<FOOLISH WORKSHOP>

Land of the Giants

by Jim Stevens ([email protected])

Burlington, VT (Dec. 21, 1998) -- Blue chips, mega-caps, Big Honkin' Companies -- call them what you will, but an unavoidable truism recently has been that huge companies have afforded a very rewarding resting place for one's investment dollars. By popular demand, today I update the Workshop's recurring list of the biggest of America's big companies.

Everyone knows that the Standard & Poor's 500 Index has proven to be an especially difficult benchmark to top for professional fund managers lately. One way these managers attempt to stay in the fight is to simply load up on a lot of the same huge companies that move the top-heavy index so much. Why do they do this? Because it works. Why does it work? Because they keep doing it! I love a good self-fulfilling prophecy.

More than a few Workshop readers have noticed this trend and capitalized on it. Over the long term, it's hard to imagine what it would take to turn investors sour on these colossal money machines for any sustained period.

According to the Value Line Investment Survey data from December 16, here are the 100 largest U.S. stocks, with their market caps in millions.

333,515  Microsoft Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: MSFT)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: MSFT)") end if %>
300,630  General Electric <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: GE)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: GE)") end if %>
190,246  Intel Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: INTC)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: INTC)") end if %>
183,711  Exxon Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: XON)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: XON)") end if %>
175,980  Merck & Co. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MRK)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MRK)") end if %>
168,289  Wal-Mart Stores <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: WMT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: WMT)") end if %>
159,924  Coca-Cola <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: KO)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: KO)") end if %>
151,694  Int'l Business Mach. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: IBM)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: IBM)") end if %>
150,220  Pfizer Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: PFE)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: PFE)") end if %>
130,568  Cisco Systems <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CSCO)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CSCO)") end if %>
130,104  Philip Morris <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MO)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MO)") end if %>
124,484  Lucent Technologies <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: LU)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: LU)") end if %>
121,984  AT&T Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: T)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: T)") end if %>
120,533  Bristol-Myers Squibb <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: BMY)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: BMY)") end if %>
116,596  Procter & Gamble <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: PG)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: PG)") end if %>
108,202  Citigroup Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: C)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: C)") end if %>
107,742  Johnson & Johnson <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: JNJ)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: JNJ)") end if %>
 98,827  Amer. Int'l Group <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AIG)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AIG)") end if %>
 98,100  Lilly (Eli) <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: LLY)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: LLY)") end if %>
 97,079  BankAmerica <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: BAC)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: BAC)") end if %>
 97,067  SBC Communications <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: SBC)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: SBC)") end if %>
 86,291  BellSouth Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: BLS)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: BLS)") end if %>
 83,921  Bell Atlantic Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: BEL)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: BEL)") end if %>
 83,236  Home Depot <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: HD)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: HD)") end if %>
 81,504  Dell Computer <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: DELL)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: DELL)") end if %>
 80,370  Schering-Plough <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: SGP)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: SGP)") end if %>
 74,779  Fannie Mae <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: FNM)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: FNM)") end if %>
 70,000  Abbott Labs. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: ABT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: ABT)") end if %>
 69,894  Mobil Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MOB)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MOB)") end if %>
 69,170  Compaq Computer <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CPQ)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CPQ)") end if %>
 67,760  MCI WorldCom <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: WCOM)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: WCOM)") end if %>
 67,406  Hewlett-Packard <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: HWP)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: HWP)") end if %>
 66,807  Amer. Home Products <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AHP)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AHP)") end if %>
 63,644  Ameritech Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AIT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AIT)") end if %>
 63,366  Ford Motor <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: F)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: F)") end if %>
 63,155  GTE Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: GTE)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: GTE)") end if %>
 62,997  Disney (Walt) <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: DIS)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: DIS)") end if %>
 62,321  Bank One Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: ONE)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: ONE)") end if %>
 59,886  Time Warner <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: TWX)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: TWX)") end if %>
 59,809  Warner-Lambert <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: WLA)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: WLA)") end if %>
 59,508  First Union Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: FTU)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: FTU)") end if %>
 58,400  Du Pont <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: DD)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: DD)") end if %>
 57,207  Wells Fargo <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: WFC)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: WFC)") end if %>
 55,297  PepsiCo  Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: PEP)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: PEP)") end if %>
 54,887  Chevron Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CHV)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CHV)") end if %>
 54,840  Amoco Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AN)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AN)") end if %>
 53,707  Chase Manhattan Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CMB)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CMB)") end if %>
