Orange County’s publicly traded companies reported a combined 22% gain in their market capitalizations for the 12 months ended March 29, aided by a first quarter rebound and huge gains by the area’s two most valuable public firms.
The 77 companies tracked on the Business Journal’s list total $155.4 billion in value. The cumulative annual gain was higher than the 15% increase reported by companies on our list a year ago and lower than the 27% rise two years ago.
For our annual list, we included all OC-based companies trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq or over-the-counter exchanges. We excluded several penny stocks that reported under $1 million in annual revenue or didn’t file recent reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The list includes companies with market values of at least $10 million.
The companies’ combined revenue climbed 7.7% to $53.2 billion, according to their most recent annual reports. They reported net income of $4.6 billion, up 18%. Assets increased 5.3% to $127.2 billion.
They grew their OC employment 2.6% to 25,544 a faster pace than companywide, which rose 2.4% to 275,892.
The majority of companies on our list grew their market capitalizations—23 of them had double-digit percentage growth, including 10 that more than doubled in value. The market caps of 37 companies declined.
This year’s list has 5 newcomers —four via initial public offerings, another from a corporate relocation —down from a dozen new entries a year ago.
Irvine is clearly the capital of OC’s publicly traded companies with a total of 42, or more than half. It was followed by Newport Beach with seven, Santa Ana with five and Costa Mesa with four. Anaheim, the largest city in OC by population, has three publicly traded companies.
Standout Performers
Here are some notable details from the list:
• The biggest increase by dollar amount was No. 2 Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG), which saw its cap more than double to $19.6 billion. The Mexican-themed restaurant chain last year moved its headquarters from Denver to Newport Beach.
• No. 1, Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW) saw its market rise by about $10.2 billion to $39.5 billion. A decade ago, Edwards’ market cap was $3.4 billion, making it a 12-bagger. (See separate story, page 16.)
The increases by Edwards and Chipotle accounted for about 74% of the overall $28.1 billion rise in OC market caps.
Not factoring in the top two firms, companies on the list saw about an 8% gain in stock value.
• Among the billion-dollar companies, the biggest gainers were No. 12 ophthalmic medical device maker Glaukos Corp. (NYSE: GKOS), up 159% to $2.8 billion; No. 7 software maker Alteryx Inc., up 154% to $5.2 billion; and No. 14 nursing home owner CareTrust REIT Inc., which doubled to $2.1 billion (see story page 1).
• The biggest decliners among larger companies were No. 20 developer Five Point Holdings LLC (NYSE: FPH), down 46% to $1.1 billion; No. 23 event planner Emerald Expositions Events Inc. (NYSE: EEX), down 33% to $948 million; and No. 15 home builder TRI Pointe Group Inc. (NYSE: TPH), off 27% to $1.8 billion (see separate story on home builders, page 1).
• No. 3 real estate investment trust HCP Inc. (NYSE: HCP) recuperated from troubled tenants in 2017; its market cap climbed 37% to $15.1 billon, adding $4 billion of value, another highlight in a good year of gains for the area’s contingent of healthcare-focused real estate investment trusts.
• The five biggest banks based in Orange County didn’t have a good year as the Fed raised its benchmark rates, causing a squeeze in profits. The biggest, No. 16 Pacific Premier Bancorp (Nasdaq: PPBI), fell 7.1% to $1.7 billion. The next four largest all declined by double digits: No. 25 Opus Bank, off 27% to $735 million; No. 26 Banc of California Inc., down 27% to $712 million, No. 30 First Foundation Inc., off 15% to $614 million; and No. 48 Pacific Mercantile Bancorp. down 24% to $170 million.
• No. 38 engineering firm Willdan Group Inc. (Nasdaq: WLDN) was a mystical 30 bagger as its shares increased 30-fold from 2013 to early 2017. This past year, it continued a steady march upward, rising 64% to $410 million cap.
• The small cap companies falling the most were No. 61 medical device maker Endologix Inc. (Nasdaq: ELGX), off 80% to $71.9 million; No. 74 Hancock Jaffe Laboratories Inc. (Nasdaq: HJLI), down 60% to $23.8 million; and No. 39 CalAmp Corp., (Nasdaq: CAMP), off 51% to $398.9 million.
Saying Goodbye
GBGI Ltd. (LSI: GBGI.L), a Foothill Ranch-based insurer of expatriates, ranked No. 56 on last year’s list but isn’t in this edition. The company began trading in early 2017 on the London Stock Exchange where its market cap at one point topped $160 million. However, the shares sharply declined following a currency devaluation in Angola last year.
Earlier this year, it was purchased for $132 million by Further Global Capital Management, a New York City-based private equity firm.
Universal Electronics Inc. (Nasdaq: UEIC), another drop-off this edition, saw its market cap drop 29% to $524.2 million in the past year.
In February, it announced it planned to move its headquarters from Santa Ana to Arizona, citing the “rising cost of finance and administration services in Southern California.” It ranked No. 28 on last year’s list.
