As we approach the end of the third millennium’s first decade, it is the perfect time to reflect on the events of the past ten years. Before the world could recover from the Y2K hangover, it was treated to one of the most notorious mergers ever. The decade was not even two weeks old when AOL and Time Warner announced their marriage. That merger set the tone for the decade ahead for as tumultuous as that relationship would turn out, so too has been the decade in business. It has been a decade that has endured two recessions, accounting scandals, credit crunches, and bubble bursts. It is also a decade that marveled at the emergence of China, new peaks in the stock market, and the power of You.
The Zicklin Defines a Decade series will look at the organizations, the stories, the ideas, and the people that defined the 2000s. Each day, members of the Zicklin community will help define the decade by creating their Top 5 list for that day’s category. Today’s topic will be the companies, the non-profits, the NGOs, and other organizations that made the 2000s what they were. Tomorrow, we will look at the top business stories that monopolized the headlines over the last 10 years. Then on Thursday, we will identify some of the most important ideas and innovations that emerged. And, finally, on Friday, we will talk about the people that shaped the decade in business.
While today’s question asks our community to extend their list beyond publicly traded companies, we thought it would be fun to reflect back on the Fortune 500 list published in 2000. That year, General Motors stood proudly on top of the list, boasting six billion in profits on 189 billion in revenue. CitiGroup reported nine billion in profits that year; Ford reported seven and AIG five. Enron and MCI Worldcom were in the top 25. Fannie Mae trailed only slightly coming in 26th with nearly four billion in profits on 36 billion in revenue.
Total profits reported by the Fortune 500 in 2000 was $409 billion. Only nine percent of the Fortune 500 reported losses in 2000, with the largest reported loss coming from Nextel ($1.3 billion). In 2009, the Fortune 500 are reporting in total only $98 billion in profit; 26% of the companies on the list are reporting losses, 48 of whom are reporting losses larger than Nextel did in 2000. Of course, AIG is leading the pack in that regard, knocking them from 19th in 2000 to 245th in 2009.
But, it hasn’t been all bad news. Apple has seen its profits increase $4.2 billion between 2009 and 2000. Other tech companies like Microsoft, Oracle, and Hewlett-Packard are also reporting significantly stronger profits than they did in 2000. But, none of them compare to Exxon Mobil, who is reporting $37 billion more in profit than in 2000 on $279 billion more in revenue. And, of course, there are the companies that were not even on the list in 2000: Google, Amazon.com, Starbucks, DirecTV Group, EBay, and NewsCorp.
The following are the lists of companies that various members of the Zicklin community believe define the decade. After their lists, a study of the Fortune 100 from 2000 and where they are today follows.
Ozgur Demirtas, Professor of Finance and Economics
1.) Google
2.) Apple
3.) Facebook
4.) Cisco Systems
5.) Goldman Sachs
Tom Lo, Associate Director of Zicklin Graduate Admissions
1.) Walmart
2.) CNN
3.) Apple
4.) Facebook/other social networking sites
5.) Microsoft
Paquita Friday, Professor of Accountancy and Taxation
1.) Arthur Andersen
2.) AFLAC
3.) Google
4.) KPMG
5.) General Motors
Myung-Soo Lee, Associate Dean and Professor of Marketing
1.) Google
2.) Enron
3.) European Union
4.) UN
5.) Microfinance Institutions
Marios Koufaris, Faculty of Computer Information Systems
1.) Google
2.) Apple
3.) Facebook
4.) U.S. Government
5.) U.S. Financial Industry
Frank Fletcher, Executive Director of Graduate Programs
1.) Walmart
2.) Enron
3.) AIG
4.) Google
5.) Halliburton
Raj Nahata, Faculty of Finance and Economics
1.) Google
2.) Apple
3.) Toyota
4.) Walmart
5.) US Government