 48,948  Gillette <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: G)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: G)") end if %>
 47,444  McDonald's Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MCD)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MCD)") end if %>
 45,794  General Motors <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: GM)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: GM)") end if %>
 44,068  America Online <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AOL)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AOL)") end if %>
 42,270  Amer. Express <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AXP)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AXP)") end if %>
 41,547  Freddie Mac <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: FRE)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: FRE)") end if %>
 39,627  EMC Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: EMC)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: EMC)") end if %>
 38,579  Tyco Int'l Ltd. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: TYC)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: TYC)") end if %>
 38,270  Morgan Stanley Dean Witter <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MWD)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MWD)") end if %>
 37,538  Oracle Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ORCL)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ORCL)") end if %>
 34,610  AirTouch Communic. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: ATI)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: ATI)") end if %>
 34,510  Motorola Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MOT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MOT)") end if %>
 34,104  Xerox Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: XRX)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: XRX)") end if %>
 34,011  Medtronic  Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MDT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MDT)") end if %>
 32,097  Boeing <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: BA)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: BA)") end if %>
 30,999  US WEST  Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: USW)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: USW)") end if %>
 30,949  Texas Instruments <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: TXN)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: TXN)") end if %>
 30,666  Allstate Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: ALL)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: ALL)") end if %>
 30,467  Anheuser-Busch <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: BUD)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: BUD)") end if %>
 30,399  Sun Microsystems <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: SUNW)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: SUNW)") end if %>
 29,399  Texaco Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: TX)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: TX)") end if %>
 28,646  Minn. Mining & Mfg <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MMM)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MMM)") end if %>
 28,247  Walgreen Co. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: WAG)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: WAG)") end if %>
 28,009  Kimberly-Clark <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: KMB)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: KMB)") end if %>
 27,960  Gap (The) Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: GPS)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: GPS)") end if %>
 27,551  Assoc. First Capital <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AFS)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AFS)") end if %>
 27,410  Safeway Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: SWY)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: SWY)") end if %>
 27,181  Pharmacia & Upjohn <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: PNU)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: PNU)") end if %>
 26,893  Sprint Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: FON)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: FON)") end if %>
 26,262  Emerson Electric <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: EMR)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: EMR)") end if %>
 25,990  Waste Management <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: WMI)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: WMI)") end if %>
 25,910  Bank of New York <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: BK)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: BK)") end if %>
 25,608  Monsanto <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MTC)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MTC)") end if %>
 25,487  Schlumberger Ltd. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: SLB)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: SLB)") end if %>
 25,148  Sara Lee Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: SLE)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: SLE)") end if %>
 24,883  MediaOne Group <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: UMG)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: UMG)") end if %>
 24,815  Colgate-Palmolive <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CL)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CL)") end if %>
 24,629  U.S. Bancorp <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: USB)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: USB)") end if %>
 24,507  Campbell Soup <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CPB)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CPB)") end if %>
 23,669  Eastman Kodak <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: EK)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: EK)") end if %>
 23,417  AlliedSignal Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: ALD)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: ALD)") end if %>
 23,338  Fleet Fin'l Group <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: FLT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: FLT)") end if %>
 23,079  Merrill Lynch & Co. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MER)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MER)") end if %>
 22,990  Tele-Communic. 'A' <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: TCOMA)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: TCOMA)") end if %>
 22,714  Automatic Data Proc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AUD)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AUD)") end if %>
 22,574  National City Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: NCC)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: NCC)") end if %>
 22,442  Duke Energy <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: DUK)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: DUK)") end if %>
 22,371  United Technologies <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: UTX)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: UTX)") end if %>
 22,051  Electronic Data Sys. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: EDS)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: EDS)") end if %>
 21,824  Amgen <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AMGN)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AMGN)") end if %>
 21,365  Dayton Hudson <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: DH)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: DH)") end if %>
 20,940  Atlantic Richfield <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: ARC)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: ARC)") end if %>
 20,892  Computer Associates <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CA)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CA)") end if %>

Well that's all folks! Have a great holiday week!

Check out the latest file updates for the Workshop:
New Rankings | 1998 Returns | New Database