The 10 most profitable companies in America in 2020 have combined net profits exceeding $329 billion, while their total assets are worth nearly $3 trillion, all thanks to the capitalist’s dream that is America.
Every year, in fact every day, the gap between the rich and the poor in the US increases. The difference between the 1% and the 99% is stark, and it shows no signs of stopping. While the pandemic may have been hailed as the great equalizer, it has only served to increase this gap. After all, there’s a reason why, at the end of May, over 40 million people had lost their jobs while within the same time period, the net worth of America’s billionaires increased by an astounding $434 billion. This does not seem to be a survivable mode of operation but time will tell.
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Speaking about billionaires, Jeff Bezos recently attained the highest net worth of any individual in history, topping $171 billion. He could buy several nations if he ever felt the need to. All of this is due to Amazon (AMZN) becoming the biggest mode of shopping for people as they try to stay home. Amazon allows them to shop to their heart’s content at home, and also gives them a chance to pass the time. The combination of these two factors has led to Amazon reaching new highs. But despite Amazon’s increased success, it fails to find a way in our list of most profitable companies in America in 2020. That is because while it may have record revenues, it is still not as profitable as some of the other companies. This is partly because Amazon often goes for market penetration, pricing goods incredibly low (sometimes even at a loss) to destroy their competition and carve out their own market share. In fact for several years, Amazon failed to show a profit as it settled on increasing its presence now. While it is now profitable, it still has some way to go to achieve the heights of the companies on this list. In fact, this is a popular trend among the highest revenue earning companies. Walmart (NYSE:WMT), ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) are the top 3 companies in the US by revenue, and yet, only Walmart makes our list, and barely.
To determine our ranking, we have selected the companies within the United States with not only the highest profits, the data for which has been gathered from CEO World, but also companies with the highest return on assets, as that is a strong indicator for how effectively the company is able to convert the money invested within, into income. If you want to take a look at how many American companies are part of the 10 most profitable companies in the world in 2020, you can head on over to the link mentioned. So let’s take a look at the companies which are growing even as our economy shrinks, starting with number 10
10. Walmart (NYSE:WMT)
It may have revenues of over $500 billion and is the highest revenue earning company in the country, yet comparatively meager profits of nearly $15 billion and with the second lowest return on assets in the list at 6.3%, Walmart only barely makes the list.
9. Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)
The drug industry in the US is extremely profitable, especially because of the lack of regulation on drug prices. This has enabled Pfizer to attain profits of $15.8 billion while its return on assets is a solid 9.43%.
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8. Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)
The telecommunications conglomerate earned a steady $18.4 billion in profits, though it did have the worst return on assets in our list, at 6.25%.
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7. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
While Johnson & Johnson has taken a hit to its reputation of late, with several lawsuits against the company for selling defective products and for being part of the reason behind opioid overdoes resulting in record settlements and verdicts, it is still a massively profitably company, with profits of $17.3 billion and a return on assets of 11.1%.
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6. Facebook (NASDAQ:FB)
Of course Facebook is one of the most profitable companies in America in 2020, with billions of users globally in an age where social media could be categorized as an addiction. This has allowed Facebook to earn $21 billion in profits and a healthy return on assets of 15.17%.
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5. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)
Intel is the biggest company in one of the most profitable industries in the world in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. It has profits of $22.7 billion and a return on assets of 15.37%.
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4. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
The parent company of Google’s profits are of course mostly derived from Google, and are worth an astounding $34.5 billion, with a return on assets of 12.62%.
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3. Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A)
The company behind Warren Buffett‘s incredible net worth most recently earned profits of $81.4 billion, the highest in the US and second highest in the entire world, though the return on assets was 9.95%.
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2. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)
The company has been a staple in most household for decades, and there’s a strong likelihood you are currently reading this article on a laptop with Microsoft Windows. This is why the company was able to earn profits of $46 billion and a return on assets of 16.22%.
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1. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
While it may have profits of $57.2 billion, which are less than Berkshire Hathaway, its return on assets at 17.85% is the highest in the country, and has enabled it to achieve the top spot in the 10 most profitable companies in America in 2020.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
