6 Biggest Companies Headquartered in Texas by Revenue (2021)

These are the six largest companies in Texas by revenue.

#1 Exxon Mobil ($277 Billion)

Summary: This oil & energy company is headquartered in Irving and is involved in nearly all aspects of the oil business from exploration to extraction to the manufacturing of various petrochemical products.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) is an petrochemical and energy company with the following primary lines of business:

Exploration for crude oil and natural gas
Extraction of crude oil and natural gas
Manufacturing a variety of petrochemical products (this includes refinery operations)
Transportation & trade of crude oil, natural gas, and petrochemical products
Miscellaneous lower-emission business opportunities including some related to carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, and biofuels.

Exxon Mobil Corporation has several divisions and hundreds of affiliates, many with names including “ExxonMobil”, “Exxon”, “Esso”, “Mobil”, and/or “XTO”.

All together, the company generated $276.7 billion in operating revenue and $23.0 billion in net income in 2021. The majority of earnings comes from non-U.S. oil & gas extraction.

Official Company Name	Exxon Mobil Corporation
State of Incorporation	New Jersey
Address of Principal Executive Offices	5959 Las Colinas Boulevard Irving, TX 75039
2021 Annual Report	10-K
Investor Relations Website	corporate.exxonmobil.com/investors

#2 McKesson ($257 Billion)

Summary: This Irving-based healthcare services conglomerate operates pharmacies, distributes drugs, and provides various B2B services including drug logistics and distribution.

McKesson (NYSE: MCK) is a healthcare services conglomerate with four business segments:

U.S. Pharmaceutical
Prescription Technology Solutions (RxTS)
Medical-Surgical Solutions
International

The U.S. Pharmaceutical business segment includes a wide variety of business lines ranging from the distribution of branded, generic, and OTC pharmaceutical drugs to services for oncologists and other specialty medical practices to financial and operational services for pharmacies.

The Prescription Technology Solutions business segment addresses medication challenges throughout a patient’s journey across healthcare providers, pharmacies, insurance companies, and drug makers. Many of the services offered fall into the category of third-party logistics and wholesale distribution support services.

The Medical-Surgical Solutions business segment focuses on distribution and logistics of medical-surgical equipment for physician offices, surgery centers, nursing homes, hospital reference labs, and home health care agencies.

The International business segment provides distribution and services to wholesale, institutional, and retail customers in 11 European countries and Canada. McKesson owns, partners with, and franchises retail pharmacies in some or all of these countries.

Official Company Name	McKesson Corporation
State of Incorporation	Delaware
Address of Principal Executive Offices	6555 State Hwy 161 Irving, TX 75039
Annual Report (FY ending March 31, 2022)	10-K
Investor Relations Website	investor.mckesson.com

#3 AT&T ($169 Billion)

AT&T Inc. is a holding company for various wireless telephone, internet service, and entertainment businesses.

Official Company Name	AT&T Inc.
State of Incorporation	Delaware
Address of Principal Executive Offices	208 S. Akard St. Dallas, TX 75202
2021 Annual Report	10-K
Investor Relations Website	investors.att.com

#4 Valero Energy ($114 Billion)

Summary: This San Antonio based oil & energy company owns 15 oil refineries, 12 ethanol plants, part of a renewable diesel plant, and generated $114 billion in revenue.

Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO) is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of petroleum-based liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products. The company’s primary sales markets are the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, and Latin America.

The company owns 15 petroleum refineries located in the U.S., U.K., and Canada with a combined throughput capacity of 3.2 million barrels per day. The company also owns 12 ethanol plants with a combined production capacity of 1.6 billion gallons per year and is a joint venture member in Diamond Green Diesel Holdings LLC which owns a renewable diesel plant with a production capacity of 700 million gallons per year.

Official Company Name	Valero Energy Corporation
State of Incorporation	Delaware
Address of Principal Executive Offices	One Valero Way San Antonio, TX 78249
2021 Annual Report	10-K
Investor Relations Website	investorvalero.com

#5 Phillips 66 ($111 Billion)

Summary: This petrochemical company generated $111 billion in revenue by refining, transporting, and reselling various oil and gas products.

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is a petrochemical company with four operating segments:

Midstream — Provides transportation, storage, fractionation, and marketing of crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas. This segment also includes various ownership stakes in other companies including a lithium ion battery company
Chemicals — Consists of a 50% equity investment in Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC which manufactures and sells petrochemicals and plastics on a worldwide basis
Refining — Refines crude oil and other feedstocks into petroleum products such as gasoline, distillates, and aviation fuels, as well as renewable fuels
Marketing & Specialties (M&S) — Purchasing, marketing, and reselling refined petroleum products and renewable fuels. In addition, this segment includes the manufacturing and marketing of specialty products such as base oils and lubricants

The company generated $111 billion of revenue in 2021 and $1.66 billion of comprehensive income attributable to Phillips 66 itself.

