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24/7 Wall St.’s Corporate Power Rankings: Week 20
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The 24/7 Wall Street Corporate Power Rankings of the thirty-two most important companies in America are determined by earnings, analyst rankings, important corporate news, trends in each firm’s industry, product introductions, management strength and change, and credible rumors. It is, in effect, a new version of the DJIA.
The Corporate Power Rankings are released at midnight on each Sunday based on performance during the previous week. Apple took the top spot as iPad sales moved above two million. J&J dropped as investigations into its manufacturing of children’s drugs grows. Banks stayed at the bottom of the list based on fears of new regulation and exposure to Eurozone debt.
| Company | Rank (last week) | Symbol | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Apple | 1 (5) | AAPL | Apple sells two million iPads in less than two months. Revenue potential for the product this year could be more than $5 billion. |
| McDonald’s | 2 (1) | MCD | McDonald’s Triple Thick Chocolate Shake ranks third among highest calorie drinks in US at 1,160. One of the company’s many contributions to American obesity. High dividend and share buybacks make Clown Co. an attractive haven in market downturn, too. | |
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Disney | 3 (4) | DIS | Disney’s “Prince of Persia” film has strong box office sales over the weekend. And, Mouse Co. may sell ABC which would cheer investors |
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Berkshire Hathaway | 4 (3) | BRK | Berkshire Hathaway shareholders will get to see Buffett testify before Congress about credit ratings agencies. Since he sold Moody’s shares early, he looks smart again. |
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Coca-Cola | 5 (2) | KO | Coca-Cola should benefit from Walmart soda price cuts which will drive volume. And, Coke is coming into the summer season—usually its best. |
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Abbott Labs | 6 (9) | ABT | Abbott gets approval to sell Trek Coronary dilatation Catheter in Europe. Stock continues to outperform market because of high dividend and stable earnings. |
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Intel | 7 (11) | INTC | Intel has good week due to links to Google TV and pick up in PC tablet launches. |
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Proctor & Gamble | 8 (12) | PG | Procter & Gamble gets good comments from Citi analyst. Also helped by strong uptick in consumer spending in Q1. |
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Ford | 9 (10) | F | Ford gets good grades for planning to shutter Mercury division. Ratings agencies may improve company’s debt to investment grade. Bad news in China with recall of more than 200,000 cars. |
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IBM | 10 (8) | IBM | IBM stock has another good week, presumably because of diversity of business. Looses global server market share crown to H-P, but IBM still makes more per machine. |
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Philip Morris | 11 (7) | PM | Philip Morris faces challenge of WHO trying to regulate cigarette marketing. Czech division says sales are strong, but who cares? |
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Oracle | 12 (6) | ORCL | Oracle criticized for early failure of Sun buyout and plan to acquire Phase Forward. Fitch does raise its outlook on Ellison & Co. to “positive.” |
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Wal-Mart | 13 (14) | WMT | Walmart benefits from consumer spending improvement. Rival Costco’s earnings are good sign for sector. Walton & Co. drops prices to bring in summer shoppers. |
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Cisco | 14 (15) | CSCO | Cisco’s plan to help build out electrical smart grid gets good reviews. Rumors continue that it has more M&A plans. |
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Hewlett-Packard | 15 (16) | HPQ | Hewlett-Packard moves to No.1 spot in global server sales, but market is worried about EU exposure. |
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GE | 16 (17) | GE | GE gets closer to dumping NBCU to Comcast just as network TV implodes. Signs big deal to provide equipment to Saudi Aramco. |
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Microsoft | 17 (18) | MSFT | Microsoft in talks with Apple about replacing Google as search product on iPhone. Mr. Softy brooms management at mobile operation, which probably won’t help. |
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Johnson & Johnson | 18 (13) | JNJ | Johnson & Johnson still being hit by Feds and investors over baby Tylenol recall. But, effect on earnings should be tiny. |
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Home Depot | 19 (22) | HD | Home Depot’s spirits lifted by some numbers that show housing improvement and consumer spending recovery. And firm has almost no exposure in Europe. |
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Pfizer | 20 (19) | PFE | Pfizer dumps China swine vaccine business, and gets a nifty $50 million. Clinical trial of the drug Inspra in heart patients does well. |
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American Express | 21 (23) | AXP | American Express impresses Wall St. with prospects and stock has another good week. Forward P/E of 12 now looks downright cheap. |
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Dow Chemical | 22 (21) | DOW | Dow Chemical gets boost from Fitch upgrade. But exposure in Europe and China weigh the shares down. |
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Exxon-Mobil | 23 (20) | XOM | Exxon Mobil is hurt, like the rest of the oil industry, by BP. But, its global diversification helps. Crude prices seem to have stabilized. |
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24 (25) | GOOG | Google TV gets reasonable reviews, and Android adoption soars. Too bad company does not make money on either — yet. Should make money on Nexus One introduction in South Korea. | |
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FedEx | 25 (24) | FDX | FedEx can’t dodge concerns about European business, but relatively lower cost of oil should help operating expenses. |
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Boeing | 26 (26) | BA | Boeing faces problems in Europe if markets there crumble. Weak dollar also hurt Boeing and helps rival EADS. |
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Verizon | 27 (27) | VZ | Verizon may be hurt by being late to 4G as Sprint rolls out service and new handset. News that Apple iPhone may be sold by Verizon Wireless is still just a rumor. |
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Bank of America | 28 (30) | BAC | Bank of America exposure in Europe looks less menacing than most large US banks. New regulations will hurt, but not as much as Goldman where proprietary trading is big money. |
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AT&T | 29 (29) | T | AT&T dips to near 52-week low. FCC criticizes wireless charges, and concerns emerge that Ma Bell is very late to 4G even though its 3G barely working. |
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Caterpillar | 30 (28) | CAT | Caterpillar likely to be hurt by strong dollar and EU exposure. But, durable goods orders still are OK. |
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JP Morgan | 31 (31) | JPM | JPMorgan Chase faces big suit from Lehman and really big exposure in EU. |
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Goldman Sachs | 32 (32) | GS | Goldman Sachs has most to lose from new bank regulation package and news that it might settle with SEC is most likely not true. |
Douglas A. McIntyre
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