Thursday, May 10, 2012

North Carolina Corporate 2011 Annual Earnings On Fire Under Obama

I found 30 Corporations, headquartered in North Carolina, which file with the SEC, and which had Pretax Income or Pretax Loss of more than $100 mil in any of the most recent three fiscal years.

These 30 North Carolina Corps, generated Total Pretax Earnings in 2011 of $24.7 bil, up 14% over 2010, and more than tripling with a 203% increase over 2009.

In deriving Pretax Income, I start with Pretax Income under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), and then exclude several clearly unusual very large items relative to Pretax Income, such as Asset Impairments, Gains and Losses on both Debt Retirements and Asset Dispositions, and Special Litigation Charges and Gains.

Bank of America dominates the corporate landscape in North Carolina.  Merrill Lynch is owned by Bank of America, but because it is based in New York City and files separate financial statements with the SEC, I am including it with the other New York Corps.

Thus, the below Bank of America Pretax Earnings and Loss numbers exclude both Merrill Lynch and Goodwill Impairment Charges.

Exclusive of Bank of America, the remaining 26 North Carolina Corps, excluding the 3 Late Additions, generated Pretax Income of $16.7 bil in 2011, up a robust 18% over 2010, and up an even more robust 47% over 2009. 

North Carolina citizens should be extremely proud of the operating performance in the most recent two years of their fine North Carolina Corporations. 

Clearly, the Obama Administration has created an economic environment that has permitted these North Carolina Corporations to flat-out flourish. 

North Carolina is very fortunate to have as one of its US Senators, Kay Hagan, and as two of its US House members G. K. Butterfield and David Price.  All three of them are strong advocates for all of their North Carolina businesses of all sizes.

I think the only way to ensure that these fine North Carolina Corps will be able to generate Total Pretax Earnings growth for the remainder of 2012 that at least matches their 14% total earnings growth in 2011, and at the same time, also result in very robust US job creation, is for the US Congress to immediately pass the following economic initiatives:

  • Extend the 100% first-year tax expensing of equipment and computer software investments made in the remainder of 2012.  The CBO-scored cost should not be very significant.
  • Substantially accelerate first-year tax depreciation on all new building and building remodeling investments made in the remainder of 2012, and rein in its CBO-scored cost, by lowering tax depreciation in years 2 through 10.
  • Pass the Research and Experimentation Tax Credit for businesses for all 2012 expenditures, but substantially enhance it, especially for smaller businesses, and simplify it.
  • Give small businesses, creating US jobs in 2012, a 10% tax credit.
  • Give businesses a 20% income tax credit for the expenses of moving operations from overseas back to the US.  And pay for this by removing income tax deductions businesses now get for moving their production from the US to overseas.  This one's pretty cool, where the pay-for is also positive to the US job count.
  • Permit US taxpayers, who have their mortgage loans financed by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, to have their mortgages refinanced at the current lower prevailing market interest rates.  
  • Pass the substantial amount of school construction infrastructure fix ups for K-12 Schools and for Community Colleges, which is in the American Jobs Act (AJA).  And all of these school investments should occur in 2012, and mostly from now through the end of the summer of 2012.

The above first two will result in explosive US economic stimulation, particularly when viewed in light of future business income tax reform, which should result in a much lower business income tax rate in 2013 and going forward.

Thus, businesses will get both the 100% first-year tax depreciation on equipment purchases and the substantially accelerated first-year tax deprecation on building investments in 2012 at a business income tax rate reduction which is much higher in 2012, and then the future earnings from these equipment and building investments will generate post 2012 earnings streams from these investments which are taxed at a much lower post tax reform business income tax rate.  Wow, now that is bold economic stimulation.

This above bold economic stimulation effectively works like a back-door, stealth investment tax credit in 2012, due to the expected future reduction in business income tax rates starting in 2013 under any reasonable business tax reform. 

The investment tax credit was used first by President Jack Kennedy in the early 1960s to get the US out of a deep recession.  And President Lyndon Johnson also used it after he took over.  The end result was US real GDP growth which averaged 4.85% from 1960 to 1968.  And the US unemployment rate dropped substantially while this investment tax credit was in effect during the 1960s

This kind of very robust US real GDP growth, markedly north of 4%, and for an extended period of time, is precisely what the US economy now needs.  And this very strong GDP growth is by far the best way to substantially reduce the massive US Deficit.  

But these explosive economic benefits to US businesses from this accelerated first-year tax depreciation does not necessarily mean that there will be resultant substantial US job creation from it.