Official Company Name	Phillips 66
State of Incorporation	Delaware
Address of Principal Executive Offices	2331 CityWest Blvd Houston, TX 77042
2021 Annual Report	10-K
Investor Relations Website	investor.phillips66.com/investors

#6 Dell ($101 Billion)

Summary: Dell is a computer hardware manufacturer with a side business of IT and cloud services.

Dell manufactures computer products and provides various IT and cloud services. Near the end of 2021, the company also spun off some subsidiaries such as VMware and Boomi in order to better focus on and reinvest into its core infrastructure and high-priority business areas.

The company generated $101 billion in revenue and $5.4 billion of comprehensive income attributable to Dell itself.

Official Company Name	Dell Technologies Inc.
State of Incorporation	Delaware
Address of Principal Executive Offices	One Dell Way Round Rock, TX 78682
2021 Annual Report	10-K
Investor Relations Website	investors.delltechnologies.com

10 Biggest companies headquartered in Florida (by 2021 Revenue)

These are the five largest companies that are headquartered in Florida, ranked by 2021 total revenue. Where company fiscal years do not align with calendar years, the series of 4 quarters that most closely align with the 2021 calendar year have been used.

#1 Publix ($48 Billion)

Publix is a large, privately-owned retail grocery store company headquartered in Lakeland. At the end of 2021, the company had 232,000 employees across its locations in 7 states (FL, GA, AL, SC, TN, NC, and VA).

Key income and expense items from the 2021 consolidated statement of earnings are summarized in the table below.

Operating Revenue	$48.4 Billion
Cost of Goods Sold	$34.8 Billion
Operating & Administrative Costs	$9.41 Billion
Total Operating Costs	$44.2 Billion
Operating Profit	$4.15 Billion
Net earnings (after taxes & including non-operating profit)	$4.41 Billion

Publix Corporate Information:

Company Name	Publix Super Markets, Inc.
State of Incorporation	Florida
Address of Principal Executive Offices	3300 Publix Corporate Parkway Lakeland, FL 33811
SEC-registered Phone Number	863-688-1188
EIN	59-0324412
2021 Annual Report	10-K

#2 World Fuel Services ($31 Billion)

World Fuel (NYSE: INT) is a land, marine, and aviation fuel distributor (wholesale & retail) that is working towards becoming a diversified energy company. The Miami-based company operates across 210 countries and territories with a total workforce of 4414 employees.

“Think of the Amazon of energy — that’s who we are and who we aspire to be.”
Tim Ramsay, CISO of World Fuel Services

Example customers and products for each of the three business segments (aviation, marine, and land) are described in the table below.

Business Segment	Example Customers	Example Products & Services
Aviation	– Airlines – Air cargo carriers – Airports – FBOs (a Fixed-Base Operator is an organization granted the right to operate at an airport to provide services like fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction, etc) – Charter plane operators – U.S. and foreign government & military customers (e.g. U.S. Defense Logistics Agency and NATO)	– Aircraft fuel & fuel delivery (various types) – Financial & Risk management services and contracts around fuel prices & payment schedules – FBO software (to help FBOs plan & manage fuel efficiently) – Web-based marketplace that facilitates aircraft charters
Land	– Gas station operators – Government departments & agencies – Industrial companies	– Propane – Natural gas – Heating oil – Lubricants – Land vehicle fuel (e.g. diesel, biodiesel, etc) Financial (payment schedules), price risk management, and logistical support around the availability & delivery of the products above – Advisory, brokerage, and fulfillment solutions for electricity, natural gas, and other energy products – Regulatory and tax exemption intelligence & legal support services – Validation service: monitor or check client’s electricity, gas, and fuel bill data to ensure no overcharges and to recover overpayment costs whenever possible – Sustainability consulting – Carbon management services (carbon audits, developing carbon usage reduction plans, sourcing renewable fuels, identifying suitable electric charging technologies, etc) Many products and services are part of World Kinect (World Fuel’s energy management brand)
Marine	– International container and tanker fleets – Cruiselines – Yacht charter operators – U.S. and foreign governments – Marine gas stations	– Marine fuels (gasoline, diesel, and low-sulfur blends) – Marine lubricants, oils, and greases – Price risk management and hedging options

