Health care and real estate dominate a list of the country’s 15 most profitable privately-held businesses, according to a report released Wednesday by Sageworks, a financial information company.

    That heavy representation – nearly half the list – reflects the growth in those areas. Universal healthcare has spawned an influx of insured patients while the housing and office markets have rebounded from its recession-era doldrums.

    Sagework’s rankings are based on the company profit margins over the 12 months ending in June. The calculations exclude taxes and include owner compensation in excess of their market-rate salaries.

    Also featured heavily on the list are various service-based industry sectors like accounting and legal services, largely because of their consistent demand for their services combined with relatively low operating costs, according to Sageworks analyst Jenna Weaver. “These kinds of businesses sell services from bookkeeping to legal advice to health care and do not need to purchase as many, if any, physical goods,” Weaver said in a statement.

    (Note: Profit margins of companies that made last year’s list have been revised since their initial release).

    金融信息公司Sageworks周三发布报告显示，美国私营部门中15个最赚钱的行业以医疗保健和房地产为主。

    它们在榜单上占据了几乎一半的位置，由此也反映出这些领域正快速增长。“全民医保计划”使得享有医保的病人激增，而住宅和写字楼市场也已经从衰退中反弹回来。

    Sageworks以截止到今年6月的过去12个月内公司的利润率为基础，制出了这份榜单。他们在统计中排除了税务因素，计入了企业主在市场水平的工资之外的经营收入。

    在这份榜单中，服务行业也占据了不少席位，如会计和法律服务。根据Sageworks分析师詹娜•韦弗的说法，这很大程度上是由于市场对这类服务的需求很大，而它们的运营成本相对较低。韦弗在声明中表示：“这类公司提供从记账到法律咨询到卫生保健的各种服务，却不需要购入太多固定资产。”

    （说明：去年上榜行业的利润率在今年上榜时已经进行了修订。）

    1. Accounting, tax preparation, book keeping and payroll services

    This industry sector tops the list with a net profit margin of 19.8%, an improvement over the revised 16.3% from last year. Like several other service-based industries on this list, accounting et al. make for consistently profitable businesses because they are generally in demand and can operate with fairly low overhead and equipment costs.

    第1：会计、报税、记账以及工资服务

    这一行业在榜单上排名第一，纯利润率达到19.8%，比去年的16.3%还要高。与上榜的其他服务型行业类似，会计等行业是能够持续盈利的生意，因为它们的需求量很大，而日常开支和设备成本却相当低。

    2. Legal services

    Much like accounting, law firms and other legal services see constant demand from giant companies as well as the average Joe. They also boast relatively low operating costs because a large portion of spending goes toward maintaining a knowledgeable, specialized staff rather than investing in equipment or tools. After topping this list last year with a profit margin of 18.3%, this industry comes in second this year with a margin of 17.8%.

    第2：法律服务

    律师事务所和其他法律服务公司与会计业类似，无论是企业巨头还是普通人都对它们都有着持续的需求。它们的运营成本也相对较低，因为大部分花费都只是用来留住知识丰富的专业员工，而不是用来投资于设备或工具。法律服务在去年以18.3%的纯利润率高居榜首，今年的纯利润率则为17.8%。

    Tied 3. Oil and gas extraction

    Oil and gas are booming in the U.S. thanks to increased production of crude oil and shale gas that is making the country less reliant on foreign imports. As such, this industry sector remained in third place with a profit margin that increased from 15.1% to 16.4%.

    并列第3：石油与天然气开采

    由于美国增加了原油和页岩气的产量，以便减少对进口的依赖，这一行业在美国得以飞速发展。该行业与去年一样排在榜单第三，纯利润率则由15.1%升至16.4%。

    Tied 3. Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment rental and leasing

    The profit margins for this industry jumped from 13.4% to 16.4% year over year, but the industry still ties for third on the 2014 list as growth in both home and industrial construction lifts demand for machinery and tools.

    并列第3：商业和工业机械，以及设备租赁

    这一领域的纯利润率在一年内从13.4%升至16.4%，不过仍然只在2014年的榜单上并列第三。房屋和工业建设的增加，促进了对机械工具的需求，使得这一行业从中得利。

    5. Dentist offices

    Everyone goes to the dentist twice a year, right? Seriously, this is an industry with constant demand and, like other health care-related areas, it should see even greater demand as the number of insured patients continues to grow thanks to implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Profit margins for the most recent 12 months was 14.9%, compared to 12.7% last year.

    第5：牙医

    每个人一年都要去看两次牙医，对吧？说真的，牙医的需求量很大，而且该行业与其他医疗卫生行业一样，随着《平价医疗法案》（Affordable Care Act）的实施，享受医保的病人数量的增多，会拥有越来越大的需求。这一行业的纯利润率从去年的12.7%升至今年的14.9%。

    Tied 6. Real estate leasing

    This industry sector finds itself in a three-way tie in the list's sixth spot with profit margins of 14.1%, up from 10.4% last year. As the economy improves, the housing market generally follows suit, meaning more business for landlords who, in turn, can hike up rental prices.

