Smooth sailing for Virginia’s publicly traded companies, except Boeing

Overall, Virginia’s largest publicly traded companies saw 2024 as a successful year, reflecting the nation’s economic upswing of about 3% each quarter.

Except for Boeing and “its ghastly record,” as George Mason University’s Terry Clower memorably said late last year about the Arlington-based Fortune Global 500 aerospace and defense giant. In January 2024, a Boeing 737 Max jet’s door plug blew out in midair, leading to federal scrutiny and decline in jet sales.

By September 2024, President and CEO Dave Calhoun was out, replaced by Kelly Ortberg, who announced he would be based in Seattle, near the company’s commercial aircraft division. Then came a massive aircraft workers’ strike, and that’s not even to mention the Boeing Starliner debacle, a with mechanical issues that left two U.S. astronauts stranded since June 2024 aboard the International Space Station.

In 2024, Boeing reported annual losses of $11.83 billion.

Boeing aside, other large employers in Virginia were in good shape. “The economy is growing nicely,” says Clower, professor of public policy and director of Mason’s Center for Regional Analysis. “Overall, we’re up over 2 million jobs, and real wages have been increasing. That kind of spending flows through the economy, all the way from Dollar Tree to high-end electronics.”

The defense industry has had an extra boost from activity related to the conflict in Ukraine, which the U.S. is supplying with a large variety of military equipment. Virginia’s top 10 largest companies include RTX, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman.

“Most of the defense contractors are seeing a boost from all of the equipment we’ve been sending to Ukraine, along with spending on planned military modernization,” says Clower. “For companies that are active participants in defense contracting, it seems it’s been good, and it’s potentially going to get better.”

Here’s the latest on Virginia’s 10 most profitable publicly traded companies over the past year:

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (“Freddie Mac”)
McLean
2024 revenue: $108.05 billion
Employees: 8,004
Freddie Mac had a banner year in 2024. The government-sponsored enterprise moved up nine spots to No. 36 on the overall Fortune 500 between 2023 and 2024. The company’s net revenues increased 3% year-over-year between the third quarter of 2023 and the same quarter in 2024, primarily driven by higher net interest income. Its mortgage portfolio increased 2% year-over-year to $3.5 trillion by Sept. 30, 2024, including 2% growth in the single-family mortgage portfolio and 5% growth in its multifamily mortgage portfolio.

In a notable development, Freddie Mac’s 2024 multifamily production volume totaled $66 billion, a 34% increase over 2023. Improving market conditions in the year’s second half helped bring in $65 billion in multifamily financing and $1 billion in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity investments. The company met its affordable housing targets, with 65% of 2024 production volume qualified as “mission-driven affordable housing,” higher than the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s 50% goal. Freddie Mac supported 507,191 affordable rental units across the country.

“Our most important achievement was working with our Optigo lenders, servicers, borrowers and investors to make quality, affordable rental housing available to more than half a million families nationwide,” said Kevin Palmer, head of multifamily for Freddie Mac.

CEO Michael J. DeVito retired in the first quarter of 2024, and Diana Reid joined Freddie Mac as CEO in September 2024.

Boeing
Arlington County
2024 revenue: $66.5 billion
Employees: 140,000+
After a devastating couple years with major losses, Boeing continued to struggle in 2024, leading new CEO Kelly Ortberg to call for “fundamental culture change” for the beleaguered aerospace and defense company. Losses in the year’s third quarter hit $6 billion in the wake of a strike of 30,000 West Coast workers that stopped production of its 737 Max, 777 and 767 planes.

In March 2024, former Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun announced he would depart at the end of the year, but staggering losses of $1.44 billion between April and June hastened his departure, and Ortberg took over Aug. 8. Board Chairman Larry Kellner said last March that he would not seek reelection, and commercial airplane unit CEO Stan Deal resigned.

Ortberg took the helm at a moment when the company’s cash burn was running at about $8 billion, and shares were down around 37% for the year. The 64-year-old industry veteran brings years of experience at top positions with commercial and defense supplier Rockwell Collins.
“It will take time to return Boeing to its former legacy but, with the right focus and culture, we can be an iconic company and aerospace leader once again,” Ortberg said in the company’s statement of third quarter results in October 2024.

Boeing may offer equity and equity-linked securities to shore up its balance sheet, according to CFO Brian West, a move that could raise around $15 billion. The company also plans to downsize its workforce with a focus on its civil and core defense units, which may entail selling some assets to recoup losses.

