 3Q 2011 earnings decline to trail the earnings growth of both the US Big Oil sector and the US Big Financial sector by such an incredibly wide gap. I think this gives a good insight into why there is such a huge wealth gap between the 1%ers and the 99% rest of the country, the Occupy Movement's major beef.
The overall US economy and US job creation won't improve dramatically until this earnings growth gap between both US Big Oil and US Big Financial vs. the rest of the US business sectors, including all of small business, is substantially closed.
Below here are these 3Q 2011 Pretax Earnings (PTI), along with a comparison with the prior year’s quarter amounts.
...........................................................................Increase
................................................PTI........PTI.......(Decrease)
.................................................3Q.........3Q..................
...............................................2011......2010....Amount....%
.................................................(millions of dollars)
Big 2 Food
PepsiCo 2,697 2,659 38 1%
Kraft Foods 1,273 1,086 187 17%
Total Big 2 Food 3,970 3,745 225 6%
Rest of Big Food
Archer Daniels Midland 660 462 198 43%
General Mills 554 670 (116) -17%
Kellogg 397 480 (83) -17%
HJ Heinz 306 333 (27) -8%
Hershey 298 277 21 8%
Bunge, Ltd(1) 258 308 (50) -16%
Mead Johnson Nutrition 189 154 35 23%
JM Smucker 167 150 17 11%
Campbell Soup 143 161 (18) -11%
Hormel Foods 141 134 7 5%
Corn Products Intl 130 58 72 124%
Smithfield Foods 124 109 15 14%
ConAgra Foods 123 204 (81) -40%
Pilgrims Pride (163) 89 (252) -283%
Rest of Big Food 3,327 3,589 (262) -7%
Total all 16 7,297 7,334 (37) -1%
(1) Bunge, Ltd both years' PTI excludes Foreign Exchange Losses and Gains. Its 2010 PTI also excludes Loss on Debt Extinguishment.
