鉴于当前经济复苏迟缓和消费者手头拮据，你或许会认为美国企业也步履蹒跚，难以全速迎接辉煌。事实上，财富美国500强总体生意兴隆。与美国经济不同，这些公司显现出动如脱兔般的敏捷和灵活性，迅速转变产品组合，几乎没增加多少成本就生产出了更多的产品。这样的敏捷和灵活性，不禁会让人忘了这些公司庞大的规模和通常上了年纪的岁数。比如，成立已160周年的富国银行（Wells Fargo）（排第26位）2011年宣布实现利润159亿美元，较2010年大增28%。“我们一直能够在艰难时期通过创新实现业务繁荣，这些创新包括在移动设备上推广银行业务以及在其他公司都退出时拓展我们的按揭业务，”富国银行首席财务官蒂莫西•斯隆表示。

    富国银行丰厚的利润令人赞叹，但这样的盈利并非个别现象。2011年，财富美国500强公司总共创造了8,245亿美元的利润，较2010年增长16.4%，并超越了经济高速增长的2006年的7,850亿美元利润。从两项关键的历史指标看，2011年的利润也很高。2011年财富美国500强公司的利润/总销售额比率为7%，高于58年来的平均值5.14%。另外，2011年的资本回报率也表现出色，权益回报率达到14.3%，远高于历史均值12%。

    但这些骄人的数字不能持久。商业周期的万有引力最终将截断贡献利润的洪流，部分原因是很多公司在经济危机期间疯狂裁员，要保持增长将不得不雇佣更多员工。那么，就让我们尽情享受这一辉煌却短暂的时刻吧，这绝非什么可持续的新时代。

    财富美国500强公司是如何在艰难的环境下实现巨额利润的？通过两种方式：提高生产率和全球化。500强公司将成本控制在低水平，即便是在经济缓慢复苏的初期、公司销售开始增长之时。另外，500强公司也开始在经济增速快于美国的发展中经济体中经营更多的业务。这两个因素共同打造了所谓“运营杠杆”的强大利润引擎。从2008年底的金融危机开始，很多公司大砍成本，尤其是劳动力成本，仿佛经济大萧条已风雨欲来。从2009年底经济重现增长以来，这些公司也一直不愿雇佣更多的员工；员工成本占其总成本的近70%。如今，财富美国500强公司在全球共雇佣2,580万人，较2007年仅增加不到1%。而且，美国公司只是维持工资增幅与通胀持平，2011年平均涨薪2%。

    劳动生产率的猛增也是一个因素。2005年，财富美国500强公司每位员工创造的销售收入为369,000美元。去年，这一数字达到了455,000美元，增幅达23%。每位员工创造的利润达到创纪录的32,000美元，比00年代初期高出50%。500强公司还通过降低利息支出实现了增效，包括用利润偿还债务以及以极低利率发行新债券这两种方式。举例来说，富国银行利用这两种方式将2011年的利息成本同比消减了14亿美元。

    企业规模在2011年也是一大优势。“大公司一贯比小企业做得好，主要的原因是它们有大得多的全球业务覆盖。”Moody's Analytics的首席经济学家马克•赞迪表示。财富美国500强公司有近40%的销售额来自海外市场。尽管欧洲经济状况欠佳，2011年海外业务仍增长了3.1%，大大高于美国业务的1.7%增幅。

    Given the sluggish recovery and a strapped consumer, you'd expect to see corporate America trudging along, not racing for glory. In fact, the Fortune 500 are thriving as a group. Unlike the U.S. economy, they've shown quicksilver agility, rapidly shifting their product mix and producing more goods at little new cost. This nimbleness belies the immense size of these companies and, frequently, their advanced age. For example, banking giant Wells Fargo (No. 26) celebrated its 160th anniversary with profits of $15.9 billion, up 28% over 2010. "We've been able to prosper in these difficult times by innovating, whether promoting banking on mobile devices or growing our mortgage business when others are leaving," says Wells Fargo CFO Timothy Sloan.

