These 28 Largest Tennessee Corps generated Total Pretax Income in 2011 which was up a very impressive 61% from such amount two years earlier in 2009.
Now I wanted to see if these incredibly strong earnings also applied to the even smaller Tennessee Corps, which file with the SEC.
I found 21 Tennessee headquartered Smaller Corps filing with the SEC, which had Pretax Income or Pretax Loss of $20 mil or more in any of the most recent three years, and which weren't included in the 28 Largest Tennessee Corps. Thus, these 21 Smaller Tennessee Corps also did not have Pretax Income or Pretax Loss of $100 mil or more in any of the most recent three years.
How did they do? Well, these 21 Smaller Tennessee Corps generated total earnings growth in the most recent two years of an even higher 72%.
Clearly, Tennessee citizens should be very proud of their many superb Tennessee companies, of all sizes.
And yeah, the Obama Administration created a very robust US economic environment, which permitted these fine Tennessee companies of all sizes to do just fantastically on the earnings front in the most recent two years.
And just check out how much better both these Tennessee Largest and Smaller Corps performed in 2010, when the country was clearly more under Democratic control nationally, than in 2011, when the country was more under Republican control nationally:
Total Pretax Income % Change in 2011 over 2010 (Move to More Republican Control)
.....28 Largest Tennessee Corps..........+14%
.....21 Smaller Tennessee Corps..........+10%
Total Pretax Income % Change in 2010 over 2009 (Democratic Control)
.....28 Largest Tennessee Corps..........+41%
.....21 Smaller Tennessee Corps..........+56%
And in the most recent 1Q 2012, the total earnings growth of these Tennessee companies has stopped to a walk.
So, why is it that companies of all sizes, all throughout the country, have performed so much better on the earnings front under more Democratic control?
It is pretty clear to me that in 2010, a Moderate Democratic President, coupled most importantly with a US House in Democratic hands, but also having a US Senate in Democratic hands, and further with having more State Governors and State Legislatures in Moderate Democratic hands, did wonders for corporate earnings growth in 2010. With this political structure, economic stimulus, both much needed business income tax stimulus and wise, carefully-vetted US Government investment spending, can occur on a robust scale. And this very strong economic stimulus was in full throttle starting in the 4Q 2009, and did Corporations ever reap the benefit of this by generating exceptionally strong profits.
The worse thing that can happen after a financial meltdown, and near depression, is a US government that just waits for the free markets to correct themselves.....a laissez-faire approach, so favored by so many Republicans. Fortunately for the country, the exact opposite to that wisely happened in 2009 and 2010.
But then in 2011 and the first half of 2012, the US government was unfortunately forced into a laissez-faire economic approach, due to an uncompromising Very Conservative US Congress stopping nearly every economic initiative of the Obama Administration. The focus of the US Congress was almost singularly on austerity, when the improving, but still clearly struggling, US economy was shouting out for more economic stimulus, wisely designed.
This sharp earnings growth deceleration starting in 2011 was driven by a Republican-controlled US House, coupled with the very frequent use of the filibuster strategy by the Republicans in the US Senate, which both stopped cold, with devastating consequences to the middle class, and those trying to get into the middle class, nearly every economic initiative of the Obama Administration.
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, and Gains and Losses on both Debt Retirements and Asset Dispositions.
I use Pretax Income rather than After-tax Net Income, since so much of the change in effective income tax rates just happens due to financial engineering.
I excluded Corps in the Development Stage.
Let me first show each of the 28 Largest and 21 Smaller Tennessee Corps, and where they are Headquartered.
| Tennessee Corporation | Tennessee HQs |
| Largest Corps | |
| HCA | Nashville |
| FedEx | Memphis |
| International Paper | Memphis |
| Autozone | Memphis |
| Dollar General | Goodlettsville |
| Eastman Chemical | Kingsport |
| Communy Health Systems | Franklin |
| Caterpillar Financial Services | Nashville |
| Tractor Supply | Brentwood |
| LifePoint Hospitals | Brentwood |
| Thomas & Betts | Memphis |
| Corrections Corp America | Nashville |
| Unum Group | Chattanooga |
| Delek US Holdings | Brentwood |
| Amsurg | Nashville |
| Clarcor | Franklin |
| First Horizon National | Memphis |
| Servicemaster | Memphis |
| CBL & Associates Properties | Chattanooga |
| Genesco | Nashville |
| BuckeyeTechnologies | Memphis |
| Mueller Industries | Memphis |
| Cracker Barrel | Lebanon |
| Team Health Holdings | Knoxville |
| Noranda Aluminum | Franklin |
| National Healthcare | Murfreesboro |
| Iasis Healthcare | Franklin |
| Regal Entertainment | Knoxville |
| Smaller Corps | |
| Astec Industries | Chattanooga |
| First Security Group | Chattanooga |
| Forward Air Corp | Greeneville |
| Freds | Memphis |
| Gaylord Entertainment | Nashville |
| Green Bankshares | Greeneville |
| GTX | Memphis |
| Healthcare Realty Trust | Nashville |
| Healthways | Franklin |
| Kirklands | Nashville |
| Mid America Apartment Communities | Memphis |
| Miller Industries | Ooltewah |
| MModal | Franklin |
| National Health Investors | Murfreesboro |
| NN Inc | Johnson City |
| Pinnacle Airlines | Memphis |
| Pinnacle Financial Partners | Nashville |
| Ruby Tuesday | Maryville |
| Symbion | Nashville |
| Vanguard Health Systems | Nashville |
| Wilson Medical Group | Arlington |
And below here is the Pretax Income (PTI) and Pretax Loss (PTL) of these 28 Largest and 21 Smaller Tennessee Corps for each of the most recent three years, along with the related percentage changes.
