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D2:   Revenues and Profits of Global Information Technology Suppliers
    By Paul A. Strassmann
    53 Pages
    Date Published: 07/2000
    Online Price: $9.98

Summary

Analysis of revenues and profits of 2,272 listed global corporations reveals that only a handful of firms - all originating in the U.S - have captured most of the available profits. Though U.S. firms account for only 55.4% of total industry revenues, they capture 95.9% of all available profits. This pattern is particularly pronounced in the computer segment where 188 U.S. firms collect 129.7% of total available profits and in the software segment where 1,102 U.S. firms account for 82.4% of total available profits.

Information technology suppliers are only rarely profitable, with 149 out of a total of 305 computer firms losing money, and with 808 out of a total of 1503 software firms showing negative profits. Though most of the information technology sectors show that profit-makers are approximately balanced against corresponding profit-losers, the extraordinary profit gains by a very small number of firms largely explains the aggregate economic contribution of the information technology firms.

The findings in this paper are backed up by detailed listings of every public information technology supplier firm, tabulated according to their country of origin and showing their current revenues as well as profit results. This analysis raises doubts about most of the prevailing euphoric views about the economic potential of information technology firms.

Table of Contents

5 Summary
    The Global Concentration of I.T. Firms
    Data Sources
7 U.S. Share of Global Revenues and Profits
7 Sector Shares of Revenues and Profits
8 Profiles of Profitability
8 Computer Firms
10 Component Firms
11 Software Firms
12 Management Implications
13 Appendix A Revenues and Profits of Computer Firms
21 Appendix B Revenues and Profits of Component Firms
31 Appendix C Revenues and Profits of Software Firms
52 Appendix D SIC Codes Included in this Study

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