These 19 Largest Wisconsin Corps had Total Pretax Income of $9.5 bil in the most recent fiscal year 2011, which was an off-the-charts 367% increase over such amount two years earlier in 2009.
And I also found 29 additional Corps headquartered in Wisconsin with Pretax Income or Pretax Loss of at least $10 mil in any of the most recent three years, but with none of the three years having Pretax Income or Pretax Loss of more than $100 mil.
These 29 Smaller Wisconsin Corps had their Total Pretax Income in the most recent fiscal year 2011 precisely double from such amount two years earlier in 2009.
Thus, these 48 Largest Wisconsin Corps, which file with the SEC, had their Total Pretax Income in the most recent fiscal year 2011 increase by an off-the-charts 316% over such amount two years earlier in 2009.
Wisconsin citizens have to be very proud of their superb Wisconsin companies.
And Wisconsin citizens also have to be elated with how the Obama Administration has created such a robust US economic environment which has fostered their companies' exceptional earnings growth in the most recent two years.
But there is another very important story here.
It is just incredible how much better the total earnings growth of these 48 Largest Wisconsin Corps was in 2010 over 2009, when the US House was under Moderate Democratic control, than it was in 2011 over 2010, when the US House was under Very Conservative Republican control, with Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan being one of the key drivers of this Uncompromising, Very Conservative Republican Movement, which has such an extremely low approval rating in the eyes of US citizens.
Just how much better? Well, the Total Pretax Income growth of these 48 Largest Wisconsin Corps was 17% in 2011 over 2010. On the other hand, this 17% total earnings growth under Very Conservative Republican control of the US House was dwarfed by the 15 times higher earnings growth of 255% in 2010 over 2009 under Moderate Democratic control of the US House.
So, the conventional wisdom that businesses perform far better under Republican control than under Democratic control was certainly not true in Wisconsin.....nor was it true in nearly in any other US State.
And this Wisconsin Largest Corp 2011 total earnings growth of 17% was dramatically sliced by more than two-thirds in the first half of 2012, under the Paul Ryan/Eric Canter-led Uncompromising, Very Conservative Republican control of the US House.
Clearly, the best combination for the US economy is a Moderate Democratic President and a Moderate Democratic US House. This is precisely what we had in 2009 and 2010.
So many pundits criticize the Obama Economic Stimulus. It started really kicking in starting in the 4Q 2009, when the Obama Administration’s economic stimulus programs, both business income tax incentives and individual income tax cuts, as well as wisely designed, very carefully vetted US Government investments, were all going full throttle. And look at the result in annual 2010, with Wisconsin's 48 Largest Corps increasing their total earnings by a massive 255% in just one year.
So, why it is that the total earnings growth was so substantially lower in annual 2011 and in the first half of 2012 in Wisconsin and all over the country, when the US House is under Very Conservative Republican control?
Well, this Very Conservative Republican US House has no interest in compromise. Thus, nearly every wise, much-needed Obama economic initiative was stopped by this US House, and also stopped by filibustering by US Senate Republicans.
And the losers here were not just the unemployed, the underemployed, the dwindling middle class, and the people trying to get into the middle class. US Businesses were also big losers, by having their earnings growth substantially decelerate in 2011, and even more dramatically so in the first half of 2012.
I think the only way the US economy will be great again is for a combination of a Moderate Democratic President and a US House under control by Moderate Democrats. And a US Senate under control by Moderate Democrats would also help. If so, the country will be back to 2010 again, when US business earnings were on fire!
In deriving Ongoing, Core 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. I also excluded Corps with not significant enough Total Revenues.