World Fuel Services Corporate Information:

Company Name	World Fuel Services Corporation
State of Incorporation	Florida
Address of Principal Executive Offices	9800 N.W. 41st Street Miami, FL 33178
SEC-registered Phone Number	305-428-8000
EIN	59-2459427
Duns Number	13-150-4342
NAICS	447190 — Other gasoline stations 424720 — Petroleum and petroleum products merchant wholesalers (except bulk stations and terminals)
SIC	55410000 — Gasoline service stations 51720201 — Aircraft fueling services
2021 Annual Report	10-K
Investor Relations Website	ir.wfscorp.com

#3 Jabil ($30 Billion)

Jabil (NYSE: JBL) is a electronics manufacturer. The company will orchestrate manufacturing of electronic products, subcontracting as necessary, for its clients. Jabil can even help with design, and can manage supply chain coordination.

The company organizes its business into two segments: electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and diversified manufacturing services (DMS). Both are described in more detail in the table below.

Business Segment	Customer Industries	Product & Service Description
Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS)	– 5G & wireless – Cloud computing – Digital print and retail – Other semiconductor equipment manufacturers – Industrial companies – Computer networks & storage companies	– High volume production & fast cycle time – Focus around core electronics
Diversified Manufacturing Services (DMS)	– Automotive, transportation, and mobility – Connected devices (e.g. smart homes & appliances) – Healthcare – Packaging	– Focus on plastic and metal parts

As part of both segments, the company also offers numerous services:

Product design (electronics design, industrial design, mechanical design, computer-assisted design)
Product safety testing
Product regulatory compliance verification
Product reliability testing
System testing

Jabil Corporate Information:

Company Name	Jabil Inc.
State of Incorporation	Delaware
Address of Principal Executive Offices	10560 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Street North St. Petersburg, FL 33716
SEC-registered Phone Number	727-577-9749
EIN	38-1886260
2021 Annual Report	10-K
Investor Relations Website	investors.jabil.com

#4 Lennar ($27 Billion)

Lennar (NYSE: LEN.A and LEN.B) is the largest homebuilder in the U.S. by net earnings (although not by other measures). The company also originates residential and commercial mortgage loans, provides title insurance and closing services, and manages real estate development & rental investment funds. However, the core homebuilding business accounted for 94% of consolidated revenues in 2021.

The company reports its business across four segments:

Homebuilding
Financial Services
Multifamily
Lennar Other

The homebuilding business segment is further broken down into five geographic market segments:

East: Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina
Central: Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia
Texas: Texas
West: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington
Other: Urban divisions and other homebuilding related investments primarily in California, including Five Point Holdings, LLC (“FivePoint”)

Why aren’t Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia part of the “East” market segment? Who knows.

Lennar Corporate Information:

Company Name	Lennar Corporation
State of Incorporation	Delaware
Address of Principal Executive Offices	700 Northwest 107th Ave Miami, FL 33172
SEC-registered Phone Number	305-559-4000
EIN	95-4337490
2021 Annual Report	10-K
Investor Relations Website	investors.lennar.com

#5 AutoNation ($26 Billion)

AutoNation (NYSE: AN) is a car dealership company headquartered in Fort Lauderale that was founded in 1991. In fact, AutoNation (together with its subsidiaries) is the largest automotive retailer in the U.S. Revenue and gross profit for AutoNation’s 5 reporting segments are provided below.

	Revenue	Gross Profit
New vehicles	46.7%	24.3%
Used vehicles	33.4%	13.9%
Parts and services (includes auto repair and maintenance, and wholesale part and collision businesses)	14.3%	33.8%
Finance & insurance	5.4%	28.0%
Other	0.2%	0.0%

As you can see in the table above, revenue mostly comes from vehicle sales (and specifically new vehicle sales), but the most profitable parts of the business are repair & maintenance services, vehicle financing, and insurance.

The company owns and operates 339 new vehicle franchises across 247 stores across the U.S. (but concentrated primarily in major Sunbelt metro areas). The company also owns 9 AutoNation USA used vehicle stores, 57 AutoNation-branded collision centers, 4 AutoNation-branded automotive auction businesses, and 3 parts distribution centers. The number of locations in each state is provided in the excerpt from the company’s 2021 annual report below:

AutoNation Consolidated Income Statement (from 2021 Annual Report):

AutoNation Corporate Information:

Company Name	Autonation, Inc.
State of Incorporation	Delaware
Address of Principal Executive Offices	200 SW 1st Ave, Ford Lauderdale, FL 33301
SEC-registered Phone Number	954-769-6000
EIN	73-1105145
2021 Annual Report	10-K

#6 Carrier Global ($21 Billion)

Carrier Global provides HVAC, refrigeration, fire, security, and automation systems and services for buildings. Carrier handles the entire lifecycle of those building systems from design to installation to integration to monitoring to maintenance and repair. Below is a breakdown of their business by segment and region.

