The Boston Globe Publishes 20th Anniversary Edition of the ‘Globe 100’ on May 20

Perini Corporation tops list of Massachusetts public companies for second straight year; Hewlett-Packard tops ‘Globe National 25’

The Boston Globe announced the release today of the 20th anniversary edition of its annual Globe 100, a ranking of the best-performing publicly traded companies in Massachusetts. Perini Corporation, one of the nation’s largest general contractors, garnered “Company of the Year” honors for the second straight year. Complete rankings and analysis are included in a special “Globe 100” magazine appearing in The Boston Globe on May 20 and online at Boston.com/Globe100.

This year’s Globe 100 takes a comprehensive look back at how business has changed over the two decades since its first publication in 1989. As part of the retrospective, the magazine profiles the companies who actually made the Globe 100 list for all 20 years. Only five companies accomplished that feat: Eaton Vance Corp., State Street Corp., Raytheon Co., TJX Cos. and UniFirst Corp.

“These companies represent the resiliency of Massachusetts business, surviving recessions, merger manias, and dramatic shifts in their industries,” said Shirley Leung, business editor of the Boston Globe.

The diversity of companies that make up this year’s Globe 100 reflects the state’s broad economic base. Included in the top five is financial powerhouse Eaton Vance which climbed from 44th a year ago to second this year. Ranked third is telecom technology provider Soapstone Networks, which made its first appearance in the Globe 100. Commercial petroleum supplier Global Partners held steady in fourth, while tech-giant EMC Corp. jumped from 46th to fifth.

The special magazine also includes a ranking of the top 25 publicly-held companies that are based outside of Massachusetts but have a major presence in the state. Hewlett-Packard Co., which traces its local roots back to Digital Equipment Corp., took top honors in this ranking, titled the “Globe National 25.” Following Hewlett-Packard are two technology giants: Cisco Systems and IBM Corp.

In addition to the comprehensive rankings, the Globe 100 provides a listing of the top IPOs of 2007 and charts on companies with the largest profits, losses, and number of employees. For eight different sectors, it lists the companies with the largest revenues.

Other features include the results of a CEO Survey which measures how local business leaders feel about the health of the economy and their outlook for hiring and other business indicators. Globe 100 readers can compare the CEO’s views to the sometimes very different views of Globe and Boston.com readers who answered the same questionnaire.

The Globe 100 Web site (boston.com/globe100) contains all of the magazine’s data and features along with video, multimedia presentations, and interactive charts.

About the Globe 100 ranking methodology:

The Globe 100 ranks Massachusetts-based public companies based on financial data from the four quarters ending closest to December 31, 2007, and for corresponding quarters a year earlier. To be eligible, the company must be traded publicly for the entire 2007 calendar year on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq or the American Stock Exchange and report revenue and profit for both 2006 and 2007. Companies are ranked on four criteria: return on average equity, one-year percentage change in revenue, one-year percentage change in profit margin and 2007 revenue.

The Globe National 25 uses identical metrics as the Globe 100, ranking public companies based outside of Massachusetts that conduct business in the state.

About The Boston Globe:

The Boston Globe is wholly owned by The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), which is a leading media company with 2007 revenues of $3.2 billion, and includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 16 other daily newspapers, WQXR-FM and more than 50 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.

Contacts

The Boston Globe
Al Larkin, 617-929-3160
Executive Vice President
larkin {at} globe(.)com