Quick quiz: Which famous brands are owned by U.S. companies and which ones are not? [Answers below.]
- Nokia
- 7-Eleven
- Canon
- Clearisil
- Dove
- Sony
- Nestle
- Lysol
- Heineken
- Honda
- Carnation
- Lipton
Just
looking at where a particular company is physically headquartered is
not necessarily determinative of where it does business. It may not be
surprising that U.S. companies such as Coca-Cola and McDonald's earn a
significant portion of their revenues from outside our borders; 72% and
66%, respectively. But even companies like Exxon, Intel, and
Hewlett-Packard obtain over half of their revenues elsewhere. We are
clearly living in the "flat world" of Thomas Friedman described.
While
American companies seek foreign customers to earn a profit, the U.S.
share of the global marketplace as a whole is diminishing. The amount
of business done in the world that is controlled by U.S. companies
stands at about 45% these days, down from 66% in 1970. The projection
is that this trend will continue as foreign companies become even
larger players in the world economy.
As the lines between
foreign and domestic corporations are blurring, investors should
consider all the opportunities that exist throughout the world when
looking to allocate their investments.
Quiz answers: They are all owned by non-U.S. companies.
Words of Wisdom
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