Ten Best Companies to Work For

1.      SAS

SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market.  Job growth: 3%,  no. of U.S. employees: 5,629.

2.      Boston Consulting Group

BCG is a global management consulting firm and the world's leading advisor on business strategy. We partner with clients in all sectors and regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their businesses.  Job growth: 2%,  no. of U.S. employees: 1,713.

3.      Wegman’s Food Markets

Headquartered in Rochester, New York, Wegmans is a privately held, family-owned company, founded in 1916 by the Wegman family. Danny Wegman is CEO, and Colleen Wegman, his daughter, is president. Robert Wegman, Danny’s father, was chairman until his death in April 2006.  Wegmans operates 77 stores: 47 in New York State, 14 in Pennsylvania, 7 in New Jersey, 6 in Virginia and 2 in Maryland. Wegmans will open its first store in Massachusetts in 2011.  Job growth: 6%,  no. of U.S. employees: 41,000+.

4.      Google

Beginning in 1996, Stanford University graduate students Larry Page and Sergey Brin built a search engine called “BackRub” that used links to determine the importance of individual web pages. By 1998 they had formalized their work, creating the company you know today as Google.  Today the company employs thousands of people worldwide.  Last year Google reported a 20% revenue increase and raised employee pay by 10%.

5.      NetApp

NetApp creates innovative products—storage systems and software that help customers around the world store, manage, protect, and retain one of their most precious corporate assets: their data.  Job growth: 9%,  no. of U.S. employees: 5,455.

6.      Zappos.com

Zappos.com original idea was to create a web site that offered the absolute best selection in shoes in terms of brands, styles, colors, sizes, and widths. Over the past 9 years, the brand and aspirations have evolved, and in addition to offering the best selection, with the goal to be the company that provides the absolute best service online -- not just in shoes, but in any category.  Job growth: 37%,  no. of U.S. employees: 1,843.

7.      Camden Property Trust

Camden Property Trust is one of the largest publicly traded multifamily companies in the United States. Structured as a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), the company is engaged in the ownership, development, acquisition, management, and disposition of multifamily residential apartment communities.  Job growth: 3.7%,  no. of U.S. employees: 1,800+.

8.      Nugget Market

A family-owned business, for one, and it has been since 1926, when it was started in Woodland, California, by the Stille family. The Stilles are still running the place today, now with nine Nugget Market locations in the greater Sacramento area.  Job growth: -2%,  no. of U.S. employees: 1,204.

9.      Recreational Equipment Inc. – REI

The company designs award-winning REI brand gear and clothing and donates millions of dollars to support conservation efforts nationwide and sends dedicated teams of volunteers—members, customers and REI employees—to build trails, clean up beaches, restore local habitats and more.  Job growth: -1%,  no. of U.S. employees: 9,280.

10.  DreamWorks Animation SKG

DreamWorks Animation SKG produces high-quality family entertainment through the use of computer-generated (CG) animation seen in movies like Shrek and Madagascar.  Job growth: 10%,  no. of U.S. employees: 1,994.

Intel Posts Profit That Beats Forecasts

By LAURIE J. FLYNN

Published: July 20, 2011   

Photo credit: Randy L. Rasmussen / The Oregonian

Hillsboro, Oregon -- Intel's new research facility in full swing. Expected to open in 2013.

SAN FRANCISCO — Intel said that the modernization of data centers — the engines behind cloud computing — were responsible for the strong worldwide sales the chip maker reported Wednesday.  Paul S. Otellini, chief executive, called the quarter strong across all of Intel's products.

 

“This was a very strong quarter across all our product lines and throughout the world,” said Paul S. Otellini, Intel’s chief executive, in a conference call with analysts. “Strong corporate demand for our most advanced technology, the surge of mobile devices and Internet traffic fueling data center growth, and the rapid rise of computing in emerging markets drove record results.”

Intel’s results were also lifted by strong demand from corporations and first-time purchases by customers in China and other emerging markets.

The company, the world’s largest maker of computer chips, said its net income after expenses rose 2 percent to $3 billion, or 54 cents a share, exceeding Wall Street estimates. Revenue increased 21 percent, to $13 billion.

Intel has for several quarters experienced a surge in demand for technology used in data centers, which store and process the huge amounts of information flowing across the Internet. The importance of that market was evident this week as Intel announced plans to acquire Fulcrum Microsystems, a privately held company that designs chips for data center networks. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Revenue from data centers today accounts for roughly 20 percent of Intel’s sales.

“I fully believe that it is the data center — the cloud — that is driving Intel,” said Patrick Wang, an analyst with Evercore Partners.

Demand for cloud computing is created by the soaring popularity of smartphones and tablets, which provide consumers with continuous, on-the-fly access to the Internet. Mr. Otellini told analysts in May that the technology industry needs one data center server computer for every 600 smartphones in use and one server for every 122 tablets. “We believe we are very early in the cloud build-out and that Intel is well positioned to grow,” Mr. Otellini said. During the second quarter, revenue growth in Intel’s data center group accounted for $2.44 billion.

Wall Street analysts had said earnings would remain flat at 51 cents a share while revenue would increase 19 percent to $12.84 billion. In the same period last year, Intel earned 51 cents a share on revenue of $10.77 billion.

Mr. Otellini said he expected Intel’s revenue to grow in the mid-20 percent range for the year. Revenue will be about $14 billion, Intel said, compared with a forecast of $13.5 billion.
Intel’s gross margin, the percentage of sales excluding production costs, will be about 64 percent, up from 61 percent in the second quarter.

Intel reported that sales in its PC group rose 11 percent, in stark contrast to reports of sluggish PC shipments worldwide. The technology research firm Gartner said last week that shipments grew only 2.3 percent during the second quarter, to 85.2 million computers.

But while Intel has continually confounded skeptics forecasting gloom in the PC market, the company has come under intense criticism lately for stumbling in the market for smartphones, where some analysts worry that it may be too late for Intel to catch up.

Products based on a competing chip standard, known as ARM, have quickly dominated the market. Intel is not expected to have a viable alternative on the market for several months.
Stacy J. Smith, Intel’s chief financial officer, said on Wednesday that production of its mobile chip was on track.

The financial report was issued after the close of regular trading Wednesday. Shares of Intel closed at $22.99, then declined slightly in after-hours trading. The second quarter was the first full period that included the results of McAfee and Infineon Wireless, which Intel acquired in the first quarter. Those businesses contributed about $1 billion in revenue during the second quarter.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: July 20, 2011

An earlier version of this article misstated the percentage increase in Intel's net income as 10 percent.