7 Arizona businesses make Fortune 500

Max Jarman - May. 5, 2011 06:44 PM
The Arizona Republic

A surge in enrollments as unemployed and underemployed Americans sought to improve their professional skills helped land Phoenix-based Apollo Group Inc. on the Fortune 500 for the first time after several years of near-misses.

A 25 percent increase in 2010 revenue, to $4.96 billion, put the University of Phoenix's parent at No. 452 on the prestigious list of America's biggest public companies, ranked by sales.

Arizona's Fortune 500 companies

Also on the list this year is Tempe IT-products reseller Insight Enterprises Inc. Insight jumped back on after falling off last year when the economic slowdown took a toll on the company's sales.

As the global economy has improved, Insight has turned in a string of positive quarters, and its $4.8 billion in 2010 revenue landed the company at No. 471 on the list this year. Insight narrowly missed the cutoff last year at 502.

"It's a pretty good defining distinction," said Kenneth Lamneck, Insight's president and CEO.

In all, seven Arizona companies made Fortune magazine's list this year, two more than last year and the state's best-ever showing. Besides Apollo and Insight, Avnet Inc., Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., US Airways Group Inc., Republic Services Inc. and PetSmart Inc. made the list from Arizona.

The number of Fortune 500 companies in an area reflects the economic clout of a community and its desirability as a place in which to conduct business.

"A lot of states and metro areas use it to determine their economic success and an indicator that they're doing better than their competitors," said Tim James, director of research and consulting at the L. William Seidman Research Institute at Arizona State University.

With seven Fortune 500 companies, Arizona ranks in the upper tier: There are 18 states sporting more top companies and 31 with fewer.

"Obviously, we'd like to have more, but seven is a pretty good number," James said.

New York, California and Texas led the way with 57, 53 and 51 Fortune 500 companies, respectively. Regionally, Colorado is home to nine Fortune 500 companies; Nevada, three; and Utah, one. There are no Fortune 500 companies based in New Mexico.

Inclusion on the list also can be a boon to a company.

James noted a Fortune 500 designation can make it easier for a company to borrow money and can translate into a higher share price. "The more lists a company is on, the more people are going to be tracking their shares." But the venerable list measures only corporate girth, and many believe profitability is a better measure.

"It's certainly a good list to be on, but it's not necessarily something we strive for," Insight's Lamneck said. "We look for profitable growth."

Apollo Group narrowly missed the list last year at No. 516 and was glad to finally crack 500. Spokesman Chad Christian said Apollo was pleased to be named to the Fortune 500 and attributes Apollo's success to remaining focused on its mission to bring quality higher education to working adults who want a college degree and are willing to work hard to earn one.

Electronics distributor Avnet held onto its spot as Arizona's largest public company, edging out copper-and-gold producer Freeport-McMoRan.

Like Insight, Avnet benefited from an improving global economy and a ramp-up in business IT purchases. Avnet posted 2010 sales in $19.16 billion, up 18 percent, and moved up 10 notches in the overall rankings, to 132.

Freeport-McMoRan benefited from soaring prices for copper and gold. Sales in 2010 increased 26 percent and earned the company No. 136 on the 2011 Fortune 500, up from 154 in 2010.

A 14 percent increase in 2010 revenue pushed US Airways to 208 from 222 last year.

Phoenix pet-supplies retailer PetSmart saw sales grow 7 percent, but the company lost ground, falling to 400 from 393 the year before.

Trash hauler Republic Services slipped to 296 from 278 after revenue declined 1.1 percent.

http://www.azcentral.com/business/artic ... e-500.html