    Wells Fargo's (WFC) fat profits are impressive but by no means unusual. The Fortune 500 generated a total of $824.5 billion in earnings last year, up 16.4% over 2010. That beats the previous record of $785 billion, set in 2006 during a roaring economy. The 2011 profits are outsize based on two key historical metrics. They represent 7% of total sales, vs. an average of 5.14% over the 58-year history of the Fortune 500. Companies are also garnering exceptional returns on their capital. The 500 achieved a return-on-equity of 14.3%, far above the historical norm of 12%.

    These big numbers can't last. The gravitational pull of the business cycle will eventually end the profit bonanza, in part because many companies carried out brutal layoffs during the recession and will now be forced to hire more workers to maintain their growth. So let's enjoy it as a heroic but fleeting moment, not a durable new age.

    How did the 500 mine huge profits in a harsh environment? Two ways: productivity gains and globalization. The 500 companies kept costs low even as their sales grew in the early stages of a slow recovery. The 500 are also doing more business in developing economies that are growing faster than the U.S. Together, these two factors created a powerful earnings engine called "operating leverage." Starting with the financial crisis of late 2008, companies slashed costs, especially labor, as if a depression were looming. Since the economy began expanding again in late 2009, they've been reluctant to hire more workers, who account for almost 70% of their total costs. Today the Fortune 500 employs 25.8 million people worldwide, up by less than 1% since 2007. And U.S. companies are simply keeping wages even with inflation, granting average raises of 2% in 2011.

    The result has been an explosion in labor productivity. In 2005 the 500 generated $369,000 in sales per employee. Last year that figure reached $455,000, an increase of 23%. Profits per worker hit a record of $32,000, 50% above the level in the early 2000s. The 500 also reaped major rewards from lowering interest payments, both by tapping bigger earnings to reduce debt and by issuing new bonds at bargain rates. Wells Fargo, for example, used both strategies to pare its interest cost by $1.4 billion from 2010 to 2011.

    Size was a big advantage last year. "The big companies consistently did better than the small players, chiefly because they have far more global reach," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. The 500 pull almost 40% of their sales from foreign markets. Despite Europe's economic travails, growth outside the United States reached 3.1% in 2011, dwarfing the U.S. figure of 1.7%.

    去年，航空航天和工业控制领域的巨头霍尼韦尔国际（Honeywell International）（排第77位）在中国、印度等高成长市场的营收增长了12亿美元，增幅20%，几乎占公司总销售额增长的三分之一。“我们预计未来5年我们的营收增长将有近一半来自新兴市场。”霍尼韦尔国际的首席财务官戴维•安德森表示。

    周期性消费、能源和金融服务三大领域贡献了去年1,160亿美元新增利润的73%。周期性消费是包含多样的一个领域，主要由汽车和汽车零配件构成，相关公司去年利润增长210亿美元。通用汽车（GM ）（排第5位）利润猛增49%至92亿美元。2010年底以来，通用汽车推出了主打雪佛兰科鲁兹（Chevy Cruze）紧凑车型和Sonic次紧凑车型的一系列热销车型。

    自2009年破产重组以来，通用汽车已将成本压缩到这样的水平：只要美国汽车市场达到1,050万辆（去年的数据：1,280万辆）时，公司就可以赚钱。这比通用汽车过去的盈亏平衡点低了整整500万辆。

    Honeywell International (No. 77), the aerospace and industrial controls colossus, raised revenues by $1.2 billion, or 20%, last year in high-growth markets such as China and India. That accounted for almost one-third of Honeywell's (HON) total sales growth. "We expect about half of our revenue growth to come in emerging markets over the next five years," says CFO David Anderson.

    Three sectors -- consumer cyclicals, energy, and financial services -- generated 73% of last year's $116 billion earnings gain. Consumer cyclicals is a diverse category dominated by motor vehicles and auto parts, businesses that produced a $21 billion rise in earnings last year. Profits at GM (No. 5) rose by 49%, to $9.2 billion. GM has introduced a fleet of briskly selling models since late 2010, led by the compact Chevy Cruze and the subcompact Sonic.