Product Sales	$17.2 Billion
Service Sales	$3.4 Billion
Net Sales	$20.6 Billion
Total Operating Costs	$18.3 Billion
Net Income Attributable to Common Shareowners (After Taxes & Everything)	$1.66 Billion

The company itself was a spinoff from Raytheon in 2020.

Carrier Global Corporate Information:

Company Name	Carrier Global Corporation
State of Incorporation	Delaware
Address of Principal Executive Offices	13995 Pasteur Boulevard Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418
SEC-registered Phone Number	561-365-2000
EIN	83-4051582
2021 Annual Report	10-K
Investor Relations Website

#7 L3 Harris Technologies ($18 Billion)

L3 Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) is a aerospace & tech defense contractor that generated $17.8 billion in operating revenue and $1.8 billion of net income in 2021. The company has government and commercial customers in more than 100 countries.

Company Name	L3Harris Technologies, Inc.
State of Incorporation	Delaware
Address of Principal Executive Offices	1025 West NASA Boulevard Melbourne, FL 32919
SEC-registered Phone Number	321-727-9100
EIN	34-0276860
2021 Annual Report	10-K
Investor Relations Website	l3harris.com/investors

#8 NextEra Energy ($17 Billion)

NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) is an electrical infrastructure & energy company headquartered in Juno Beach. The company owns Florida Power & Light — one of the main utility companies in Florida.

Total Operating Revenue	$17.1 Billion
Total Operating Expenses	$14.2 Billion
Comprehensive Income Attributable to NEE (After Taxes & Everything)	$3.67 Billion

NextEra Corporate Information:

Company Name	NextEra Energy, Inc.
State of Incorporation	Florida
Address of Principal Executive Offices	700 Universe Boulevard Juno Beach, FL 33408
SEC-registered Phone Number	561-694-4000
EIN	59-2449419 (NextEra) 59-0247775 (FPL)
2021 Annual Report	10-K
Investor Relations Website	investor.nexteraenergy.com

#9 Fidelity National Financial ($16 Billion)

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF) is a title insurance and real estate transaction services company. In fact, including its subsidiaries of Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Commonwealth Land Title, Alamo Title, and National Title of New York, the company is the largest title insurance company in the U.S.

Additionally, the company also provides annuity and life insurance products.

Fidelity National Financial generated $15.6 billion of total revenue in 2021.

Fidelity National Financial Corporate Information:

Company Name	Fidelity National Financial, Inc.
State of Incorporation	Delaware
Address of Principal Executive Offices	601 Riverside Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32204
SEC-registered Phone Number	904-854-8100
EIN	16-1725106
2021 Annual Report	10-K
Investor Relations Website	investor.fnf.com

#10 Fidelity National Information Services ($14 Billion)

Fidelity National Information services (NYSE: FIS) is a fintech company that serves banks, trading companies, and other capital markets firms across the globe. The company generated $13.9 billion of revenue and $1.06 billion of operating income in 2021.

Fidelity National Information Services Corporate Information:

Company Name	Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.
State of Incorporation	Georgia
Address of Principal Executive Offices	601 Riverside Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32204
SEC-registered Phone Number	904-438-6000
EIN	37-1490331
2021 Annual Report	10-K
Investor Relations Website	investor.fisglobal.com

6 Biggest Companies in Georgia by Revenue (2021)

These are the six largest companies headquartered in Georgia, as ranked by 2021 revenue.

#1 Home Depot ($151 Billion)

Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is the largest home improvement retailer in the world by 2021 revenue. The company sells building materials, home improvement products, lawn and garden products, decor products, and maintenance and repair products, as well as installation services and equipment rentals.

The company generated $151.16 billion in revenue and $16.43 billion in net earnings (after taxes).

Home Depot Corporate Headquarters in Atlanta, GA

Home Deport Corporate Information:

Company Name	The Home Depot, Inc.
State of Incorporation	Delaware
Address of Principal Executive Offices	2455 Paces Ferry Road Atlanta, GA 30339
SEC-registered Phone Number	770-433-8211
EIN	95-3261426
2021 Annual Report	10-K
Investor Relations Website	ir.homedepot.com

#2 UPS ($97 Billion)

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a package delivery and supply chain management company. The company’s services include transportation and delivery, contract logistics, ocean freight, air freight, customs brokerage and insurance.

