Orange County’s 50 biggest publicly traded companies reported a combined 16% gain in their market capitalizations for the 12 months ended June 30.
It’s a commendable showing, given that most stocks dropped in March during the coronavirus pandemic. The S&P 500 Index is up about 4.6% over the same period.
The 50 companies tracked on the Business Journal’s list total $181.8 billion in value at the close of trading on June 30. The cumulative annual gain was lower than last year’s 22% jump, but higher than the 15% increase reported by companies on the list in 2018.
It’s clear, however, that the increase wasn’t widespread. Thirty of the 50 companies reported a lower market cap than at the same time last year. Twenty-four of those companies fell by more than 10% from a year ago.
The increases by five of the six largest firms accounted for $33 billion, or more than the entire $25.4 billion increase in the market cap.
The list includes companies with market values of at least $100 million.
The companies’ combined revenue in 2019 climbed 4.3% to $49.7 billion. A year ago, their revenue increased 7.7%.
They reported net income fell about 15% to $4.1 billion, compared with an 18% gain a year ago. Their assets increased 7.7%, to $115.4 billion.
They grew their OC employment 2.6% to 22,264 while their companywide employment dropped 4.2% to 267,454.
Irvine remains the capital of OC’s publicly traded companies with 25 based in the city, including seven of the 10 largest.
It was followed by Santa Ana with seven, Newport Beach with four and San Clemente with three. Anaheim, the largest city in OC by population of about 353,000, only has one publicly traded company on this list, No. 39 Willdan Group Inc. (Nasdaq: WLDN), an engineering and consulting firm.
Standout Performers
Here are some notable details from the list:
• For the second straight year, the biggest increase by dollar amount was No. 2 Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG), which saw its cap rise $9 billion, or 44%, to $29 billion. When the Mexican-themed restaurant chain in 2018 moved its headquarters from Denver to Newport Beach, its market cap was around $7 billion.
• No. 1 Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW) saw its market cap rise by about $5.5 billion, or 14%, to $43.9 billion. Earlier this year, Edwards flirted with a $50 billion market cap. A decade ago, Edwards’ market cap was $3.4 billion.
• The market cap of No. 3 Skyworks Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq: SWKS), which officially moved its headquarters to Irvine from Massachusetts earlier this year, jumped $8.1 billion, or 61%, to $21.3 billion. Skyworks’ stock often mirrors that of its chief customer, Apple Inc., which rose 84% during the same period.
• No. 5 Masimo Corp. (Nasdaq: MASI) of Irvine climbed 55% to $12.3 billion on the strength of demand for its wireless oxygen monitors during the coronavirus pandemic (see story, page 3).
• No. 6 Alteryx Inc. (NYSE: AYX) of Irvine increased 58% to $10.8 billion.
• No. 8 CoreLogic Inc. of Irvine jumped 59% to a $5.3 billion cap based on a takeover offer made on June 26 (see story, page 1).
• The biggest increase was 120% to $402 million of Costa Mesa’s Veritone Inc. (Nasdaq: VERI), which climbed to No. 34 from No. 53 last year. Its shares have jumped elevenfold since mid-March after the company, which is using artificial intelligence to analyze media advertising, announced new contract wins.
• The biggest decline was 72% to $221 million at Emerald Holding Inc. (NYSE: EEX), which fell from No. 23 a year ago to No. 41. The San Juan Capistrano-based company is an organizer of 140 annual trade shows, many of which have been canceled due to the coronavirus.
• The coronavirus affected many consumer-facing companies ranging from restaurant chain BJ’s Restaurants Inc. (Nasdaq: BJRI), down 47% to $466 million, to facial wrinkle remover Evolus Inc. (Nasdaq: EOLS), down 55% to $178.8 million, to hotel owner Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. (NYSE: SHO), off 44% to $1.8 billion, to retail chain Tilly’s Inc. (NYSE: TLYS), down 53% to $168.5 million.
Additions
This year’s list has four newcomers—two via initial public offerings and two from a corporate relocation.
• No. 11 Staar Surgical Co. (Nasdaq: STAA) moved from Monrovia to Lake Forest last spring. The maker of implantable eye lens saw its market cap double to $2.8 billion.
• No. 12 Inari Corp. (Nasadq: NARI) of Irvine made a stunning IPO debut on Wall Street in May when its share price more than doubled from $19 to around $48.44 on June 30. The company, a medical device maker of products to treat patients suffering from blood clots and other diseases affecting veins, now has a $2.3 billion market cap.
• No. 48 OncoCyte Corp. (NYSE: OCX) moved from the Bay Area city of Alameda to Irvine. OncoCyte was flying along until June 29 when it reported its DetermaDx clinical validation study did not achieve its pre-defined endpoint. Its shares fell 41% on June 30, the final day of this reporting period, to a $128 million market cap.
• No. 49 Kura Sushi USA Inc. (Nasdaq: KRUS), owner of 22 revolving sushi bar restaurants, went public last August at $14 per share. It doubled to about $28 by January. Like most restaurant chains, shares of the Irvine-based company fell during the pandemic and closed June 30 at $14.28.