RTX
Arlington County
2024 revenue: $80.8 billion
Employees: 182,000+
After a major 2023 reorg and rebrand, RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies Corp.) enjoyed an extremely strong 2024. The company’s revenue rose 8% to $19.72 billion during the second quarter, prompting it to raise its full-year earnings forecast and pushing its stock to an all-time high, trading up 8% at $113 on the NYSE. Revenues hit $20.09 billion in quarter three, a 49.2% year-on-year increase.

A major reason for the company’s good fortune is a shift in the airline industry, with a surge in demand coinciding with production problems that are causing airlines to use older aircraft. RTX has benefited from a strong aftermarket business in this environment. RTX’s aerospace manufacturing business unit Pratt and Whitney formed agreements with more than 18 customers who use the company’s Geared Turbofan (GTF) engines integral to Airbus’ A320neo jets. Pratt and Whitney is checking for flawed components in the GTF jet engines and providing repairs as needed.

The year brought a flurry of contracts and partnerships for RTX. In December 2024, RTX signed an MOU with Netherlands Aerospace Group for a collaboration to advance research into sustainable aviation, and its Raytheon business unit was awarded a $590 million production contract from the Navy. In November 2024, Pratt & Whitney made agreements for work in Poland and New Zealand, and was awarded a U.S. Army contract for wireless power beaming technology. Prior months saw robust activity as well, including an award of $676 million in TOW contracts and a Javelin Joint Venture $1.3 billion contract from the Army.

In February, Gregory J. Hayes announced he would step down as executive chairman of RTX’s board in April, and President and CEO Christopher T. Calio would succeed him.

Performance Food Group
Goochland County
2024 revenue: $54.7 billion
Employees: 30,000+
Food services and distribution company Performance Food Group (PFG) climbed from No. 91 in the Fortune 500 in 2023 to No. 84 in 2024. PFG is comprised of three operating segments: Foodservice; snack, candy, and beverage distributor Vistar; and Convenience, which operates under the Core-Mark brand.

The company has been busy making acquisitions over the last few years, with two new ones completed in 2024: In October, PFG acquired Cheney Bros., a leading Florida-based independent foodservice distributor, and in July did a debt-funded $580 million acquisition of Puerto Rico-based distributor Jose Santiago.

To honor Earth Day in April 2024, PFG joined with several partners to hold a special open house at the company’s Gilroy, California, facility, which it calls “a sustainable distribution center model of the future.” The facility supports a fleet of electric trucks, some of which are equipped with zero-emission solar electric transport refrigeration units (TRUs).

In December 2024, the company announced that Scott McPherson would become president and chief operating officer on Jan. 1. This is his second new position in the past year, as he was named executive vice president and chief field operations officer in December 2023. Meanwhile, Craig Hoskins will take up the newly created role of executive vice president & chief development officer with a focus on integrating the two most recent acquisitions.

Capital One Financial
McLean
2024 revenue: $39.1 billion
Employees: 51,000+
Capital One worked diligently throughout 2024 to gain regulatory approval of its planned $35.3 billion acquisition of Discover Financial Services, which it announced in February 2024. The Office of the Delaware State Bank Commissioner gave approval in December 2024, a vital step toward finalizing the blockbuster merger, and the bank anticipates the deal closing in early 2025.

As part of its efforts to enable the merger, Capital One announced in July 2024 a five-year, $265 billion community benefits plan that includes substantial investments to support housing affordability, no-fee banking access and small business growth in low- and moderate-income communities.

In January, at the end of President Joe Biden’s term, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued Capital One and its holding company, alleging that the companies cheated millions of customers out of more than $2 billion in interest payments. The bank said in response, “We strongly disagree with their claims and will vigorously defend ourselves in court.” However, by February, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra was out of his job, replaced by Trump administration Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as acting director. He ordered the bureau’s employees to cease most of their work, leaving this lawsuit and others in limbo. On Feb. 27, the CFPB reversed course and filed a motion to drop the lawsuit.

General Dynamics
Reston
2024 revenue: $47.7 billion
Employees: 100,000+
Fortune 500 defense contractor General Dynamics had a strong 2024, particularly its third quarter, when it reported revenue of $11.7 billion, up 10.4% year over year.

The past year brought a string of large contracts for General Dynamics Information Technology, which secured a $5.57 billion contract from the Air Force Mission Partner Capabilities Office in December 2024 and a $922 million contract to modernize U.S. Central Command IT infrastructure in March 2024.

Other business units won a $323 million Army contract for combat vehicles, a $491.6 million contract from the Space Development Agency (SDA), and a $991 million Air Force contract for logistics support services.

Chairman and CEO Phebe N. Novakovic ranked No. 26 on Fortune’s list of the world’s 100 Most Powerful Women in Business, released in October 2024.

