Owner earnings
Cash the owner could take out without shrinking the business.
In plain English
What an owner could take home this year without letting the place run down.
Try it with pocket-money numbers. $100 of profit, plus a $20 wear-and-tear charge that was never actually cash leaving, minus $30 spent keeping the equipment good: 100 + 20 − 30 = $90.
That is the whole calculation. The tables below run it on what 514 companies actually filed.
| Formula | Net income + depreciation & amortisation − capital expenditure |
|---|---|
| Companies reporting it | 514 of 573 |
| Median | $632.00m |
| Middle half | $11.63m – $2.14bn |
| Range | $-30.95bn – $116.87bn |
When it lies. Buffett’s definition subtracts only the capex needed to hold position, and no filer reports that split. Total capex stands in, so a company investing heavily to grow looks worse than it is.
By sector
| Sector | n | Median | 25th | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banks & insurers | 22 | $2.44bn | $1.26bn | $10.19bn |
| Industrials | 78 | $1.77bn | $810.00m | $3.55bn |
| Health care | 40 | $1.34bn | $128.49m | $5.79bn |
| Consumer discretionary | 45 | $1.11bn | $269.58m | $2.11bn |
| Technology | 45 | $959.51m | $43.02m | $5.17bn |
| Consumer staples | 43 | $610.00m | $37.20m | $1.70bn |
| Financial services | 27 | $546.82m | $236.78m | $3.55bn |
| Real estate | 48 | $505.14m | $43.65m | $977.09m |
| Energy | 34 | $447.00m | $35.02m | $2.06bn |
| Investment company | 1 | $339.99m | $339.99m | $339.99m |
| Communications | 31 | $53.50m | $-43.11m | $432.00m |
| Materials | 47 | $51.20m | $-170.00m | $651.38m |
| not classified | 2 | $-3.18m | $-3.18m | $-329.00k |
| Utilities | 51 | $-244.40m | $-1.36bn | $105.00m |
Highest owner earnings
| # | Ticker | Company | Sector | Owner earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NVDA | Nvidia | Technology | $116.87bn |
| 2 | AAPL | Apple | Technology | $110.99bn |
| 3 | GOOGL | Alphabet | Technology | $61.86bn |
| 4 | MSFT | Microsoft | Technology | $52.10bn |
| 5 | JNJ | Johnson & Johnson | Health care | $29.48bn |
| 6 | XOM | Exxon Mobil | Energy | $26.48bn |
| 7 | CMCSA | Comcast | Communications | $24.46bn |
| 8 | AVGO | Broadcom | Technology | $23.08bn |
| 9 | T | AT&T | Communications | $22.00bn |
| 10 | MS | Morgan Stanley | Banks & insurers | $18.62bn |
| 11 | VZ | Verizon Communications | Communications | $18.51bn |
| 12 | GS | Goldman Sachs Group | Banks & insurers | $17.29bn |
| 13 | MRK | Merck | Health care | $17.19bn |
| 14 | MA | Mastercard | Financial services | $15.62bn |
| 15 | CVX | Chevron | Energy | $15.08bn |
| 16 | PG | Procter & Gamble | Consumer staples | $14.80bn |
| 17 | LLY | Eli Lilly | Health care | $14.80bn |
| 18 | TMUS | T-Mobile US | Communications | $14.54bn |
| 19 | HD | Home Depot | Consumer discretionary | $13.99bn |
| 20 | UNH | Unitedhealth Group | Health care | $12.79bn |
Lowest
| # | Ticker | Company | Sector | Owner earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 514 | ORCL | Oracle | Technology | $-30.95bn |
| 513 | D | Dominion Energy | Utilities | $-7.27bn |
| 512 | SRE | Sempra | Utilities | $-6.21bn |
| 511 | PSKY | Paramount Skydance | Communications | $-6.06bn |
| 510 | XEL | Xcel Energy | Utilities | $-5.92bn |
| 509 | APD | Air Products & Chemicals | Materials | $-5.85bn |
| 508 | KHC | Kraft Heinz | Consumer staples | $-5.68bn |
| 507 | ETR | Entergy | Utilities | $-3.61bn |
| 506 | AES | AES | Utilities | $-3.56bn |
| 505 | IP | International Paper | Materials | $-2.63bn |