Best Buy Co.
Richard Schulze
, 61
CEO since 1966
Industry:
Consumer Products
Sales:
$18.1 billion
Net Income:
$410 million
Corporate Snapshot:
BBY
Schulze gave a lesson in how to manage in a weak economy in 2001. He boosted Best Buy's net income 11% and revenues 27% by driving sales of higher-margin digital products, such as DVD players and camcorders. Best Buy's stores are in better locations than rivals like Circuit City. And its more open layout displays hot products better. Last year's growth was off from the Eden Prairie (M.N.) company's usual pace--profits rose an average 33% a year over the past three years. Still, investors were rewarded with one-year returns of 64.6%, compared with 18.4% for Circuit City. Schulze plans to pass on the CEO's post to President Bradbury Anderson in June.
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AmerisourceBergen
David Yost, 54
CEO since 1997
Industry:
Health Care
Sales:
$24 billion
Net Income:
$165 million
Corporate Snapshot:
ABC
AmerisourceBergen became the leader in drug wholesaling in August, 2001, when AmeriSource Health bought Bergen Brunswig. That combination sent the wholesaler's net income up 60%, while revenues doubled. But even before that deal, Amerisource was going strong as the industry's scrappy No.4. Like its competitors, the Valley Forge (P.A.)-based company has benefited from the combination of an aging population and an increased use of pharmaceuticals in general. But it's strong performance is also due to steady investments in information-technology systems and a lean and mean cost structure. That tight rein on expenses is critical in an industry that is characterized by razor-thin margins: Amerisource's profit margin of 0.7% is the lowest among the BW50. Investors, who sent AmerisourceBergen's stock up 26% last year, seem to believe that Yost and his management team can generate top-line growth in the mid-teens while still guarding the bottom line.
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UnitedHealth Group
William McGuire, 53
CEO since 1991
Industry:
Health Care
Sales:
$23.5 billion
Net Income:
$913 million
Corporate Snapshot:
UNH
After years of clocking some of the highest enrollment growth rates among health insurers, UnitedHealth Group has finally grabbed the No.1 spot from rival Aetna. Numbers from January show the Minnetonka (Minn.) company now has almost 17 million members. What's more, the insurer has been able to increase its member roster while hiking premiums to keep pace with the double-digit rise in medical costs. Profits jumped 24% last year. UnitedHealth pulled this off by keeping margins healthy while offering a wide variety of insurance products: general health-care services, such specialized fare as mental health care, and a push into the international market.
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Copyright 2002 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