Below here is the Ongoing, Core Pretax Income (PTI) and Pretax Loss (PTL) of these 19 Largest and 29 Smaller Wisconsin 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 | |||||
| % | % | % | |||||
| Total | Total | Total | 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 | ||
| Wisconsin Largest Corps | |||||||
| Johnson Controls | Milwaukee | 2,111 | 1,763 | (207) | 20% | 952% | 1120% |
| Kohls | Menomonee Falls | 1,859 | 1,788 | 1,558 | 4% | 15% | 19% |
| Joy Global | Milwaukee | 896 | 679 | 683 | 32% | -1% | 31% |
| Rockwell Automation | Milwaukee | 868 | 544 | 274 | 60% | 99% | 217% |
| Fiserv | Brookfield | 814 | 793 | 734 | 3% | 8% | 11% |
| Harley Davidson | Milwaukee | 793 | 475 | 207 | 67% | 129% | 283% |
| Manpower | Milwaukee | 480 | 264 | 38 | 82% | 595% | 1163% |
| Oshkosh | Oshkosh | 417 | 1,212 | 12 | -66% | 10000% | 3375% |
| Snap-On | Kenosha | 413 | 277 | 205 | 49% | 35% | 101% |
| Bemis | Neenah | 292 | 327 | 240 | -11% | 36% | 22% |
| Regal Beloit | Beloit | 226 | 221 | 138 | 2% | 60% | 64% |
| Associated Banc-Corp | Green Bay | 183 | (41) | (285) | 546% | 86% | 164% |
| Sensient Technologies | Milwaukee | 171 | 154 | 123 | 11% | 25% | 39% |
| AO Smith | Milwaukee | 162 | 109 | 92 | 49% | 18% | 76% |
| Actuant | Menomonee Falls | 159 | 89 | 58 | 79% | 53% | 174% |
| Brady | Milwaukee | 144 | 109 | 97 | 32% | 12% | 48% |
| Spectrum Brands | Madison | 49 | (121) | 15 | 140% | -907% | 227% |
| Anchor Bancorp Wisconsin | Madison | (37) | (41) | (178) | 10% | 77% | 79% |
| MGIC Investment | Milwaukee | (484) | (359) | (1,765) | -35% | 80% | 73% |
| Total all 19 Largest Corps | 9,516 | 8,242 | 2,039 | 15% | 304% | 367% | |
| Wisconsin Smaller Corps | |||||||
| Generac Holdings | Waukesha | 96 | 62 | 28 | 55% | 121% | 243% |
| Plexus Corp | Neenah | 92 | 90 | 51 | 2% | 76% | 80% |
| Briggs & Stratton | Wauwatosa | 81 | 80 | 40 | 1% | 100% | 103% |
| Roundy's Supermarkets | Milwaukee | 78 | 79 | 88 | -1% | -10% | -11% |
| National Presto Industries | Eau Claire | 75 | 99 | 94 | -24% | 5% | -20% |
| Manitowoc | Manitowoc | 67 | 0 | (4) | NM | 100% | 1775% |
| Quad/Graphics | Sussex | 63 | 43 | 48 | 47% | -10% | 31% |
| Rexnord | Milwaukee | 58 | 40 | (49) | 45% | 182% | 218% |
| Modine Manufacturing | Racine | 48 | 13 | (13) | 269% | 200% | 469% |
| Twin Disc | Racine | 48 | 32 | 2 | 50% | 1500% | 2300% |
| Marten Transport | Mondovi | 43 | 35 | 29 | 23% | 21% | 48% |
| Roadrunner Transportation | Cudahy | 42 | 22 | 0 | 91% | NM | NM |
| Journal Communications | Milwaukee | 36 | 50 | 27 | -28% | 85% | 33% |
| Assisted Living Concepts | Menomonee Falls | 36 | 28 | 24 | 29% | 17% | 50% |
| Marcus | Milwaukee | 36 | 21 | 28 | 71% | -25% | 29% |
| Douglas Dynamics | Milwaukee | 31 | 11 | 14 | 182% | -21% | 121% |
| Badger Meter | Milwaukee | 27 | 44 | 42 | -39% | 5% | -36% |
| Weyco Group | Glendale | 25 | 21 | 20 | 19% | 5% | 25% |
| Tri City Bankshares | Oak Creek | 14 | 23 | 15 | -39% | 53% | -7% |
| First Business Financial Services | Madison | 12 | 6 | 2 | 100% | 200% | 500% |
| Johnson Outdoors | Racine | 12 | 9 | (10) | 33% | 190% | 220% |
| Strattec Security | Milwaukee | 10 | 6 | (11) | 67% | 155% | 191% |
| Bank Mutual | Brown Deer | 7 | (33) | 19 | 121% | -274% | -63% |
| Wausau Paper | Mosinee | 3 | 28 | 30 | -89% | -7% | -90% |
| CIB Marine Bancshares | Waukesha | (6) | (17) | (41) | 65% | 59% | 85% |
| Waterstone Financial | Wauwatosa | (7) | (2) | (11) | -250% | 82% | 36% |
| School Specialty | Greenville | (18) | (8) | 44 | -125% | -118% | -141% |
| Appleton Papers | Appleton | (22) | (37) | (19) | 41% | -95% | -16% |
| Great Wolf Resorts | Madison | (23) | (36) | (5) | 36% | -620% | -360% |
| Total all 29 Smaller Corps | 964 | 709 | 482 | 36% | 47% | 100% | |
| Grand Total all 48 Corps | 10,480 | 8,951 | 2,521 | 17% | 255% | 316% |