    Since emerging from bankruptcy in 2009, GM (GM) has also curbed costs to the point where it makes money when the U.S. car market reaches 10.5 million units (last year's figure: 12.8 million). That's a remarkable 5 million units below GM's old profitability threshold. 

    再看看福特汽车（Ford）（排第9位），利润骤增208%至202亿美元。去年，福特创造了良好的营运利润，在包括中型车Fusion在内的强大产品线带动下，美国销量增长9%；Fusion车型是丰田（Toyota）凯美瑞（Camry）车型的有力竞争对手。但是，利润巨幅增长很大程度上源于一项加大了基期税务损失的会计调整。几年来，这些损失一直被视为是毫无价值的，因为福特一直没有实现盈利。如今，福特再次盈利，这些递延效应将减少其未来的现金税负。

    油价高涨也转化为埃克森美孚（Exxon Mobil）等能源公司的巨额利润。2011年，埃克森美孚营收高达4,530亿美元，超过了上年排名第一的沃尔玛（Wal-Mart），荣登财富美国500强公司榜首。这是埃克森美孚第十三次拔得头筹，也是在过去10年来埃克森美孚和沃尔玛两家第六度交换冠亚军位置。由于埃克森美孚大部分成本都相对固定，去年油价大涨为其利润贡献良多。（2010年的头号种子沃尔玛去年流年不利：经济缓慢复苏对沃尔玛的低端消费者客户群打击沉重，《纽约时报》（New York Times）率先报道了沃尔玛的墨西哥贿赂丑闻，致使近月该股股价下跌。）

    Over at Ford (No. 9), profits jumped 208%, to $20.2 billion. Ford generated healthy operating earnings, raising unit sales 9% in the U.S. last year with a strong lineup that includes the midsize Fusion, a worthy competitor to the Toyota Camry. However, much of the swing came from an accounting change that increased the value of Ford's past tax losses. For years those losses looked worthless because Ford (F) had no earnings. Now that Ford is making money again, those deferred benefits will decrease its future cash taxes.

    High prices at the pump translated into great results for energy companies like Exxon Mobil, which topped the Fortune 500 with $453 billion in revenues, edging out last year's winner Wal-Mart. It's the 13th time that Exxon has taken first place, and the sixth time that Exxon and Wal-Mart have traded the top two positions during the past decade. Exxon (XOM) also led the 500 with $41.1 billion in earnings, up 35% over the previous year. Because most of Exxon Mobil's costs are relatively fixed, last year's surge in oil prices fell heavily to the bottom line. (It's been a mixed year for last year's No. 1: Wal-Mart's (WMT) low-end consumer base has been hit hard by the slow recovery, and the stock recently plunged on news of a massive bribery scandal involving its operations in Mexico, first reported by the New York Times.) 

    华尔街的朋友们或许正在抱怨奖金缩水，但金融服务业正在经历一场称得上是东山再起的复苏。2011年，该领域利润为1,500亿美元，较2010年增长19%。这远远低于2005年前后达到的峰值，但较之2008年危机时期的巨亏2,130亿美元已有长足进步。风光不再的美国国际集团（AIG）（排第33位）全面复苏。2011年，美国国际集团实现利润178亿美元，较上一年大增100亿美元。与福特一样，利润增长的大部分也来自其税务损失价值的增记。但美国国际集团也通过剥离资产和销售股票将其长期债务从1,780亿美元降到了750亿美元，与此同时，在首席执行官罗伯特•本默切的领导下扩张核心的保险业务。另外，大宗商品经纪公司INTL FCStone（排第30位）也搭上了全球大宗商品价格大涨的顺风车，成为500强公司中每位员工营收、每美元资产创造营收和每美元净资产创造营收这三项指标排名第一的公司。

    在金融领域中，大型商业银行的业务也出现了复苏。2011年，美国银行（Bank of America）（排第13位） 实现14亿美元利润，扭转了上一年巨亏22亿美元的局面。美国银行得益的因素包括出售资产（包括部分建设银行股份），以及经济环境改善导致其信贷成本大幅下降。

