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Top 250 Public Companies
Revenues for the 250 largest public companies totaled $100.7 billion in 1995, a 17% increase from $86.3 billion the previous year. The runaway leader again was Winn-Dixie with sales of $11.8 billion. Revenues grew at 199 companies, with 16 enjoying increases greater than 100%.
The top 10 companies accounted for $49.3 billion, almost half of the revenue total. Among the leaders, computer and software wholesaler Tech Data Corp. (No.9) had highest revenue growth with 27.6%. Twenty-six companies reported more than $1 billion in revenues, compared with 19 for the previous year. The combined market value of the Top 250 grew 22% to $89.9 billion, up from $73.6 billion. Last year, 129 companies saw the market value of their stock rise; a year earlier, only 80 showed improved market value. The electric utility FPL Group lead the way with market capitalization of $8.6 billion, a 31% increase. (FPL also had highest net income with $596.7 million.) The good news translated into jobs as the 250 employed 855,570 people, a 24% increase or 163,570 more jobs. Fifteen companies employed more than 10,000, lead by Darden Restaurants (Red Lobster and Olive Garden) and Winn-Dixie with 124,730 and 123,000 employees, respectively.
It was tougher for companies to make the list this year. Last year, Morgan Medical Holdings made it with revenues of $5.1 million. This year, pharmaceutical wholesaler Advantage Life Products took the final spot with $9.9 million. Thirty-five companies listed last time would not make the cut this year with the same revenue.
Less than dazzling was reported net income. Collectively, the Top 250 public companies earned $2.79 billion last year, a 24% decline from $3.68 billion the previous year and slightly less than the $2.8 billion net income from two years earlier. That's a $900 million difference from one year to the next - but just three companies accounted for a negative $973.8 million in net income. Chemical manufacturer W.R. Grace & Co. declared a $325.9 million loss last year. Paired with an $83.3 million profit the year before, that adds up to a $409.2 million swing. In addition, Scott Paper Co. (formerly No.7) disappeared from the list with its merger into Irving, Texas-based Kimberly-Clark on December 12, 1995, and home builder/financier Walter Industries (No.14) emerged from Chapter 11 reorganization in March 1995. The disappearance of Scott Paper, with 1994 net income of $206 million, combined with Walter Industries' $358.6 million net loss for 1995 accounted for a sizable $564.6 million portion of the fall in net income.
Added to that, 87 companies lost money last year, compared with 76 the previous year.
Florida Trend's list is a dynamic index, as witnessed by the number of initial public offerings, mergers, and corporate reorganizations or relocations. Those changes created a turnover of 42 firms this year. Arrivals to the Top 250 include Darden Restaurants (No.8), spun off from General Mills on May 15, 1995, and grocery store chain Kash n' Karry (No.24), which emerged from chapter 11 as a public company in January 1995.
Financial services holding company Quick & Reilly Group (No.41) moved its corporate office from New York to Palm Beach in 1995. New Valley Corp. (No.131), a brokerage based in Miami, emerged from bankruptcy in January of last year. Airways Corp., which debuted at No.151, spun off in August from Minneapolis-based Mesaba Holdings. In September, No.118 Cooker Restaurant relocated corporate offices to West Palm Beach from Columbus, Ohio. The leading financial performers among the Top 250 are cited in the four charts on page 96. The leader in percentage annual revenue growth, Weitzer Homebuilders of Miami Lakes, a designer and builder of single-family homes and townhouses in Dade and Broward counties, went public in April 1995. Coral Gables-based Sterling Healthcare Group reported the fastest growth in net income among the Top 250. A public company since October 1995, Sterling recruits physicians to work in hospital emergency rooms. Accustaff, the Jacksonville company providing temporary employees, experienced the fastest growth in market capitalization. Clearwater-based Eckerd Corp., the drugstore chain, boasted last year's highest return on equity, 170.8%. In this special report, a list of all 250 companies - with revenues, net income, return on equity and employment - starts on page 102. And finally, an alphabetical directory of the Top 250, including addresses and phone numbers, begins on page 114.
How The Rankings Are Calculated
Florida Trend's Top 250 comprises the largest publicly held companies based in Florida as of December 31, 1995. The magazine's primary source is Standard & Poor's Compustat, a division of McGraw-Hill Companies. Other sources include Bloomberg Business News and information provided by Florida public companies themselves, including their filings with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.
Following are definitions of key terms used in this special report:
Revenue equals total operating revenues, excluding, if possible, interest and other income.
Net income includes the results of discontinued operations and extraordinary items.
Return on equity equals net income divided by total stockholders equity.
Market capitalization equals a company's stock price at the end of its latest fiscal year multiplied by the number of common shares outstanding. For the majority of the Top 250, financial data are drawn from each company's latest fiscal year. But for some of the Top 250 - particularly companies with fiscal years ending in spring and summer months - financial data reflect the latest four quarters for which figures are available.
