This week, our annual update of the companies which made the most money last year, on our chart which shows the changes since 1994.
This chart is much more volatile than our charts on top revenue and top market capitalization companies.
The Big Tech companies here are showing their combined earnings power, already reflected in the market capitalization chart (see last week’s post).
Check out last year’s report for more historical analysis and context.
Keep in mind that big dollar profits do not really tell you “how profitable’ a business is, that depends on how much capital was invested to get to these levels of dollar profits (see my article here).
A more in-depth article about the whole idea of profit and the role it plays in the economy is here.
Hoping you are having a profitable year!!
Gary Hoover
Executive Director
American Business History Center
