1701 JFK Blvd., Philadelphia
Phone 215-665-1700
Founded 1969
Chairman/CEO: Brian L. Roberts
NASDAQ: CMCSA
Market cap: $66.45 billion *
Stock-div return one year: down 25 percent **
The region's most valuable company and the nation's biggest cable TV provider, Comcast provides high-speed Internet, e-mail and phone services, and it operates regional sports and news networks. Its video services include basic and digital cable, video on demand, and digital video recorder. Its programming includes E!, The Golf Channel and Style. Comcast owns the Flyers hockey team, the 76ers basketball team, and occupies Philadelphia's tallest office tower. As of December, it reported 24.1 million video subscribers, 13.2 million Internet subscribers, and 4.6 million phone subscribers.
The Chatter: Comcast now towers over Philadelphia architecturally, as well as financially, but it is still slogging through a campaign to dominate the nation's Internet and telephone service, as it does cable TV. Its stock-and-dividend return is down, although so were most regional companies.
1007 Market St., Wilmington
Phone 302-774-1000
Founded 1802
Chairman/CEO: Charles O. Holliday Jr.
NYSE: DD
Market cap: $42.37 billion *
Stock-div return one year: down 2.3 percent **
DuPont sprawls from biotechnology and electronics to security and synthetic fibers. After shedding dozens of businesses and moving managers out to field operations, it now focuses on five segments: Agriculture & Nutrition, Coatings & Color Technologies, Electronic & Communication Technologies, Performance Materials, and Safety & Protection. Its chemicals include insect-control products, automotive finishes, sporting goods and, of course, Kevlar and Teflon. It even has an interest in the antihypertensive drugs Cozaar and Hyzaar.
The Chatter: Although DuPont stock is off, it's still the only local company among the 30 firms in the Dow Jones industrial average, and it has seen exports rise on the falling dollar.
1050 Westlakes Dr., Berwyn
Phone 610-893-9800
Founded 1941
CEO: Thomas J. Lynch
NYSE: TEL
Market cap: $19.03 billion *
Stock-div return one year: n/a **
Spun out of the Tyco conglomerate, Tyco Electronics is focused just on its Electronics, Wireless, Network Solutions and Undersea Communications segments. It makes and markets everything from switches, touch screens and sensors to infrastructure components for telecommunications and energy markets, to support for communications, radar and defense applications. Its Undersea segment builds, designs and maintains undersea fiber-optic networks.
The Chatter: A year ago, Tyco Electronics became independent after Ed Breen of New Hope - still chief executive officer of Tyco International Ltd. - made good on his promise to break up the conglomerate after he could not improve its returns. Lynch, formerly of Motorola Inc., was in place to take the helm.
LINCOLN NATIONAL CORP.
150 N. Radnor-Chester Rd., Radnor
Phone 484-583-1400
Founded 1904
President/CEO: Dennis R. Glass
NYSE: LNC
Market cap: $14.09 billion *
Stock-div return one year: down 21.4 percent **
Lincoln National does a variety of insurance and investment-management businesses. It offers annuities, broker-dealer services, term and universal life, employer-sponsored fixed and variable annuities, and mutual-fund-based programs through brokers, banks and individual planners. Its investment products and services include mutual funds for retail investors, and corporate and public retirement plans.
The Chatter: For a nonnative Philadelphia company (it came from Indiana), Lincoln National became one of the city's biggest boosters after buying naming rights to the Eagles stadium. Then, in true Philly style, it moved to the suburbs.
Campbell Place, Camden
856-342-4800
Founded 1869
President/CEO: Douglas R. Conant
NYSE: CPB
Market cap: $12.62 billion *
Stock-div return one year: down 10.9 percent **
Campbell reaches far beyond its iconic soups. Its products include ready-to-serve soups, pasta sauce, Mexican sauce, chili, canned pasta and gravies. It makes meal kits, juice drinks, cookies and frozen products in the United States. It sells biscuits in Australia and the Asia Pacific, and beverages in Europe, Mexico, Latin America and the Asia Pacific. Its brand is sold by food chains, mass merchandisers and convenience stores.
The Chatter: Sure, international sales have soared and its stock - despite a recent dip - has averaged 10 percent growth a year since 2003. But Campbell still couldn't overcome local preservationists and raze an abandoned Sears building in Camden.
1650 Market St., Philadelphia
215-761-1000
Founded 1792
Chairman/President/CEO: H. Edward Hanway
NYSE: CI
Market cap: $11.28 billion *
Stock-div return one year: down 14.6 percent **
Operating around the globe, Cigna's Health Care segment offers insured and self-funded medical, dental, behavioral health, vision, and prescription drug benefit plans. Its Disability and Life segment provides, among other things, group long-term and short-term disability insurance.
The Chatter: Looking to the next presidential term, Cigna has been trying to move down-market and attract smaller employers, partly to brace for changing health-care polices.
100 Independence Mall West, Philadelphia
215-592-3000
Founded 1907
Chairman/CEO: Raj L. Gupta
NYSE: ROH
Market cap: $10.53 billion *
Stock-div return one year: 7.4 percent **
Rohm & Haas materials are found in everything from electronics to paint. It supplies materials and fabrication services for printed circuit boards used in computers, cell phones, automobiles and other devices. It markets materials for LCD and plasma displays, bio-processing, advanced water treatment. It even offers table and specialty salts for water conditioning, ice control, food processing.
