THE TIMES 100 : Potpourri
Sifting through this year’s Times 100 data reveals a host of revealing--and quirky--facts. The patterns can be revealing, or simply amusing. Here’s some of what we found out about more than 750 of the larger public companies in California:
SMALL CAN BE BEAUTIFUL
The fastest-growing companies in California make small circuits. Small stocks can grow big. And some large companies do their business with a small core of employees.
Companies with fewer than 50 employees fared particularly well in Southern California. Of the 31 such small employers on the list, 20 were headquartered in Los Angeles and vicinity. Of these, four were motion picture companies and three semiconductor manufacturers.
And small businesses can grow, like Callaway Golf of Carlsbad.
VALUABLE EMPLOYEES
Cisco Systems Inc., maker of computer routers and other equipment, was the company with the most revenue per employee. It also had the most profit per employee. Of course, the companies on this list contract out much of their business, which hides some of the labor involved.
Company Revenue ($Mil) Employees Rev/Empl ($) Cisco Systems Inc. $1,540 174 $8,851,175 Exstar Financial Corp. $57 7 $8,249,143 Cinergi Pictures Ent. $109 27 $4,038,074 Merisel Inc. $5,018 1,450 $3,461,163 Spelling Entertainment $599 23 $2,689,861
MOST POPULAR INDUSTRIES
Of more than 750 companies examined, the five most numerous industry were:
Companies Category 55 Software and publishing 44 Semiconductor 30 S&Ls;/Savings Banks 34 Medical Equipment 29 Real Estate Operators
CROSS-TOWN RIVALRIES
The greater metropolitan area of Los Angeles had the largest concentration of the state’s company headquarters. And most of those are in a few places:
Zip Code Areas Central Downtown: 61 Santa Monica: 18 Woodland Hills: 18 Century City: 10 Beverly Hills: 8 Pasadena: 7
Source: Data from Market Guide, Inc. of Lake Success, N.Y. Zip Code data from Help Software, Raymore, Mo.