    科技领域没有像前些年那样成为利润机器。科技业利润仅增长50亿美元，不过1,560亿美元利润仍使之成为贡献利润最高的行业，略高于复苏之中的金融业。行业的整体状况掩盖了苹果（Apple）（排第17位）和微软（Microsoft）（排第37位）这两大巨头的光芒。苹果利润激增85%至259亿美元，受史上最热销的两款消费电子产品iPhone和 iPad的推动，这两款产品一起贡献了670亿美元的销售额，是2010年数额的两倍多。

    微软也鸿运当头，利润大增23%至232亿美元。利润贡献来自其热销的视频游戏主机Xbox 360销售额大增48%，商业软件和服务利润跃升23%。科技股中拖后腿的是美国电话电报（AT&T）（排第11位）。这家电信公司2010年利润是通过出售资产而虚增的。相比之下，2011年美国电话电报公司受到两项沉重打击：未能完成T-Mobile 交易而支付42亿美元的分手费，养老金记账调整造成63亿美元支出。

    尽管我们的大公司看起来可能庞大而无特色，它们也遵从创造性破坏的逻辑。与2010年不同，财富美国500强公司里面没了房屋建筑商或教育公司的身影。相反，采矿、金属和能源生产贡献了新入围26家公司中的7家。财富500强公司的状况起起伏伏。但如今值得关注的是，大多数公司如此努力推动员工用更少的资源创造更多的价值。未来数年，请注意风向将转向对员工有利。情况向来如此。这就是财富美国500强公司。

    译者：早稻米

    Your friends on Wall Street may be complaining about smaller bonuses, but financial services are experiencing a comeback of sorts. For 2011, the sector posted $150 billion in earnings, up 19% over 2010. That's far from its peak in the mid-2000s, but a big stride from the $213 billion loss that the industry suffered in the crisis year of 2008. One tarnished name, AIG (No. 33), is enjoying a remarkable revival. AIG earned $17.8 billion in 2011, up $10 billion over the previous year. Most of that gain came, like Ford's, from a write-up in the value of its tax losses. But AIG (AIG) has also shed assets and sold stock to lower its long-term debt from $178 billion to $75 billion, while growing its core insurance franchises under CEO Robert Benmosche. Meanwhile, commodities broker INTL FCStone (No. 30) rode a global surge in commodity prices, topping the list in revenues per employee, revenues per dollar of assets, and revenues per dollar of equity. 

    The financial sector also saw a revival in the fortunes of the big commercial banks. Bank of America (No. 13) swung from a $2.2 billion loss to a $1.4 billion profit last year. BofA (BAC) benefited from selling assets, including part of its stake in China Construction Bank, and from a sharp drop in its credit costs, a gift from the improving economy.

    Technology wasn't quite the profit machine that it's been in past years. Sector earnings rose by just $5 billion, although tech remains the largest profit-maker at $156 billion, narrowly edging the resurgent financials. The overall picture masks the giant contributions of two trophy names, Apple (No. 17) and Microsoft (No. 37). Apple (AAPL) boosted earnings by 85%, to $25.9 billion, helped by two of the bestselling consumer products in history, the iPhone and the iPad, which together generated $67 billion in sales, more than double the figure in 2010.

    Microsoft (MSFT) also enjoyed a banner year, lifting earnings by 23%, to $23.2 billion. Swelling its results were a 48% gain in sales on its Xbox 360, the bestselling videogame console, and a 23% jump in its profits from business software and services. One soft spot in tech: AT&T (No. 11). The telco's 2010 profits were artificially swollen by asset sales. By contrast, AT&T's (T) 2011 earnings were hit by a $4.2 billion breakup fee for failing to complete the T-Mobile deal, and a $6.3 billion charge for a change in its pension accounting.

    Although our biggest companies may appear monolithic, they're subject to the logic of creative destruction. Unlike 2010, there are no homebuilders or education companies on the Fortune 500. By contrast, mining, metals, and energy production contributed seven of the 26 additions to the list. Good times come and go across the 500. What's remarkable is how well most companies have fared by pushing workers to create more value with fewer resources. In coming years, look for the tide to shift in the workers' favor. It always does. That's the Fortune 500 for you.