The Chatter: The company's failed effort to sell its Morton Salt unit turned out to be a blessing: Bad weather drove up demand for ice-control products, and the weak dollar helped boost salt sales overseas. That helped make it one of the few big regional companies to show a gain in total return.
CENTRAL EUROPEAN DISTRIBUTION CORP.
2 Bala Plaza, Suite 300, Bala Cynwyd
610-660-7817
Founded 1990
Chairman/President/CEO: William V. Carey
NASDAQ: CEDC
Market cap: $3.06 billion *
Stock-div return one year: 99.9 percent **
With its product heart in Poland and administrative head in the suburbs of Philadelphia, CEDC produces, distributes, imports and exports alcoholic beverages worldwide - roughly 700 brands in all. Its imports include Carlo Rossi Wines, Remy Martin Cognac, Guinness, Grants Whiskey, Jagermeister, Campari and Skyy Vodka. It distributes to duty-free stores, supermarkets, bars, hotels and restaurants.
The Chatter: Perhaps the lowest-profile, highest-performing local public company, CEDC, run by Florida native Bill Carey, 43, used the collapse of the Berlin Wall to create a beverage empire. Last month, the Poland-centered firm turned the imperial tables further by acquiring a Russian wine and spirits importer.
40 Valley Stream Parkway, Malvern
484-321-5900
Founded 1999
President/CEO: Armando Anido
NASDAQ: AUXL
Market cap: $1.29 billion *
Stock-div return one year: 82.8 percent **
Auxilium is developing products mainly for urologists, endocrinologists, orthopedists and select primary-care physicians. While most products are still in development, it does market a topical testosterone gel for hypogonadism. It has rights to seven pain products.
The Chatter: Auxilium was the top performer among all local life-science public companies, which is no mean feat in a region packed with bioscience firms. Uber-investor George Soros listed AUXL in his top 10 stock holdings in March.
303 Lippincott Centre, Marlton
856-810-6200
Founded 1976
Chairman/CEO: Irvin E. Richter
NYSE: HIL
Market cap: $656 million *
Stock-div return one year: 75.7 percent **
Hill International is a construction project manager, offering fee-based services worldwide. It specializes in project management and oversight, construction management, and "troubled" project turnaround. Its Construction Claims segment helps prevent or resolve claims and disputes based upon schedule delays, cost overruns and other problems.
The Chatter: Americans may no longer have the tallest buildings, but they evidently can manage construction of them as well as anybody. A U.S. construction trade magazine recently listed Hill International among the most sought-after construction managers worldwide.
Routes 55 & 553, Pitman
856-589-0500
Founded 1964
Chairman/CEO: Edward B. Cloues II
NASDAQ: KTII
Market cap: $372 million *
Stock-div return one year: 67.4 percent **
Smashing and sifting stuff is the specialty of K-Tron, a maker of material-handling equipment. Its feeders are used in plastics compounding, food, and chemical and pharmaceutical industries. It makes and markets hammer mills, double-roll crushers, and other machines used in power generation, mining, pulp and paper, and forest-products industries.
The Chatter: Under Cloues, K-Tron has acquired one company a year, on average, since he became CEO a decade ago. Its steady expansion is mirrored in its stock price in recent years - relentlessly up.
Route 141 & Henry Clay Road, Building E336, Wilmington
302-498-6700
Founded 1991
President/CEO: Paul A. Friedman
NASDAQ: INCY
Market cap: $764 million *
Stock-div return one year: 59.5 percent **
Incyte is developing biotech drugs hoping to treat conditions like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), diabetes, oncology, and inflammation diseases. Among its experimental compounds are potential treatments for myelofibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Type 2 diabetes, breast cancer and multiple sclerosis.
The Chatter: Launched in 1991 to develop gene-mapping technology, and once commanding $140 a share, Incyte now pursues small-molecule drugs itself, but hasn't topped $20 in years. Its yearlong stock rise got close, but then turned south recently after an experimental product got a negative review.
30 S. 17th St., Philadelphia
215-972-0420
Founded 1977
President/CEO: Michael J. McKelvey
NASDAQ: ERES
Market cap: $810 million *
Stock-div return one year: 58 percent **
Working on the back end of drug development, eResearch helps pharmaceutical, biotech and medical-device companies collect and interpret cardiac safety and clinical data. Its products include the EXPeRT Cardiac Safety data-management system and EXPeRT Portal that gives clinical trial researchers and staff real-time access to progress reports. It also provides study initiation, project management, technology- and regulatory-review services.
The Chatter: The worse things got on drug safety in recent years, the better it got for companies like eResearch, which does the testing. Wall Street cheered McKelvey's appointment a year ago and kept buying.
1735 Market St., Philadelphia
215-299-6000
Founded 1884
NYSE: FMC
Chairman/President/CEO: William G. Walter
Market cap: $5.49 billion *
Stock-div return one year: 48.3 percent **
A chemical-maker, FMC's crop protection, pest control, and lawn and garden products are sold worldwide. It makes herbicides to protect various crops, turf, and roadsides from weed growth. Its microcrystalline cellulose is used as a drug dry-tablet binder, its carrageenan for thickening and stabilizing food products, and its lithium for batteries, greases and lubricants.
The Chatter: Soda ash, a key ingredient in everything from glass to detergent to agriculture, has gotten pricier as demand soars around the world. And FMC, a big supplier, has thrived.
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