Northrop Grumman
Falls Church
2024 revenue: $41 billion
Employees: 100,000+
Aerospace contractor Northrop Grumman waltzed through 2024 propelled by continued robust demand for its products and services. Its success was reflected in its third-quarter sales, which increased 2% year-over-year to $10 billion, with net earnings of $1 billion and year-to-date sales up 6%. As of the third quarter, the company had a record backlog of $85 billion.

Highlights of the year’s work include the July 2024 completion of a preliminary design review for 74 high-speed data transport satellites for the Space Development Agency and the December launch of a Zombie target vehicle variation, “Black Dagger,” for the Army Space and Missile Defense Command’s LTZ-3 test mission. In December 2024, Northrop Grumman Systems, a subsidiary, won a $3.45 billion contract from the Navy to engineer and manufacture nuclear aircraft.

The company also advanced its work on NASA’s Artemis program aimed at establishing a long-term human presence on the moon. In November 2024, it made progress on building the Mission Robotic Vehicle, the first commercial spacecraft designed to offer in-space inspection and servicing missions for satellites.

In January, Herndon-based tech and management contractor Serco Inc. announced it had agreed to acquire Northrop Grumman’s mission training and satellite ground network communications software business for $327 million.

CarMax
Goochland County
2024 revenue: $26.53 billion
Employees: 30,000+
The nation’s largest used-car retailer benefited from an upward trend in the used car market during 2024, with sales in the broader market up as high as 13% year-over-year in November 2024. This was a reversal from the declining value of the used vehicle market over the previous two years.

CarMax, a Fortune 200 company and one of the nation’s largest providers of used vehicle financing, posted strong results in fiscal 2025’s third quarter, including total gross profit of $677.6 million, an increase of 10.6% year-over-year. The retailer also announced net earnings per diluted share of $0.81, a year-over-year increase of 55.8%.

In September 2024, the company announced that it would be naming sponsor for the Richmond Flying Squirrels’ new ballpark, set to open in spring 2026. Dubbed CarMax Park, the baseball stadium is expected to cost about $110 million, and CarMax’s contribution was not disclosed.

Also in 2024, CarMax was named for the first time on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership Top 30 Retail list.

Dollar Tree
Chesapeake
2024 anticipated revenue: $30.7 billion to $30.9 billion
Employees: 200,000+
As of August 2024, discount retailer Dollar Tree operated 16,397 stores in 48 states and five Canadian provinces under the Dollar Tree and Family Dollar brands. But that is likely to change as the company’s fortunes shift. In March 2024, Dollar Tree announced plans to close 1,000 Family Dollar stores, and in May it laid off 54 corporate employees. However, in December it announced that it had opened 249 new Dollar Tree and six new Family Dollar stores.

In a notable change in the operating model of the dollar-store company, Dollar Tree also announced in December that it had changed 2,300 Dollar Tree stores to a multi-price format, moving the company farther away from its “everything for a dollar” roots.
In November shortly after CEO Rick Dreiling resigned from his position and the company’s board, citing health reasons, and Michael C. Creedon Jr. succeeded Dreiling.

Jocelyn “Jocy” Konrad was named chief of Dollar Tree Stores and Enterprise Store Operations, and Jason Nordin became the new president of Family Dollar, which may be up for a spinoff or sale amid flagging performance. In December, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Davis announced that he will be stepping down.

Altria Group
Henrico County
2024 revenue: $24 billion
Employees: 6,000+
Along with “outstanding” third-quarter results, tobacco product manufacturer Altria Group announced a multiphase strategic initiative designed to centralize, streamline and standardize workflows to increase speed, efficiency and effectiveness. The initiative is expected to result in at least $600 million in cost savings over five years, the company said.

In 2024, Altria’s revenue fell 1.9% year-over-year from 2023, due to a drop in smokeable product sales, but oral tobacco sales helped offset the loss.

Altria’s involvement with the legal system continued in 2024, as individuals were able to start filing claims against the company’s $45.5 million payout that was part of a 2023 class action lawsuit settled with Altria and defunct vape producer

Juul, in which the Henrico County company invested $12.8 billion in 2018, shortly before an avalanche of civil suits. In March 2024, U.S. District Judge William Orrick III approved Altria’s class settlement but suggested the company contact federal prosecutors due to allegations that up to 80% of the claims made against the settlement might be invalid or fraudulent, powered by AI and other emerging technologies.

In December, Altria won a legal battle when a U.S. appeals court upheld a $95.2 million jury verdict that vaping devices produced by R.J. Reynolds infringe on Altria e-cigarette patents.

In March 2024, Altria announced it planned to sell 35 million shares in Anheuser-Busch InBev, valued at about $2 billion.