These 51 Largest Georgia Corps filing with the SEC generated Externally Audited US GAAP Total After-tax Net Income from Continuing Operations of $24.0 bil in the most recent fiscal year 2011, which was a profit improvement of a massive $29.7 bil, as compared with the Total After-tax Net Loss of $5.7 bil generated by these same 51 Georgia companies just three years earlier in 2008, the last year of the Bush/Cheney Administration.
Georgia 51 Largest Corps Audited Annual Earnings Improve By $29.7 Bil During Obama Administration
Since corporate earnings drive stock prices, in this post I turn my attention to just how well the stock market prices of these Georgia Corps have performed since President Obama took office.
Of these 51 Georgia Corps, 40 of them had their common stock trading on both January 16, 2009, which is the last day stocks traded before President Obama took office, and also on last Friday, October 12, 2012.
I retrieved all of the below stock market closing price information from the excellent Big Charts.com website.
These 40 Georgia Corps had an average stock market price increase of a very robust 118% since President Obama took office on January 20, 2009. This is 1.7 times the 68% increase in the S&P 500 Index and almost double the 61% increase in the Dow Industrials Index, both during the same time span.
So what this means in simplistic terms is that if you invested the same amount of money.....say $1,000.....in the common stock of each of these 40 Georgia companies at the closing market price on January 16, 2009, this would have cost you initially $40,000, ignoring any transaction costs, and this stock portfolio would now be worth $87,200.
There are many financially astute Georgians, and they already had this all figured out. They probably just didn't previously have the precise average percentage increases tied down.
Georgians have to be extremely happy with the stock market performance of their many fine Georgia companies during the Obama Administration.
And Georgia citizens also must be very pleased with how the Obama Administration worked so hard and very effectively on so many fronts to create a US economic environment that permitted these Georgia companies to flat out flourish. This highly successful effort created a robust US economic environment which was quite a change from what existed in the just horrible financial meltdown, near Depression year of 2008.
When I think of the Obama Administration, the thought that comes top of mind to me is widespread competence, all throughout the upper ranks of the US government. But frankly, it's also pretty clear to me that the Obama Administration is just not very good at selling its many significant accomplishments, particularly on the economic front.
About the only thing I hear from the Obama Administration on the economic front is the positive effect of the auto rescue on the US economy. Granted, this did positively and substantially impact US states like Michigan, whose Corps had an average stock price increase of 344% since President Obama took office, and also like Ohio, whose Corps average stock prices were up 161%, and Indiana, whose Corps average stock prices were up 131%.
But of the 27 Michigan Corps comprising this 344% average stock price increase, 20 of them were Non-Auto Industry companies, and they had an average stock price increase of an exceptional 314%.
And the very successful auto rescue had little to do with Georgia Corps 118% average stock price increase, with Pennsylvania Corps 133% average stock price increase, with North Carolina Corps 99% average stock price increase, with Iowa Corps 99% average stock price increase, with Virginia Corps 97% average stock price increase, with Nevada Corps 178% average stock price increase, with Colorado Corps 179% average stock price increase, and with Florida Corps 137% average stock price increase....all occurring during the Obama Administration.
There is something else very positive going on in the US economy since President Obama has taken over, and the Obama Administration has very modestly taken no credit for it. But when you think of the overall US economy in 2008 and now, there is clearly a substantial turnaround that has occurred, and the Obama Administration played a key role here in this massive economic revival from the depths of a near Depression.
