The ten largest companies' net income is 3.6 times its 2019 level; the other 788 names' is 1.7 times
Aggregate trailing-four-quarter net income of the ten largest reader-safe companies by market cap (31 Jul 2026) and of the rest of a constant panel, indexed to 100 in 2019 Q4, quarterly to 2026 Q2.
Aggregate net income, indexed
Trailing four quarters, 2019 Q4 = 100
Ten largest: NVDA, AAPL, GOOGL, MSFT, AMZN, META, TSLA, BRK.B, LLY, JPM.
What it shows · fact
Since 2019 Q4 the aggregate net income of the ten largest companies has grown to 358 on an index of 100 (+21.7% a year); the other 788 names reached 165 (+8.0% a year).
The ten now earn 40% of the panel's net income, against 23% in 2019 Q4, and the 9 of them with a factor-score market cap hold 41% of the market value of the 606 panel names with caps on both dates, against 22%.
Why it matters · inference
On the 606 panel names with a market cap on both dates (which leaves out BRK.B), the largest names' share of profits rose 22 points (19% to 41%) and their share of market value 19 points (22% to 41%): the concentration in prices has been matched by a concentration of profits.
The ten are chosen by today's market cap, which favours the winners: a list chosen in 2019 would show less dominance. This is a description of today's leaders, not a test of a strategy.
What would change this read
Two or three quarters in which the rest grow profits faster than the ten would mark a broadening of earnings leadership.
A profit slowdown in the ten while the hyperscalers among them keep raising capital spending (see Graph 2, which tracks their capital spending) would put the link between their prices and their profits under pressure.
Method
- Constant panel: names with trailing four-quarter GAAP net income in every calendar quarter from 2019 Q4 to the latest quarter with broad reporting coverage.
- Ten largest = the ten largest panel names by market cap at 2026-07-31 (factor-score market cap, or close x latest shares where missing). Selection on today's size introduces look-ahead bias.
- Market-value shares use factor-score market caps at quarter-end (2019 Q4 and 2026 Q2) for the 606 panel names with a value on both dates; BRK.B has no factor-score market cap and is left out of the market-value comparison only.
- Survivor bias: history is computed on today's reader-safe universe (833 names), so companies that left the market earlier are missing and the earlier years describe today's survivors, not the market as it was.
Sources
- MCH research warehouse, quarterly statements (Alpha Vantage, as restated).
- MCH research warehouse, monthly factor scores (trailing earnings yield, market cap).
Universe
| Names in the published feed | 886 |
| Excluded: held, suspended, withdrawn, deferred, deal-pending or pending review | 53 |
| Reader-safe universe | 833 |
| Dropped: missing net income in at least one quarter since 2019 Q4 | 35 |
| Used in this exhibit | 798 |
Names whose rating is held, suspended, withdrawn, deferred or under a pending deal are excluded from every exhibit, so no held output appears here.
General and impersonal investment research. Not personal financial advice. Forecasts, valuations and model outputs are estimates and may be wrong. See Investment Disclaimer.
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