Revenue	$97.3 Billion
Compensation & benefit expenses	$47.7 Billion
Purchased transportation expenses	$19.1 Billion
Total operating expenses	$84.5 Billion
Operating profit	$12.8 Billion
Net income (after taxes)	$12.9 Billion

UPS Corporate Information:

Company Name	United Parcel Service, Inc.
State of Incorporation	Delaware
Address of Principal Executive Offices	55 Glenlake Parkway Northeast Atlanta, GA 30328
SEC-registered Phone Number	404-828-6000
EIN	58-2480149
2021 Annual Report	10-K
Investor Relations Website	investors.ups.com

#3 Coca-Cola ($39 Billion)

The company owns or licences several beverage brands which they group into 5 categories:

Trademark Coca-Cola
Sparkling flavors
Hydration, sports, coffee, and tea
Nutrition, juice, dairy, and plant-based beverages
Emerging beverages

Notably, the company owns 5 of the top 6 nonalcoholic carbonated soft drinks in the world: Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, and Fanta.

Coca-Cola Corporate Information:

Company Name	The Coca-Cola Company
State of Incorporation	Delaware
Address of Principal Executive Offices	One Coca-Cola Plaza Atlanta, GA 30313
SEC-registered Phone Number	404-676-2121
EIN	58-0628465
2021 Annual Report	10-K
Investor Relations Website	investors.coca-colacompany.com

#4 Delta ($30 Billion)

Delta is a global airline company that provides both personal and cargo transportation. The company also has smaller complementary businesses such as Delta Vacations which provides wholesale vacation packages. In 2019, the company generated $47 billion in revenue which would have scored higher on this list, but the following year, Covid hurt all airlines significantly. Delta’s revenue dropped to just $17 billion in 2020 before partly recovering to $30 billion in 2021.

Delta Corporate Information:

Company Name	Delta Air Lines, Inc.
State of Incorporation	Delaware
Address of Principal Executive Offices	Post Office Box 20706 Atlanta, Georgia 30320
SEC-registered Phone Number	404-715-2600
EIN	58-0218548
2021 Annual Report	10-K
Investor Relations Website	ir.delta.com

#5 Southern Company ($23 Billion)

Southern is an energy utility holding company that owns Southern Power Company, Southern Company Gas, Alabama Power, Georgia Power, and Mississippi Power as well as many other subsidiaries. Total 2021 revenue was $23 billion.

Company Name	The Southern Company
State of Incorporation	Delaware
Address of Principal Executive Offices	30 Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard Northwest Atlanta, GA 30308
SEC-registered Phone Number	404-506-5000
EIN	58-0690070
2021 Annual Report	10-K
Investor Relations Website	investor.southerncompany.com

#6 Aflac ($22 Billion)

Aflac (NYSE: AFL) is an insurance company which actually generates most of its sales from Japanese premiums rather than U.S. premiums.

Company Name	Aflac Incorporated
State of Incorporation	Georgia
Address of Principal Executive Offices	1932 Wynnton Road Columbus, GA 31999
SEC-registered Phone Number	706-323-3431
EIN	58-1167100
2021 Annual Report	10-K
Investor Relations Website	investors.aflac.com

U.S. GDP by Industry in 2021

This is a breakdown of U.S. GDP by industry in 2021. More specifically, we will look at GDP for each of the 14 private “industry groups” or “sectors” used by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

14. Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting — 1.1%

Farms, logging companies, fisheries, and other businesses in this industry group collectively contributed $246 Billion to U.S. GDP in 2021.

13. Mining — 1.2%

Mining contributed $284 Billion to U.S. GDP. About half of that amount is from nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying (NAICS 2123). Common nonmetallic minerals mined include sand, gravel, stone, clay, and refractory materials. The other half of mining GDP is split between metal ore mining and coal mining.

12. Utilities — 1.7%

Utilities are broken into three categories:

Electric power generation, transmission, and distribution
Natural gas distribution
Water, sewage, and other systems

Collectively, these utilities contributed $381 Billion to U.S. GDP in 2021.

11. Miscellaneous non-government, non-business services — 1.9%

This sector includes the following services:

Repair and maintenance services (for cars, electronics, commercial & industrial machinery, personal products, home goods, etc)
Personal care services (e.g. hair styling and cosmetology)
Death care services (e.g. funeral planning & directing, grave digging, etc)
Laundry services
Social advocacy, religious, political, labor, and similar organization services

These random assorted services collectively contributed $448 billion to GDP in 2021.

