America’s Most Profitable Products

How many of these products do you think will be on the list of the top 7 a year from now? Obviously some of these products have been around for a long time. That is puzzling since you presume that the longer a product is in the market, the more competition and the more opportunities to reverse engineer. You would think that old products would have a smaller operating margin. Also notice that many of these products have addictive qualities.

1. iPhone> Operating margin: 40%> Revenue: $80.5 billion> Market share: 20.9%> Industry: Computer hardware
2. Marlboro> Operating margin: 30%> Revenue: $19.0 billion> Market share: 42.6%> Industry: Tobacco
3. Monster> Operating margin: 26.> Revenue: $1.9 billion> Market share: 37.2%> Industry: Soft drinks
4. Coca-Cola> Operating margin: 25%> Revenue: $14.3 billion> Market share: 41.9%> Industry: Soft drinks
5. Enfamil> Operating margin: 24%> Revenue: $2.3 billion> Market share: 15.1%> Industry: Packaged foods and meats(infant formula)
6. Folgers> Operating margin: 23.6%> Revenue: $2.3 billion> Market share: 11.8% (U.S.)> Industry: Packaged foods and meats
7. Garmin nüvi> Operating margin: 15%> Revenue: $1.2 billion> Market share: Greater than 50%> Industry: Consumer electronics (GPS units)
By Douglas A. McIntyre, Brian Zajac and Michael B. Sauter | 24/7 Wall St


Flip side is The Worst Product Flops of 2012 - 24/7 Wall St.
1. Apple Maps> Company: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)
2. Dodge Dart> Company: Chrysler
3. “John Carter”>Company: Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS)
4. Sony Tablet P> Company: Sony (NYSE: SNE)
5. Nokia Lumia 900> Company: Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK)
6. “Pan Am” > Company: Disney
7. Ultrabook> Company: Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC)
8. PlayStation Vita> Company: Sony

Quote: Pacomartin

Flip side is The Worst Product Flops of 2012 - 24/7 Wall St.

2. Dodge Dart> Company: Chrysler

I'm a MOPAR man, but they deserve this karmic slap for defiling a legend =p

On topic, I'm surprised to see Monster on there. Never would've guessed it.

Of course, as the older smokers die premature deaths, I'd wager Marb would be the first and most likely to drop off that list.

It's funny companies and investors won't invest in something which doesn't have control or a hook in some way. Usually it's the government beating up their competition through patents, trademarks, etc. Usually anything based in the real world is vulnerable, besides something like McDonald's which can do well enough just from the power of real estate having good locations. Often, I wonder, how can companies continue in the world where diminished availability of resources kills the model. The gold mine will be in the landfills literally. A few years before the windfall, the CEOs would set it up to transfer the assets to themselves and probably through bankruptcies.

Quote: Pacomartin

1. iPhone> Operating margin: 40%> Revenue: $80.5 billion> Market share: 20.9%> Industry: Computer hardware
2. Marlboro> Operating margin: 30%> Revenue: $19.0 billion> Market share: 42.6%> Industry: Tobacco
3. Monster> Operating margin: 26.> Revenue: $1.9 billion> Market share: 37.2%> Industry: Soft drinks
4. Coca-Cola> Operating margin: 25%> Revenue: $14.3 billion> Market share: 41.9%> Industry: Soft drinks
5. Enfamil> Operating margin: 24%> Revenue: $2.3 billion> Market share: 15.1%> Industry: Packaged foods and meats(infant formula)
6. Folgers> Operating margin: 23.6%> Revenue: $2.3 billion> Market share: 11.8% (U.S.)> Industry: Packaged foods and meats
7. Garmin nüvi> Operating margin: 15%> Revenue: $1.2 billion> Market share: Greater than 50%> Industry: Consumer electronics (GPS units)
By Douglas A. McIntyre, Brian Zajac and Michael B. Sauter | 24/7 Wall St

I've forgotten what great man said it, but a hundred years ago, it was thought the secret to becoming a millionaire was to come up with a product you could build for a nickel, sell for a dollar, and make it habit-forming. Most the items on this list meet that description.

I think the iphone, Monster and Garmin are fads that will not be on the list next year, while the other's are established brands with lots of marketing $$ behind them.

I'm curious about the formula for comparison though. Coca-Cola is an international brand, bottled locally in many different countries. Are they only considering the made and sold in America units?

I think 'next year' is probably too soon for your estimate, but I can see them fading.

Quote: Ayecarumba

I think the iphone, Monster and Garmin are fads that will not be on the list next year...

It seems to me that a navigation app on an iphones would consume Garmin as a stand alone device. Perhaps people don't want to tie up their phone because they talk while they drive.

Garmin make running watches... I hadn't realized they had such a huge mark up... that must be an exploitable gap. Their GPS seems to be better than the bog standard one that comes with my phone. That's unimportant for naviagation by car (if I'm within 10m it's okay), but for tracking a run, a 10m wiggle adds a lot to the total distance.