Thus, I would make sure that the largest of the US Corps…..say the top 50 or so…..would get these first-year accelerated tax depreciation benefits in 2012 only if they add a sufficient number of US full-time workers in 2012.

And similar economic benefits will result from the Research and Experimentation Expenditures.  Not only will businesses get higher Research Tax Credits in 2012 for making investments in 2012, but they will also get 2012 tax deductions from these Research investments made in 2012 at the higher business income tax rate in 2012, and then subsequently get the future earnings stream from these Research investments taxed at the lower post tax reform business income tax rate that will be applicable starting in 2013 and going forward.

Below here is the North Carolina headquarters location and the Sector of each of these 30 North Carolina Corporations.  

North Carolina Corporation North Carolina HQs Sector



Bank of America Charlotte Banking
Lowes Mooresville Retail: Building Materials
Reynolds American Winston-Salem Cigarettes
Lorillard Greensboro Cigarettes
BB&T Winston-Salem Banking
Nucor Charlotte Manufacturing: Steel Works
Goodrich Charlotte Gided Missiles & Space Vehicles: US Defense Contractor
VF Corp Greensboro Apparel and Footwear
Laboratory Corp America Burlington Health Care: Medical Labs
Family Dollar Stores Charlotte Retail: Variety Stores
Hanesbrands Winston-Salem Apparel
Carlisle Charlotte Manufacturing: Fabricated Rubber Products
Belk Charlotte Retail: Department Stores
Babcock & Wilcox Charlotte Manufacturing: Engines and Turbines
Old Dominion Freight Thomasville Trucking
SPX Charlotte Manuacturing: Metalworking Machinery and Equipment
Harris Teeter Supermarkets Matthews Retail: Grocery Stores
Cree Durham Technology: Semiconductors
First Citizens Bancshares Raleigh Banking
Polypore Charlotte Manufacturing: Miscellaneous
Red Hat Raleigh Technology: Software
Sonic Automotive Charlotte Retail: Auto Dealer
RF Micro Devices Greensboro Technology: Semiconductors
Salix Pharmaceuticals Raleigh Health Care: Pharmaceuticals
Martin Marietta Materials Raleigh Mining
CATO Charlotte Retail: Women's Clothing
Triad Guaranty Winston-Salem Surety Insurance


Late Additions

Alliance One Intl Morrisville Wholesale: Farm Products
Hatteras Financial Winston-Salem REITs
Speedway Motorsports Concord Services: Racing, Including Track Operation


And below here is the Pretax Income (PTI) and Pretax Loss (PTL) of these 30 North Carolina Corps for each of the most recent three years, with the most recent fiscal year ends ranging from March 2011 to February 2012.






Obama





Bump




PTI(L) PTI(L)

1 Year 2 Year

PTI(L) PTI(L) PTI(L) % %

2011 2010 2009 Change Change
mils $s mils $s mils $s

North Carolina




Bank of America 7,648 7,154 (3,629) 7% 311%
Lowes 2,906 3,228 2,825 -10% 3%
Reynolds American 2,534 2,315 2,089 9% 21%
Lorillard 1,770 1,635 1,519 8% 17%
BB&T 1,628 969 1,036 68% 57%
Nucor 1,252 267 414 369% 202%
Goodrich 1,165 805 784 45% 49%
VF Corp 1,165 952 777 22% 50%
Laboratory Corp America 866 916 885 -5% -2%
Family Dollar Stores 617 564 451 9% 37%
Hanesbrands 316 234 58 35% 445%
Carlisle 254 188 176 35% 44%
Belk 250 196 97 28% 158%
Babcock & Wilcox 235 236 232 0% 1%
Old Dominion Freight 220 124 57 77% 286%
SPX 220 271 291 -19% -24%
Ruddick 181 158 152 15% 19%
Cree 178 205 40 -13% 345%
First Citizens Bancshares 160 168 79 -5% 103%
Polypore 157 89 17 76% 824%
Red Hat 208 154 122 35% 70%
Sonic Automotive 126 78 28 62% 350%
RF Micro Devices 124 85 (260) 46% 148%
Salix Pharma 113 11 (46) 927% 346%
Martin Marietta Materials 101 130 111 -22% -9%
CATO 100 93 67 8% 49%
Triad Guaranty (108) 102 (612) -206% 82%






Total all 27 24,386 21,327 7,760 14% 214%

Late Additions




Hatteras Financial 284 170 174 67% 63%
Speedway Motorsports 74 71 109 4% -32%
Alliance One Intl (38) 133 109 -129% -135%






Grand Total all 30 24,706 21,701 8,152 14% 203%