10. Transportation & warehousing –2.8%

This industry group includes transportation of people (e.g. American Airlines) as well as cargo (e.g. Fedex). It also includes warehousing for materials and products that are shipped around the country. In aggregate, these activities contributed $643 billion to GDP.

9. Arts, entertainment, accommodation, and food services — 3.7%

The arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services contributed a total of $840 billion to U.S. GDP in 2021. This category includes businesses ranging from professional sports teams to theaters to casinos to food catering companies.

8. Construction — 4.2%

Construction (NAICS 23) contributed $959 Billion to U.S. GDP in 2021. The construction sector is split into 3 subsectors:

Construction of buildings (NAICS 236)
Heavy and civil engineering construction (NAICS 237)
Specialty trade contractors (NAICS 238)

7. Information — 5.7%

The nebulously named “information” sector (NAICS 51) contributed $1.3 Trillion (5.7%) to U.S. GDP. The sector is comprised of three different business activities:

Producing and distributing information and cultural products
Providing the means to transmit or distribute these products as well as data or comunications
Processing data

Typical business models included in the information sector include book publishers, software publishers, movie and video producers, sound recording industry businesses, radio and internet broadcasting, web search portals, internet service providers, cellular service providers, and cloud computing companies.

6. Wholesale — 6.0%

Some manufacturing companies sell directly to consumers (e.g. Tesla). Other manufacturing companies sell directly through retailer. For example, Ford manufactures vehicles which are then sold to Ford dealerships, and the dealerships then sell those vehicles to consumers. The dealerships are retailers. However, some manufacturers take things a step further. Take the case of agriculture, for example.

In the agriculture industry, the manufacturer is the farmer. The farmer does not usually have the capacity to fill many small orders for the hundreds of thousands of restaurants in the U.S., so instead, the farmer will sell to a company like Sysco. Sysco acts as a middleman — buying food in bulk from farmers and then packaging it into smaller amounts to then sell to restaurants. In this model, Sysco is a “wholesale” company, and the restaurants are “retail” companies.

Many wholesalers operate exactly like Sysco — they buy from manufacturers and then sell to retailers. However, there is also a second type of business which is classified as part of the wholesale industry. This second type of business is a “wholesale marketplace” which does not directly participate in transactions but instead simply facilitates transactions between manufacturers (or wholesalers who do transact directly) and retailers. A good example of a wholesale marketplace is Alibaba.

All together (including both transacting wholesalers and wholesale marketplace companies), wholesale economic activity contributed $1.38 trillion (6.0%) to U.S. GDP in 2021.

5. Retail — 6.0%

Retail businesses buy products in bulk from wholesalers or manufacturers and then resell them in smaller quantities to the final users of the product. In 2021, retail activity contributed $1.39 trillion (6.0%) to U.S. GDP.

4. Healthcare, social assistance, and educational services — 8.4%

This industry sector contributed a total of $1.93 trillion (8.4%) to U.S. GDP. We can further break that down into two subindustries:

Subindustries	GDP	Business examples
Educational services	1.1% ($258 Billion)	– Elementary, middle, and high schools – Colleges and universities – Professional schools – Trade & technical schools – Testing companies – Tutoring companies – Curriculum development companies – School bus attendant companies – Education consultants for schools
Healthcare & social assistance	7.3% ($1.68 Trillion)	– Hospitals & doctor’s offices – Medical diagnostic labs – In-home care by nurses or other social assistants – Nursing homes & community care facilities for the elderly – Outpatient mental health facilities – Child daycare – Privately operated adoption agencies

Healthcare and social assistance cannot be cleanly separated into separate subsectors because of businesses such as nursing homes and in-home care which include elements of both.

3. Manufacturing — 11.1%

Manufacturing contributed $2.56 trillion (11.1%) to U.S. GDP in 2021.

Subindustries	GDP	Business examples
Durable good manufacturing	6.0% ($1.39 Trillion)	– Appliance manufacturers – Vehicle manufacturers – Furniture manufacturers – Physical tool manufacturers – Electronics manufacturers – Physical book makers – jewelry makers – Sports equipment manufacturers
Nondurable good manufacturing	5.1% ($1.18 Trillion)	– Packaged food manufacturers – Packaged beverage manufacturers – Drug manufacturers – Cleaning product manufacturers – Personal care product manufacturers – Cigarette manufacturers – Gasoline producers – Physical magazine producers

2. Professional and business services — 12.9%

Professional and business services contributed $2.97 trillion (12.9%) to U.S. GDP.