| US House | US House | Obama | ||||
| Republican | Democratic | Bump | ||||
| Control | Control | Two | ||||
| PTI(L) | PTI(L) | Year | ||||
| % | % | % | ||||
| Change | Change | Change | ||||
| PTI(L) | PTI(L) | PTI(L) | 2011 | 2010 | 2011 | |
| 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | vs | vs | vs | |
| mils $s | mils $s | mils $s | 2010 | 2009 | 2009 | |
| Tennessee Largest Corps | ||||||
| HCA | 2,520 | 2,231 | 2,002 | 13% | 11% | 26% |
| FedEx | 2,265 | 1,894 | 1,577 | 20% | 20% | 44% |
| International Paper | 1,669 | 1,201 | 133 | 39% | 803% | 1155% |
| Autozone | 1,324 | 1,161 | 1,034 | 14% | 12% | 28% |
| Dollar General | 1,225 | 985 | 552 | 24% | 78% | 122% |
| Eastman Chemical | 964 | 751 | 433 | 28% | 73% | 123% |
| Communy Health Systems | 540 | 519 | 448 | 4% | 16% | 21% |
| Caterpillar Financial Services | 504 | 329 | 320 | 53% | 3% | 58% |
| Tractor Supply | 351 | 265 | 190 | 32% | 39% | 85% |
| LifePoint Hospitals | 263 | 241 | 222 | 9% | 9% | 18% |
| Thomas & Betts | 259 | 185 | 140 | 40% | 32% | 85% |
| Corrections Corp America | 259 | 252 | 231 | 3% | 9% | 12% |
| Unum Group | 257 | 1,331 | 1,292 | -81% | 3% | -80% |
| Delek US Holdings | 248 | (25) | (99) | 1092% | 75% | 351% |
| Amsurg | 227 | 213 | 211 | 7% | 1% | 8% |
| Clarcor | 181 | 143 | 106 | 27% | 35% | 71% |
| First Horizon National | 150 | 52 | (406) | 188% | 113% | 137% |
| Servicemaster | 149 | 28 | (22) | 432% | 227% | 777% |
| CBL & Associates Properties | 146 | 125 | 106 | 17% | 18% | 38% |
| Genesco | 139 | 85 | 56 | 64% | 52% | 148% |
| BuckeyeTechnologies | 129 | 48 | 32 | 169% | 50% | 303% |
| Mueller Industries | 119 | 99 | 53 | 20% | 87% | 125% |
| Cracker Barrel | 116 | 116 | 90 | 0% | 29% | 29% |
| Team Health Holdings | 115 | 107 | 92 | 7% | 16% | 25% |
| Noranda Aluminum | 100 | 36 | (133) | 178% | 127% | 175% |
| National Healthcare | 98 | 81 | 68 | 21% | 19% | 44% |
| Iasis Healthcare | 95 | 121 | 131 | -21% | -8% | -27% |
| Regal Entertainment | 94 | 98 | 157 | -4% | -38% | -40% |
| Total all 28 Largest Corps | 14,506 | 12,672 | 9,016 | 14% | 41% | 61% |
| Tennessee Smaller Corps | ||||||
| Forward Air Corp | 77 | 53 | 25 | 45% | 112% | 208% |
| National Health Investors | 73 | 62 | 57 | 18% | 9% | 28% |
| Astec Industries | 62 | 49 | 28 | 27% | 75% | 121% |
| Ruby Tuesday | 59 | 62 | 31 | -5% | 100% | 90% |
| Vanguard Health Systems | 53 | 62 | 55 | -15% | 13% | -4% |
| Freds | 51 | 47 | 38 | 9% | 24% | 34% |
| Healthways | 41 | 78 | 60 | -47% | 30% | -32% |
| Mid America Apartment Communities | 38 | 31 | 33 | 23% | -6% | 15% |
| Miller Industries | 38 | 19 | 10 | 100% | 90% | 280% |
| Kirklands | 31 | 42 | 47 | -26% | -11% | -34% |
| Pinnacle Financial Partners | 28 | (20) | (65) | 240% | 69% | 143% |
| NN Inc | 26 | 11 | (38) | 136% | 129% | 168% |
| Symbion | 26 | 22 | 12 | 18% | 83% | 117% |
| Gaylord Entertainment | 25 | (36) | (5) | 169% | -620% | 600% |
| MModal | 15 | 24 | 25 | -38% | -4% | -40% |
| Healthcare Realty Trust | 5 | 3 | 20 | 67% | -85% | -75% |
| Wilson Medical Group | 1 | 31 | 16 | -97% | 94% | -94% |
| First Security Group | (23) | (35) | (15) | 34% | -133% | -53% |
| Pinnacle Airlines | (31) | 21 | 42 | -248% | -50% | -174% |
| GTX | (33) | 15 | (46) | -320% | 133% | 28% |
| Green Bankshares | (38) | (66) | (25) | 42% | -164% | -52% |
| Total all 21 Smaller Corps | 524 | 475 | 305 | 10% | 56% | 72% |
