If Kamala Harris becomes President, she will break the ultimate glass ceiling.
Other glass has already been shattered. About a quarter of U.S. senators are women, as are roughly a quarter of the nation’s governors. Women sit in the chief executive’s chair at about 10% of the corporations in the Fortune 500.
Judging the performance of a senator or governor is subjective. For chief executive officers (CEOs), there are some fairly standard objective criteria.
For this column, I looked at the performance of ten women at the helm of large Fortune 500 companies, using three criteria:
· Return on equity (the company’s profits divided by the corporation’s net worth) in the latest four quarters.
· Earnings (profit) growth in the latest year.
· Performance of the company’s stock in the latest year.
Here’s a quick rundown, company by company, followed by some dangerous generalizations. (Dangerous, because the sample size is small and the time frame is only one year).
CVS
Karen Lynch took the reins at CVS Health Corp. (CVS) in 2021. She owns about $26 million of CVS stock, which has declined 18% in the 12 months through July 26. The company’s return on equity is 9.9%, and profits have fallen 18.7% in the past four quarters.
Elevance
At Elevance Health Inc. (ELV), previously known as Anthem, Gail Boudreaux has occupied the corner office since 2017. Elevance has scored a 16.7% return on equity, and its stock price has advanced 12% in the past year. Earnings were up 5.4%.
General Motors
Mary Barry has run General Motors Co. since 2014, making her one of the longer-tenured women CEOs of major companies. GM’s return on equity in the past year has been 16% and its stock is up 15%. Earnings improved 9% in the past year.
Centene
At Centene Corp. (CNC), Sarah London has been CEO since 2022. The St. Louis, Missouri, company specializes in health insurance for Medicaid and Medicare patients. The stock is up 7% in the past year and the return on equity is 10.6%. Profits grew 12.7% in the past four quarters.
United Parcel
Most people driving United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) trucks are men, but the boss is a woman, Carol Tome. She has held the post since 2020. The company notched a 29% return on equity last year, even as its stock fell 31%. Earnings fell 35%, as the effects of the pandemic on package deliveries faded.
Citigroup
Jane Fraser has been CEO of Citigroup Inc. (C) since 2021. The big bank was struggling before she took over and continues to do so, with a return on equity of only 4%. Earnings fell 32% in the past four quarters, but the stock has risen 37% over the past year.
Best Buy
At retailer Best Buy Inc. (BBY), Corie Sue Barry grabbed the chief executive spot in 2019. Return on equity is very high at 42.6%, but the stock has gained just a little over 5% in the past year. Earnings fell 3.7%.
Progressive
Susan Patricia Griffith been CEO of Progressive Corp. (PGR) since 2016. Progressive saw a huge increase in profits in the past four quarters, 465%. The stock is up 71% in the past year and the company’s return on equity was recently 34.6%.
Oracle
Safra Catz took over the top post at Oracle Corp. (ORCL) in 2014, making her an old timer as women CEOs go. Oracle’s numbers are very strong, with a 241% return on equity, a 59% jump in profits in the past year, and stock appreciation of 30%.
General Dynamics
The longest tenure in this group belongs to Phebe Novakovic, CEO of the big defense contractor General Dynamics Corp. (GD). She got the post in 2013. In the past four quarters, the company posted a 17% return on equity and earnings growth of 5.3%. Its stock has risen 30%.
Analysis
The companies I tracked with women CEOs showed average one-year earnings growth was 51.5%, thanks largely to Progressive and Oracle. That’s far better earnings growth than that of the Standard & Poor’s 500, which was about 11.6% from June 2023 to June 2024.
The S&P had a better return on equity, about 21%, thanks mostly to the big tech stocks in the so-called Magnificent Seven. The female-CEO companies averaged about 17%.
In stock-market performance, the S&P held the edge, with a 21% return in the past year, versus 15.4% for the ten companies with female CEOs.
Clearly, a woman can successfully run a large corporation. The stock market, however, seems to have a slight bias in favor of male CEOs.
Disclosure: I own General Dynamics shares personally and for most of my clients. My wife (a portfolio manager at my firm) and several of our clients own Progressive. One client owns shares in United Parcel.
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