    并列第6：房地产租赁

    房地产租赁与其他两个领域并列第六，纯利润率从去年的10.4%升至14.1%。随着经济形势好转，房屋市场也随之回暖，这意味着房东将更加忙碌，而且可以提高租赁价格。

    Tied 6. Doctors

    Physicians move up the list this year into a three-way tie for sixth place with a profit margin of 14.1%, up from last year's margin of 12.2%. Again, doctor visits are a necessary and regular expense for most of us, meaning consistent profits for this industry sector. And, yes, the growing insured population will only deepen the pool of doctors’ prospective patients.

    并列第6：医生

    医生在今年也上升到并列第六的名次，纯利润率从去年的12.2%升至14.1%。这里又要再次提到，对大多数人来说，看医生是日常生活中不可或缺的，属于常规消费，这意味着该行业能够稳定盈利。而且越来越多的美国人有了医保，因此医生将接待更多病人。

    Tied 6. Real estate agents and brokers

    It’s not surprising to find another real estate-driven sector in this three-way tie for sixth place at 14.1%. Like landlords, real estate agents and brokers have also benefitted from the recent housing boom and increasing rental prices, hence the jump from margins of 11.6% over the previous year.

    并列第6：房地产代理商和经纪人

    在三个纯利润率均为14.1%、并列第6名的行业中，又出现一个房地产相关领域并不令人惊讶。由于最近房地产市场繁荣，租赁价格上涨，和房东一样，房地产代理商和经纪人也从中受益，这使得该领域的纯利润率在去年11.6%的基础上又有提升。

    Tied 9. Other health practitioners

    With a 12.6% net profit margin, this sector continues to prove that pretty much every corner of the health care industry is likely to turn a decent profit. This subsector posted a margin of 12.5% over the previous year.

    并列第9：其他健康行业从业者

    这一领域有着12.6%的纯利润率，又一次证明医疗行业的方方面面都能获得可观的利润。该领域去年的纯利润率为12.5%。

    Tied 9. Management companies

    Privately-held management companies and holding companies also saw a 12.6% profit margin after failing to crack the top-15 on Sageworks' list last year.

    并列第9：管理公司

    私人所有的管理公司和股份公司尽管去年没有上榜，但今年的纯利润率达到了12.6%。

    11. Outpatient care centers

    This was the only health sector on the Sageworks rankings to see a drop in its profit margin, falling from fourth to eleventh in the rankings. But, privately-operated outpatient care centers still recorded an 11.7% net profit margin, compared to a margin of 13.8% in the previous year, and data show that the number of outpatient visits continues to rise.

    第11：门诊医疗中心

    这是Sageworks的榜单中唯一纯利润率下滑的医疗部门，从去年的第4名跌至今年的第11名。不过比起去年13.8%的纯利润率，私人经营的门诊医疗中心今年的纯利润率依旧有11.7%，而且数据显示门诊病人的数量还在持续增加。

    12. Other schools and instruction

    It would stand to reason that an improved economy would mean higher profits for private schools and other educational institutions, despite generally high operational spending going toward instructional staff and maintenance costs. This sector posted a profit margin of 11.3% in the most recent year after failing to crack the top 15 last year.

    第12：其他学校和培训机构

    尽管需要在教学人员和维护上花费较多费用，但私人学校和其他培训机构显然能够借助经济增长获得更大利润。该行业在去年没有进入前15名的榜单，但今年获得了11.3%的纯利润率。

    13. Real estate-related activities

    Again, the real estate market has bounced back from the burst housing bubble of 2007 and nearly all connected businesses have been reaping benefits. This ancillary sector cracked the Sageworks list this year with a profit margin of 10.8%.

    第13：房地产相关活动

    又是房地产。房地产市场从2007年的泡沫破裂中复苏，所有相关行业都开始大肆盈利。这一附属领域去年没有上榜，今年的纯利润率为10.8%。

    14. Death care services

    Well, obviously. There’s no industry as morbidly consistent as death care services, which made it onto this year’s list with a net profit margin of 10.7%. What’s more, despite the lack of return customers (Sorry!), the growing U.S. population does technically make this a growth industry.

    第14：殡葬服务

    显然，没有哪个行业能够像殡葬服务业一样令人毛骨悚然地持续稳定。该行业以10.7%的纯利润率上榜。尽管这一行业缺少回头客（抱歉了！），但美国人口的增加却让其变成了一个迅速发展的行业。

    15. Mining support

    Growth in the global mining industry has slowed of late, affecting this industry subsector, which saw its profit margin dip from 12% to 10.5%. However, support services, which include core sampling and geological surveying, clearly weren’t hit quite as hard as the rest of the industry because they have lower operating costs than mining operators that spend big on equipment and energy costs.

    第15：矿产服务业

    近来全球采矿业的增长速度放缓，导致其子行业也受到影响，矿产服务业的纯利润率从去年的12%跌至今年的10.5%。然而，包括岩心采样和地质调查在内的矿产服务业显然不像其他子行业那样受到严重影响，因为它们的运营成本更低，这和那些必须花很多钱购买设备和能源的采矿者可不一样。（财富中文网）

    译者：严匡正