Subindustries	GDP	Business examples
Professional, scientific, and technical services	7.7% ($1.78 Trillion)	– Legal services – Accounting, tax prep, bookkeeping, and payroll services – Architectural services – Engineering services – Specialized design services – Management, scientific, and technical consulting – Scientific R&D services – Advertising services
Administrative and waste management services	3.3% ($759 Billion)	– office administration (on behalf of another company) – recruiting & talent management – document prep & clerical work – security & surveillance services – cleaning services – waste disposal services
Management of companies	1.9% ($434 Billion)	– Holding companies

1. Finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing — 21.2%

Collectively, finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing contributed $4.89 trillion (21.2%) to U.S. GDP in 2021.

Subindustries	GDP	Business examples
Finance and insurance	8.5% ($1.95 Trillion)	– Commercial banking – Investment banking – Fund management – Insurance carriers – Insurance brokers – Insurance agencies – Payday lenders – Payment transmitters (e.g. Visa, Mastercard, etc) – Stock brokerages – Investment advisers
Real estate, rental, and leasing	12.8% ($2.94 Trillion)	– Real estate brokerages and agencies – Landlords – Mobile home parks

The Most Recession-Proof Business is Dissolving Bodies

It costs $9,900 to die in the United States. That’s the national median funeral cost including burial in 2022.

For that price, you get a $2,500 casket, a $2,000 burial plot, $775 of embalming services, and $4,625 of miscellaneous fees that are mostly hot air. Since hot air has great margins and since the death rate isn’t reduced by recessions, funeral homes might seem like the perfect recession-proof business. In this article, I’m going to explain why they aren’t, but I’ll also tell you about two other death care businesses that are.

Why aren’t funeral homes recession-proof businesses?

Funeral homes make most of their money by selling caskets, transporting bodies, embalming & other “cosmetic body prep” services. If the funeral home owns the cemetery, it will also make money on selling you a grave plot, grave digging services, and a headstone.

All those big money makers are dependent on people getting buried. Unfortunately, burials have been consistently losing market share to cremations almost every year for the past several decades. In 2006, 33.8% of people who died in the U.S. were cremated. In 2011, 42% were cremated. In 2016, 50.1% were cremated. In 2021, 57.5% were cremated.

There are three main reasons for this ongoing shift in American consumer preferences.

Cremation is cheaper than burial.
There is less religious stigma against cremation today than there was 30 years ago. This is partly because some religions like Catholicism have embraced cremation as acceptable within the last few decades. It is also partly because a smaller percentage of Americans are religious today than were religious 30 years ago.
Americans care more about environmental sustainability today than they did 30 years ago, and burials have a higher environmental cost than cremations.

As cremations continue to chew into the market share of burials, profit margins of funeral homes go down. That poses a headwind to the entire industry that will likely continue for decades.

To make matters worse (for the funeral industry), more and more Americans are opting for non-traditional “wakes” or “life celebrations” at home rather than somber, multi-hour ceremonies at funeral homes that charge a high hourly rate to use their space. This poses a second significant headwind to funeral home businesses.

Finally, a third headwind exists for funeral homes that own cemeteries with lots of unused plots. The decreasing rate of burials means that cemetery plots can stay empty for longer periods of time, and some may never be filled at all. Yet it’s difficult to sell unused parts of cemeteries, and if you can sell them at all it will be at a steep discount to other real estate nearby. That means many funeral homes are stuck with real estate assets that aren’t generating any income which brings down their rate of return-on-assets.

Fortunately, we’ve already seen an industry with all of the recession-resistance and none of the headwinds of funeral homes.

The economics of crematoriums

A crematorium is a body-disposal facility. Some are owned by funeral homes while others are independently operated and contract their services to one or more funeral homes. Given the headwind to on-site funeral home ceremonies discussed earlier, the best type of crematorium to start today would be a small facility which focused purely on cremations without taking on the overhead of large real estate spaces.

Alibaba currently has cremation machines (shown above) for sale for $45,000 plus shipping. You’ll also need a facility with appropriate ventilation for the fumes created by the machine.

Crematoriums are regulated at the state level, and most states will require that the individual operating a crematorium have a funeral directors license.

Crematoriums have a strong industry tailwind from the increasing popularity of cremation. Crematoriums are also incredibly recession-proof for two reasons:

Overall death rate does not decrease during recessions.
Cremation is cheaper than burial, so financially distressed families are even more likely to choose cremation than burial during recessions.

