Markets
The 20 Companies With the Most Profit Per Employee
The 20 Companies With the Most Profit Per Employee
Profit per worker on the Fortune Global 500
The Chart of the Week is a weekly Visual Capitalist feature on Fridays.
Earlier in the week, we showed you the companies that make the most profit per second.
It’s a measure where Apple blows every other company out of the water. The tech giant makes $1,444 in net income per second – about $700 higher than its closest competition, which include banks, conglomerates, and other tech companies.
While Apple may dominate when seconds are used as the denominator, how does it do when looking at profit per employee instead?
Profit Per Employee
Expert Market crunched the numbers on the 100 most profitable companies on the Fortune Global 500 list.
By comparing profits to employees, they came up with a list of the 20 most profitable companies on a per person basis.
| Ranking | Company | Country | Profit per Employee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fannie Mae | US | $1,759,000 |
| 2 | Gilead Sciences | US | $1,500,111 |
| 3 | Freddie Mac | US | $1,306,419 |
| 4 | US | $599,307 | |
| 5 | National Grid | UK | $458,639 |
| 6 | Amgen | US | $402,187 |
| 7 | Apple | US | $393,853 |
| 8 | Alphabet | US | $270,329 |
| 9 | Taiwan Semiconductor | Taiwan | $218,951 |
| 10 | Goldman Sachs | US | $215,058 |
| 11 | AbbVie | US | $198,433 |
| 12 | SoftBank Group | Japan | $192,442 |
| 13 | Qualcomm | US | $187,049 |
| 14 | Tencent Holdings | China | $159,533 |
| 15 | Westpac Banking | Australia | $155,244 |
| 16 | SPD Bank | China | $151,287 |
| 17 | Commonwealth Bank | Australia | $148,749 |
| 18 | Microsoft | US | $147,351 |
| 19 | Cisco Systems | US | $145,712 |
| 20 | Industrial Bank | China | $144,141 |
While Apple makes a solid $393,853 in profit for each employee, the company only ranks #7 on the list.
It gets outperformed by one tech company (Facebook, at $599,307 per employee), as well as a combination of companies from the financial, utilities, and biotech sectors.
State Sponsored Profits
On the list, perhaps the most surprising entries are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These two U.S. government-sponsored enterprises, which both buy and repackage bank mortgages for the secondary market, were a part of the largest federal bailout in history ($187 billion) during the financial crisis in 2008.
At the time, they were highly criticized for creating an environment of “moral hazard”. As Investopedia puts it:
Quasi-government agencies such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac offered implicit support to lenders underwriting real estate loans.
-Investopedia
Despite this one-time catastrophe, the two organizations are very profitable today – so profitable, in fact, that they rank #1 and #3 on the above list.
Last year, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac brought in $12.3 billion and $7.8 billion in profit respectively. And on a per capita basis, that equates to $1.76 million and $1.5 million per employee.
Markets
The European Stock Market: Attractive Valuations Offer Opportunities
On average, the European stock market has valuations that are nearly 50% lower than U.S. valuations. But how can you access the market?
European Stock Market: Attractive Valuations Offer Opportunities
Europe is known for some established brands, from L’Oréal to Louis Vuitton. However, the European stock market offers additional opportunities that may be lesser known.
The above infographic, sponsored by STOXX, outlines why investors may want to consider European stocks.
Attractive Valuations
Compared to most North American and Asian markets, European stocks offer lower or comparable valuations.
| Index | Price-to-Earnings Ratio | Price-to-Book Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| EURO STOXX 50 | 14.9 | 2.2 |
| STOXX Europe 600 | 14.4 | 2 |
| U.S. | 25.9 | 4.7 |
| Canada | 16.1 | 1.8 |
| Japan | 15.4 | 1.6 |
| Asia Pacific ex. China | 17.1 | 1.8 |
Data as of February 29, 2024. See graphic for full index names. Ratios based on trailing 12 month financials. The price to earnings ratio excludes companies with negative earnings.
On average, European valuations are nearly 50% lower than U.S. valuations, potentially offering an affordable entry point for investors.
Research also shows that lower price ratios have historically led to higher long-term returns.
Market Movements Not Closely Connected
Over the last decade, the European stock market had low-to-moderate correlation with North American and Asian equities.
The below chart shows correlations from February 2014 to February 2024. A value closer to zero indicates low correlation, while a value of one would indicate that two regions are moving in perfect unison.
| EURO STOXX 50 | STOXX EUROPE 600 | U.S. | Canada | Japan | Asia Pacific ex. China |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURO STOXX 50 | 1.00 | 0.97 | 0.55 | 0.67 | 0.24 | 0.43 |
| STOXX EUROPE 600 | 1.00 | 0.56 | 0.71 | 0.28 | 0.48 | |
| U.S. | 1.00 | 0.73 | 0.12 | 0.25 | ||
| Canada | 1.00 | 0.22 | 0.40 | |||
| Japan | 1.00 | 0.88 | ||||
| Asia Pacific ex. China | 1.00 |
Data is based on daily USD returns.
European equities had relatively independent market movements from North American and Asian markets. One contributing factor could be the differing sector weights in each market. For instance, technology makes up a quarter of the U.S. market, but health care and industrials dominate the broader European market.
Ultimately, European equities can enhance portfolio diversification and have the potential to mitigate risk for investors.
Tracking the Market
For investors interested in European equities, STOXX offers a variety of flagship indices:
| Index | Description | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|
| STOXX Europe 600 | Pan-regional, broad market | €10.5T |
| STOXX Developed Europe | Pan-regional, broad-market | €9.9T |
| STOXX Europe 600 ESG-X | Pan-regional, broad market, sustainability focus | €9.7T |
| STOXX Europe 50 | Pan-regional, blue-chip | €5.1T |
| EURO STOXX 50 | Eurozone, blue-chip | €3.5T |
Data is as of February 29, 2024. Market cap is free float, which represents the shares that are readily available for public trading on stock exchanges.
The EURO STOXX 50 tracks the Eurozone’s biggest and most traded companies. It also underlies one of the world’s largest ranges of ETFs and mutual funds. As of November 2023, there were €27.3 billion in ETFs and €23.5B in mutual fund assets under management tracking the index.
“For the past 25 years, the EURO STOXX 50 has served as an accurate, reliable and tradable representation of the Eurozone equity market.”
— Axel Lomholt, General Manager at STOXX
Partnering with STOXX to Track the European Stock Market
Are you interested in European equities? STOXX can be a valuable partner:
- Comprehensive, liquid and investable ecosystem
- European heritage, global reach
- Highly sophisticated customization capabilities
- Open architecture approach to using data
- Close partnerships with clients
- Part of ISS STOXX and Deutsche Börse Group
With a full suite of indices, STOXX can help you benchmark against the European stock market.
Learn how STOXX’s European indices offer liquid and effective market access.
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