Most companies determine their success based on their profit. But some look at a different metric: profits per employee. In this metric, companies look at how much profit they make for every employee on their books.

These companies may not make the most profits overall, but each person in their business makes more profits than average for the business.

We looked at data gathered by Tipalti to determine what businesses made the highest profits per employee. Here are the results in countdown style:

Why Does it Matter?

While overall profit is a normal metric of a company’s success, profits per employee is another metric you can look at when determining what companies to invest in.

20. Apple

• Profit per Employee: $390,551

Apple is a highly profitable tech giant widely known for its iPhones, Macs, and software. Its focus on brand loyalty and innovation allows it to generate high revenue per employee. We have news stories and other coverage of Apple stock, too. 

19. Aflac

• Profit per Employee: $398,067

Aflac is a leading provider of supplemental insurance in the United States. Their focus on efficiency and their niche marketing allows them to keep profits high per employee.

18. Monster Beverage

• Profit per Employee: $422,036

Monster Beverage creates a few brands of very popular energy drinks like Monster and Reign. Their successful branding and dominance in the energy drink market allow them to make quite a bit of money per employee.

17. Biogen

• Profit per Employee: $439,626

This biotechnical company develops drugs for neurological and rare diseases. Their products are research-intensive, leading to higher prices for their drugs.

16. eBay

• Profit per Employee: $446,220

eBay is a major online marketplace that facilitates auctions and sells. Their platform is absolutely humongous and has a very large customer base.

15. UWM Holdings

• Profit per Employee: $451,000

UWM Holdings is a mortgage lender that has a very efficient online model. They automate many tasks and focus on a high loan volume, leading to a high revenue per employee.

14. Magellan Midstream Partners

• Profit per Employee: $475,000

This pipeline operator transports oil and gas. They own much of their own infrastructure and have relatively limited competition.

13. Bio-Rad Laboratories

• Profit per Employee: $475,788

Bio-Rad Laboratories develops tools and instruments to aid in biological research. Their products tend to be very specialized. In many cases, research institutions purchase from them regularly, leading to a high volume of sales.

12. CME Group

• Profit per Employee: $481,739

CME Group is the world’s largest derivatives marketplace for financial products. Because of their dominant position, they have a high revenue per employee.

11. Meta Platforms

• Profit per Employee: $497,338

This parent company owns several brands, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Their massive user base allows them to make a large profit with relatively few employees.

10. Western Midstream Partners

• Profit per Employee: $504,306

This midstream energy company operates pipelines and processing facilities for oil and gas. Their high-capacity infrastructure allows them to produce energy without tons of manpower, which is why they are so high on this list!

9. Enterprise Product Partners

• Profit per Employee: $529,537

Enterprise Product Partners is very similar to Western Midstream Partners that we previously discussed. They own and operate process facilities for oil and gas. This essential service allows them to charge higher fees while keeping their manpower quite low.

8. Visa

• Profit per Employee: $530,049

Visa is a payment processing giant, benefiting from the network effects. Every transition adds value to the network, and their role as a facilitator requires little manpower.

7. Altria Group

• Profit per Employee: $629,155

Altria is a tobacco giant that enjoys relatively high profits due to its high number of recurring customers. They also have strong brand loyalty and use plenty of automation in their manufacturing process.

6. Vertex Pharmaceuticals

• Profit per Employee: $797,529

This biotech company develops treatments for rare diseases. While they have a smaller workforce than most companies on this list, the high cost of these life-saving drugs allows them to generate quite a bit of profit per employee.  

5. Freddie Mac

• Profit per Employee: $1,058,365

Freddie Mac is a government-sponsored enterprise to purchase mortgages from lenders. This program has a large loan value and government backing, leading to a relatively high-profit margin with a lean workforce.

4. Norton Life Lock

• Profit per Employee: $1,079,722

This cybersecurity company benefits from recurring subscription fees for its antivirus and identity protection software. Because it runs on a subscription model, it has a pretty predictable revenue stream. Plus, much of their service is automated and requires very few employees to run.

3. KKR

• Profit per Employee: $1,265,003

KKR is a private equity firm that invests in other companies, aiming for high returns. Its profits come from management fees and a share of the profits from the investments. KKR deals with a large sum of money and a specialized skillset, allowing its smaller workforce to generate significant revenue.

2. Fannie Mae

• Profit per Employee: $1,533,117

Fannie Mae is very similar to Freddie Mac. It’s a government-sponsored program that purchases mortgages from lenders, creating a secondary market.

1. Air Lease

• Profit per Employee: $4,302,500

Air Lease makes far more per employee than any other company. They lease airplanes to airlines. As managing planes doesn’t require that much manpower, they’re able to keep their manpower pretty low!

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