Henry Schein reigns at top of LI corporations

Henry Schein Inc. remained the corporate king of Long Island in 2018 revenue, but No. 2 Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc. is gaining momentum, according to new data.

Lake Success-based Broadridge vaulted past Henry Schein in market capitalization — a measure of how investors value a company — for the second straight year, according to public company data provided to Newsday by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Broadridge, which delivers investor communications and processes trillions of dollars in daily stock and bond trades, posted revenue of  $4.3 billion in 2018, good for second place among the region's public companies. The company also had a region-leading market capitalization — the dollar value of outstanding shares — of $14.5 billion as of May 31.

"The value of the stock is reflective not just of the earnings today, but of [expectations for] future earnings," said Robert Goldberg, a professor of accounting, finance and economics at Adelphi University. "There's a lot of growth in financial markets. They've entered the fin-tech market."

Broadridge began as the brokerage services division of payroll-processor ADP in 1962. Broadridge became independent of Roseland, New Jersey-based ADP in 2007.

Melville-based Henry Schein's $13.2 billion in revenue, the figure that determines the ranking of Long Island companies, was more than triple that of Broadridge. But that figure included $3.7 billion from an animal health business that was spun off in February.

Henry Schein, a multinational distributor of products to clinics and the offices of physicians and dentists, had a market capitalization of $9.6 billion on May 31, down from $10.7 billion 12 months earlier, but still good enough for second place among Long Island companies.

A newcomer to the list was No. 9 Volt Information Sciences Inc., a provider of staffing services that moved its headquarters to Uniondale from Manhattan last year. Volt, with revenues of $1 billion, down from $1.2 billion in 2017, moved into ninth place in the ranking.

Meanwhile Port Washington-based Aceto Corp., which was No. 10 last year, fell to the 11th slot. Debt-laden Aceto has announced plans to sell its chemicals and pharmaceutical operating divisions in recent weeks as it goes through bankruptcy. 

The other companies in the top 10 were: MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc., with revenue of $3.2 billion; Hain Celestial Group Inc., $2.5 billion; New York Community Bancorp Inc., $1.8 billion; Verint Systems Inc., $1.2 billion; Kimco Realty Corp., $1.2 billion; 1-800-FLOWERS.COM Inc., $1.2 billion, and Systemax Inc., $896.9 million.

The most profitable public company on Long Island was Henry Schein, with $535.9 million. The multinational company was followed by Kimco Realty Corp., a New Hyde Park real estate investment trust, with $497.8 million.

Farmingdale-based Long Blockchain Corp., which gained notoriety for changing its name during a cryptocurrency frenzy in December 2017, posted revenue of $4.4 million, making it No. 51. Revenue was down slightly from $4.6 million the previous year.

Long Blockchain, formerly known as Long Island Iced Tea Corp., has announced plans to sell its beverage business.

Goldberg said Long Island's high cost structure creates special challenges for businesses, particularly manufacturers.

"My suspicion is that there are fewer manufacturing-focused businesses on Long Island because of the cost of space and the cost of getting on and off [the Island]," he said. "The aerospace industry has not disappeared, [but] it has shifted off."

By Ken Schachter

kenneth.schachter@newsday.comkschach

Ken Schachter covers corporate news, including technology and aerospace, and other business topics for Newsday. He has also worked at The Miami Herald and The Jerusalem Post.