However, one of the current industry tailwinds of cremation has the potential to flip into a headwind: Environmentalism.

Cremations DO have a lower environmental cost than traditional burials. However, they still emit about as much CO2 as a 600 mile car trip, they are energy-intensive, and they can release toxic air pollution from the mercury in some dental fillings. That means that there is potential for a public backlash against cremations in the future. Additionally, some local governments have already temporarily suspended crematoriums’ ability to operate during times when air pollution is particularly bad. Fortunately, there is an newer alternative option: liquid cremation.

Liquid cremation: the perfect recession-proof business

Liquid cremation, wet cremation, water cremation, aquamation, flameless cremation, resomation, alkaline hydrolysis — these are all the same thing: Dissolving bodies in a 5% solution of potassium hydroxide at between 200-300 degrees Fahrenheit.

The process decomposes a body into a non-toxic solution of amino acids that can be processed by municipal water supply systems. I.e. it’s safe to dump the resulting liquid down the drain.

Metal implants are left intact and can be recycled. Bones are also left behind and can be ground into powder which is then returned to families in place of ashes from a traditional cremation.

Liquid cremation is completely sterile. The alkaline solution kills any pathogens and sterilizes the bones. That means there is no risk of diseases contaminating a water supply as there is with unembalmed burials. There is also no risk of carcinogenic embalming fluids contaminating a water supply as there is with embalmed burials. In fact, liquid cremation might be the best possible body disposal method because it is both highly sterile and very environmentally friendly. When compared against traditional cremation, three of the biggest environmental benefits are:

Liquid cremation requires only 10-15% of the energy used by traditional cremation.
Liquid cremation does not require combustion. All energy requirements can be met by cleanly produced electricity.
Liquid cremation produces zero gaseous emissions. (In contrast, traditional cremations release CO2, carbon monoxide, mercury, or other combustion byproducts).

In addition to the environmental benefits, it takes the same amount of time to perform a liquid cremation as a traditional cremation. The cost to perform a liquid cremation can also be less than a traditional cremation, especially if energy prices are high.

How to start a liquid cremation business

Starting a liquid cremation business is in many ways easier than starting a traditional cremation business. Liquid cremation is still a new concept, and there are many fewer competitors offering the service (but Google search trends still show a growing interest in liquid cremation over the years). The machines required are also smaller & lighter than traditional cremation machines. However, since liquid cremation is so new, there are fewer suppliers so the machine are still more expensive ($150k-400k for a human-sized machine or around $60k for a pet sized aquamation machine).

If you’re an engineer, then selling glorified steel drums for hundreds of thousands of dollars is a business opportunity worth considering in itself. If you’re not an engineer, you can still start a liquid cremation business without a ton of money by either financing or leasing an aquamation machine.

When deciding on where to locate your business, you’ll have to consider the legal landscape. Twenty-one states have currently legalized liquid cremation, one state has made it illegal, and the remaining twenty-eight states are legally ambiguous with no law or regulation explicitly addressing the topic. The trend in general though is towards more and more states adding explicit provisions to legalize the process.

Liquid cremation for pets however is legal in every state.

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5 Richest counties in Ohio

These are the 5 Ohio counties with the highest median household net worth.

#5 Medina County

This Cleveland suburb has a median household income just under $82,000. The most common and highest paying type of jobs are management jobs.

The most common industry by number of employees is the manufacturing industry, and the highest paying industry by median wage is the mining, quarrying, and oil & gas extraction industry.

#4 Geauga County

As in Medina, the most common jobs are management jobs, but unlike in Medina, the highest paying jobs are in architecture & engineering. Median household income in the county is $88,000.

#3 Union County

This Columbus suburb has a median household income of $93,000, and the highest payed residents work in law where the median income is over $100k.

#2 Warren County

Half way between Cincinnati and Dayton, about 15% of households make over $200k. The most common and highest paid jobs are management roles in manufacturing or holding companies.

#1 Delaware County

Delaware County takes first place by a WIDE margin. Median household income is $117,000, and more than 20% of households make over $200k. Interestingly, the highest paid jobs are in software engineering, but the median pay of those jobs is only about $105k. That means the high median household income is driven primarily by a large number of 2-earner households rather than by especially high paying jobs.

If you’re looking for tax-privileged real estate investment opportunities that are undervalued but also supported by strong demographics in the area, email me. We consult with investors all the time to help them find investment properties that fit their criteria anywhere in the U.S. We can even help you find and implement opportunity zone investments, government-subsidized real estate investments, and more.

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