The NW200

I wanted to point you to our annual Network World 200 issue this week. One of the first things to note is that this is our 10th anniversary NW200.  That gives us tons of historical information to glean from but also lets us give you a unique perspective on the industry. The NW200 also looks at start-ups to watch, the fastest growing corporations and a host of other valuable topics.

One of the slew of useful articles there is our Editor-in-Chief John Dix’s compilation of all things financially trendy for NW200 companies, which include all large domestic public firms.

Here are a few tidbits:

* After the Network World 200 posted the first-ever loss of $65 billion in 2001 and followed that with a staggering $155 billion loss in 2002, last year the group bounced back to profitability. The NW200 – the largest domestic public network companies – posted about $61 billion in profit in 2003. After two years of decline, sales for the group headed back in the right direction, increasing 6% to $818 billion. While respectable, that’s well shy of the $909 billion mark the NW200 reached in 2000.

* Until 2001, on average 85% of the NW200 companies would increase sales each year. When the bottom fell out in 2001, only 57% of the companies managed that feat, and in the bleak days of 2002 only 42% saw sales grow. Last year, 68% of NW200 companies sold more goods and services than they did the preceding year.

* In 2001, only 32% of NW200 companies posted profits. Likewise in 2002 when 35% were profitable. Last year that tally jumped to 53%. While a good sign, it is a half-full/half-empty argument: Almost half the companies still lost money in 2003.

* The collective market cap of the NW200 grew 34 percent in 2003 to $1.9 trillion. While that is well off the high of $5 trillion reached in 1999, no one is anxious to see the return of those phantasmagorical days.

* Collectively NW 200 companies shed some 73,000 jobs last year, with employment dropping 3% to 2.4 million. Looked at another way, 10 years ago the companies were generating an average of $218,000 per employee, while today’s companies crank out $341,000 per employ. Even adjusted for inflation ($218,000 a decade ago equates to about $276,000 today), that’s a leap that speaks volumes about silicon advances and the maturation of technology.

Believe me that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  For more see: https://www.nwfusion.com/nw200/2004/0426main.html