The 24/7 Wall Street Corporate Power Rankings of the 32 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.
As might be expected HP dropped more than ten spots due to problems caused by the ouster of its CEO Mark Hurd. J&J moved up the list slightly, escaping the basement, as problems with recalls of they company’s OTC drugs lessened.
Google’s prospects improve on a surge of its Android OS for mobile devices which may become the firm’s next big revenue source after its huge search business.
| Company | Rank (last week) | Symbol | Comment | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McDonald’s | 1 (1) | MCD | Barron’s says fast food giant is widening its lead of rival Burger King. Most people thought the race was already over. | 1 (1) | |
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Apple | 2 (2) | APPL | Jobs fires executive in charge of iPhone hardware after problems with handset reception. The guilty will go free while the innocent are punished. | 2 (2) |
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Proctor & Gamble | 3 (3) | PG | Company adds to product line and invests in growth despite economic headwinds. | 3 (3) |
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IBM | 4 (4) | IBM | Should be helped by temporary vacuum at top of rival HP. On the other hand, a Big Blue exec might be hired to take former HP CEO’s place. | 4 (4) |
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Coca-Cola | 5 (5) | KO | Company shares are upgraded by JP Morgan. Stock nears 52-week high. | 5 (6) |
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Intel | 6 (7) | INTC | Settles government antitrust charges with no more than a slap on the wrist. | 7 (8) |
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Berkshire Hathaway | 7 (6) | BRK | Earnings off on derivatives investments. Better luck next time, | 6 (5) |
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Ford | 8 (9) | F | Good July US sales. Maybe a little under Wall St estimates but still part of extraordinary run. | 9 (10) |
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Disney | 9 (8) | DIS | Raised ticket prices at theme parks to take more dollar’s from kid’s piggy banks | 8 (7) |
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Philip Morris | 10 (10) | PM | Shares up as market looks for more “safe haven” stocks. | 10 (9) |
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Cisco | 11 (11) | CSCO | Another company that should benefit from HP turmoil | 11 (12) |
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Abbott Labs | 12 (12) | ABT | Firm expects to expand overseas business in attempt to boost earnings | 12 (11) |
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Oracle | 13 (13) | ORCL | Larry Ellison gives billions to charity and watches rival Mark Hurd burn at the stake. | 13 (13) |
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Pfizer | 14 (14) | PFE | CFO says company will push increased presence in developing world to offset slower sales in US. Join the party. | 14 (15) |
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15 (15) | GOOG | Good news—Android doing well. Bad news—kills Wave product. Better off with Android success. Wastes $229 million to buy social network site Slide in effort to compete with Facebook. | 15 (14) | |
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Wal-Mart | 16 (16) | WMT | Rival Target moves into NYC, proof that big box retailers have good chance for urban expansion. | 16 (16) |
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Microsoft | 17 (17) | MSFT | Embarrassed as Google Android thrashes Windows mobile OS. | 17 (18) |
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FedEx | 18 (19) | FDX | Continues strong run with new expansion in Europe. | 19 (19) |
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Exxon-Mobil | 19 (21) | XOM | Business is stronger and BP’s is weaker by the day. XOM likely to get some of UK-based firm’s assets cheap as fire sale continues. | 21 (22) |
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Dow Chemical | 20 (22) | DOW | Good news—profitable. Bad news—less than Wall St. wanted. But problems seem temporary based on production halts at three big plants. | 22 (21) |
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Caterpillar | 21 (23) | CAT | Weakening economy hurts prospects but CAT tries to offset with new acquisitions—latest locomotive maker Electro-Motive Diesel. | 23 (23) |
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Boeing | 22 (24) | BA | Company lost 24 plan orders. Luckily still have huge back log. | 24 (24) |
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GE | 23 (25) | GE | Looks dumb by selling control in NBCU just as advertising market surges back. | 25 (26) |
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Verizon | 24 (26) | VZ | Secret deal with Google on net neutrality falters, but government may have killed it anyway. | 26 (25) |
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JP Morgan | 25 (28) | JPM | JP Morgan Chase. Jobless rate news threatens, but JPM is in a lot of non-consumer businesses. | 28 (29) |
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Goldman Sachs | 26 (27) | GS | Will spin off one of its most profitable businesses—proprietary trading. Sign that firm’s prospects will dim over time. | 27 (27) |
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AT&T | 27 (29) | T | As Google Android gains on Apple iPhone, bad news for Ma Bell and its most popular product. | 29 (31) |
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Johnson & Johnson | 28 (32) | JNJ | Recall news appears to fade. Long-term consequences hard to measure. | 32 (32) |
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Bank of America | 29 (31) | BAC | Housing and employment data hit at heart of largest US consumer bank. | 31 (30) |
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Hewlett-Packard | 30 (18) | HPQ | Hurd’s resignation hurts image and leaves hole at the top that could take months to fill. | 18 (17) |
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American Express | 31 (20) | AXP | Wall St. thought the company’s write off problems were over. Unemployment data shows they may move into double dip. | 20 (20) |
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Home Depot | 32 (30) | HD | Housing market could not be worse | 30 (28) |
-Douglas A. McIntyre
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