Top 75 public companies: for the ranking as a whole, things keep looking up, but shares of some of the biggest are still down in the dumps.

• Author: McKenzie, Ana
• Position: FEATURE

Nearly three years after the credit crisis crippled tine economy, businesses arc on the mend, as evidenced by the Top 75, Business North CAROLINA'S annual ranking of the largest publicly traded companies based in line state. But at least one segment is still limping along.

"The banking sector still hasn't gotten over the financial crisis," says Neeraj Gupta, assistant professor of finance at Elon University's Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. "But the rest of the economy seems to be recovering. Larger companies are doing just fine." He and colleague Anthony Amoruso, an assistant professor of accounting, compiled the list, based on market capitalization at the close of trading June 30.

The median change in market cap on the Top 75 was a 20.2% increase, which is dramatic considering that the giant who dominates the list - Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp. - saw its value plummet 23%, a loss of $33 billion. That's more than the total market cap of the No. 2 company, Mooresville-based hardware retailer Lowe's Cos. Overall growth, however, was one reason the cutoff point to make this year's list jumped from $39 million in 2010 to $55.3 million. Then again, last year's ranking was compiled after the stock market took one of its periodic plunges, falling more than 15% in less than 10 weeks and relinquishing six months' worth of gains. There was talk about a double-dip recession, but despite the continuing drag of high unemployment, the stock market zigzagged its way higher, with the S&P 500 up 28% from its close on June 30, 2010. Fifty-one companies improved their market caps, the same number as last year.

COMING & GOING Newcomers 2011 Dropouts 2010 RANK rank Babcock & Wilcox 17 Talecris Biotherapeutics 18 The Fresh Market 30 CommScope 20 Campus Crest Communities 43 Polymer Group 41 SciQuest 44 Inspire Pharmaceuticals 42 Primo Water 50 Horizon Lines 59 Xerium Technologies 52 First South Bancorp 61 Furiex Pharmaceuticals 58 Citizens South Banking 67 BioCryst Pharmaceuticals 60 Yadkin Valley Financial 70 Park Sterling 61 Charles & Colvard 72 Tranzyme 66 New Century Bancorp 75 But for BofA, the hits just keep on coming: Its shares closed at $9.57, a 52-week low, on July 19 after the company announced a record $8.8 billion loss in the second quarter. Tack on the wrath of 50 state attorneys general in the guise of a lawsuit over mortgage practices, and some wonder if the bank can remain intact.

"Is the company worth more separately than collectively?" asks Tony Plath, an associate professor of finance at UNC Charlotte. "That depends on how much capital they've got to raise to see their way to the end of the mortgage crisis. But they haven't hit a number in two years that they said they were going to hit. That makes you question their credibility." During a phone conference with analysts July 19, CEO Brian Moynihan rejected the notion that BofA would have to raise capital.

The financial industry's woes are magnified on the Top 75 by many of the state's big banks. Market cap of Winston-Salem-based BB&T Corp. grew only 2.7%,, which dropped it from fourth to fifth place on this year's list, trading places with its Twin City neighbor, Reynolds American Inc. The tobacco company's value skyrocketed 42.2%;. Raleigh-based First Citizens Bancshares Inc. slid from 23rd to 29th as its market cap shrank 2.7%;. Survival meant sacrifice for some, including No. 48, Capital Bank Corp. The Raleigh-based bank increased its value more than any other company on the list, by roughly 615%;, from about $41 million to about $299 million, but it dici so largely by selling 71 million new shares to Charlotte-based North American Financial Holdings Inc. (page 32). Four financial-services companies that were already at the bottom of 2010's list were knocked off this year's. But improvement is cm the horizon.

"We're still likely to lose more than a few banks to failure and consolidation transactions in North Carolina, but these losses will be limited to the weaker institutions in the state," Plath says. "The stronger banks, in contrast, can look forward to better performance and at least a marginally better business climate in 2012."

The weigh-in

Net Total one-year margin return (latest fiscal year) 1 Triangle 70.6% 1 Polypore 198.3% 1 Capital International 2 Trimeris 67.8 2 Krispy Kreme 182.2 2 Doughnuts 3 Hatteras 60.8 3 TranSI 75.5 3 Financial 4 Pozen 33.7 4 Furiex 75.1 4 Pharmaceuticals 5 Lorillard 25.4 5 Chelsea 74.1 5 Therapeutics Int'l 6 EnPro 18.0 6 MedCath 72.9 6 Industries 7 Cree 17.6 7 Sonic 72.1 7 Automotive 8 First 15.6 8 EnPro 70.8 8 Citizens Industries Bancshares 9 Highwoods 14.5 9 Lorillard 59.5 9 Properties 10 Reynolds 13.0 10 Old Dominion 59.2 10 American Freight Lines TOP 75 TOP 75 MEDIAN: MEDIAN: 24.2% 4.4% Net Total five-year margin return (latest fiscal year) 1 Salix 223.8% Pharmaceuticals 2 Targacept 205.8 3 Goodrich 158.1 4 Lorillard 149.5 5 Family Dollar 134.9 Stores 6 Tanger Factory 99.1 Outlet Centers 7 Red Hat 96.2 8 Culp 92.0 9...