Below here are the common stock market closing prices of each of these 40 Georgia companies at both the most recent date, and also at the date just before President Obama took office, as well as the percentage stock market price changes for this period of time.
| Market | Market | Percentage | ||
| Georgia | Price | Price | Increase | |
| HQs | 10-12-12 | 1-16-09 | (Decrease) | |
| S&P 500 Index | 1,428.59 | 850.12 | 68% | |
| Dow Industrials Index | 13,328.85 | 8,281.22 | 61% | |
| Georgia Largest Corps | ||||
| Asbury Automotive Group | Duluth | 29.611 | 3.54 | 736% |
| Oxford Industries | Atlanta | 54.2 | 7.05 | 669% |
| Graphic Packaging | Marietta | 5.67 | 0.88 | 544% |
| Gray Television | Atlanta | 2.31 | 0.46 | 402% |
| Post Properties | Atlanta | 47.37 | 15.14 | 213% |
| RPC | Atlanta | 11.6 | 3.7111 | 213% |
| Carters | Atlanta | 52.74 | 17.29 | 205% |
| Genuine Parts | Atlanta | 61.29 | 36.92 | 66% |
| Coca Cola Enterprises | Atlanta | 31.49 | 11.66 | 170% |
| Beazer Homes | Atlanta | 16.9 | 6.45 | 162% |
| Home Depot | Atlanta | 59.56 | 23.2 | 157% |
| Rock-Tenn | Norcross | 71.64 | 28.99 | 147% |
| Intercontinental Exchange | Atlanta | 129.74 | 57.66 | 125% |
| Newell Rubbrmaid | Atlanta | 19.75 | 8.83 | 124% |
| AGCO | Duluth | 46.69 | 20.96 | 123% |
| Mohawk Industries | Calhoun | 78.22 | 37.39 | 109% |
| Rollins | Atlanta | 22.83 | 11.0133 | 107% |
| Invesco Ltd | Atlanta | 24.71 | 12.36 | 100% |
| Equifax | Atlanta | 49.26 | 25.32 | 95% |
| Aaron's | Atlanta | 27.02 | 14.46 | 87% |
| Coca Cola | Atlanta | 38.23 | 21.92 | 74% |
| Arris Group | Suwanee | 12.58 | 7.4 | 70% |
| Total System Services | Columbus | 23.03 | 13.81 | 67% |
| NCR | Duluth | 22.06 | 13.34 | 65% |
| United Parcel Service | Atlanta | 72.11 | 48.2 | 50% |
| SunTrust Banks | Atlanta | 29.17 | 19.94 | 46% |
| Global Payments | Atlanta | 43.13 | 34.62 | 25% |
| Cumulus Media | Atlanta | 2.64 | 2.15 | 23% |
| Flowers Foods | Thomasville | 18.89 | 15.52 | 22% |
| AFLAC | Columbus | 48.14 | 39.8 | 21% |
| Georgia Gulf | Atlanta | 36.12 | 38.25 | -6% |
| Earthlink | Atlanta | 6.88 | 7.51 | -8% |
| Delta Air Lines | Atlanta | 10.02 | 11.43 | -12% |
| United Community Banks | Blairsville | 8.51 | 9.88 | -14% |
| Cousins Properties | Atlanta | 8.16 | 10.9766 | -26% |
| CompuCredit | Atlanta | 3.88 | 5.44 | -29% |
| Mueller Water Products | Atlanta | 4.77 | 7.18 | -34% |
| Crawford & Co | Atlanta | 4.01 | 6.37 | -37% |
| Synovus Financial | Columbus | 2.37 | 5.56 | -57% |
| Gentiva Health Services | Atlanta | 10.68 | 26.75 | -60% |
| Average Increase: All 40 Largest Georgia Corps | 118% | |||
| S&P 500 Index | 1,428.59 | 850.12 | 68% | |
| Dow Industrials Index | 13,328.85 | 8,281.22 | 61% |
It should be pointed out that the above earlier period stock prices of Beazer Homes has been adjusted to reflect the effect of a one-for-five reverse stock split, and of Georgia Gulf has been adjusted for a one-for-twenty five reverse stock split.
As exceptional as this 118% average stock price increase is for Georgia Corps, it is a bit short of Georgia's neighbor Florida, whose Corps experienced a 137% average stock price increase during President Obama's term so far, as you can review in more detail in the below link.
Florida Corp Stock Prices Up an Average 137% Since President Obama Took Office
