Companies · Puzzle #12 · Sunday, October 11
Companies: the board
Eight items, eight categories, one place each. Here is the board with every figure and where it comes from, and the best way to place them. Play today's Companies.
The categories
- Dividends: 1 pt per doubling over $5M, last year
- California HQ: 10 pts if based in California
- Buybacks: 1 pt per doubling over $10M, last year
- Profit margin: 1 pt per 3% margin, last year
- Cash on hand: 1.5 pts per doubling over $200M, at year end
- Heritage: 1 pt per 15 years old
- Sales: 1.5 pts per doubling over $1.5B, last year
- Workforce: 1.5 pts per doubling over 2,500 staff, at year end
The best board
- Tesla in Cash on hand: $16.5B in cash at the end of December 2025 (9.6)
- Hyatt in Workforce: 242,000 employees at the end of December 2025 (9.9)
- Adobe in Buybacks: $11.3B of its own stock bought back in the year to November 2025 (10.0)
- Comcast in Dividends: $4.9B paid in dividends in the year to December 2025 (9.9)
- McCormick in Heritage: founded in 1669, 357 years ago (10.0)
- Live Nation in California HQ: headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA (10.0)
- Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE) in Profit margin: a 26.2% profit margin in the year to December 2025 (8.7)
- Humana in Sales: $129.7B in sales in the year to December 2025 (9.7)
The most this board could score: 77.8 of 80.
The lineup, figure by figure
Tesla
Electric cars, batteries and solar
- Dividends
- no dividends in the year to December 2025 (0.0) Source: Tesla, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-01-29
- California HQ
- headquartered in Austin, TX (0.0) Source: Tesla, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-01-29
- Buybacks
- no buybacks in the year to December 2025 (0.0) Source: Tesla, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-01-29
- Profit margin
- a 4.0% profit margin in the year to December 2025 (1.3) Source: Tesla, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-01-29
- Cash on hand
- $16.5B in cash at the end of December 2025 (9.6) Source: Tesla, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-01-29
- Heritage
- founded in 2003, 23 years ago (1.5) Source: Tesla, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-01-29
- Sales
- $94.8B in sales in the year to December 2025 (9.0) Source: Tesla, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-01-29
- Workforce
- 134,785 employees at the end of December 2025 (8.6) Source: Tesla, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-01-29
Hyatt
Hotels, including Park Hyatt and Andaz
- Dividends
- $57M paid in dividends in the year to December 2025 (3.5) Source: Hyatt Hotels Corp 10-K, filed 2026-02-13
- California HQ
- headquartered in Chicago, IL (0.0) Source: Hyatt Hotels Corp 10-K, filed 2026-02-13
- Buybacks
- $293M of its own stock bought back in the year to December 2025 (4.9) Source: Hyatt Hotels Corp 10-K, filed 2026-02-13
- Profit margin
- a loss of 0.7% of sales in the year to December 2025 (0.0) Source: Hyatt Hotels Corp 10-K, filed 2026-02-13
- Cash on hand
- $787M in cash at the end of December 2025 (3.0) Source: Hyatt Hotels Corp 10-K, filed 2026-02-13
- Heritage
- founded in 1957, 69 years ago (4.6) Source: Hyatt Hotels Corp 10-K, filed 2026-02-13
- Sales
- $7.1B in sales in the year to December 2025 (3.4) Source: Hyatt Hotels Corp 10-K, filed 2026-02-13
- Workforce
- 242,000 employees at the end of December 2025 (9.9) Source: Hyatt Hotels Corp 10-K, filed 2026-02-13
Adobe
Photoshop, Acrobat and creative software
- Dividends
- no dividends in the year to November 2025 (0.0) Source: ADOBE INC. 10-K, filed 2026-01-15
- California HQ
- headquartered in San Jose, CA (10.0) Source: ADOBE INC. 10-K, filed 2026-01-15
- Buybacks
- $11.3B of its own stock bought back in the year to November 2025 (10.0) Source: ADOBE INC. 10-K, filed 2026-01-15
- Profit margin
- a 30.0% profit margin in the year to November 2025 (10.0) Source: ADOBE INC. 10-K, filed 2026-01-15
- Cash on hand
- $5.4B in cash at the end of November 2025 (7.1) Source: ADOBE INC. 10-K, filed 2026-01-15
- Heritage
- founded in 1982, 44 years ago (2.9) Source: ADOBE INC. 10-K, filed 2026-01-15
- Sales
- $23.8B in sales in the year to November 2025 (6.0) Source: ADOBE INC. 10-K, filed 2026-01-15
- Workforce
- 31,360 employees at the end of November 2025 (5.5) Source: ADOBE INC. 10-K, filed 2026-01-15
Comcast
Xfinity internet, NBC and Universal
- Dividends
- $4.9B paid in dividends in the year to December 2025 (9.9) Source: COMCAST CORP 10-K, filed 2026-02-03
- California HQ
- headquartered in Philadelphia, PA (0.0) Source: COMCAST CORP 10-K, filed 2026-02-03
- Buybacks
- $7.2B of its own stock bought back in the year to December 2025 (9.5) Source: COMCAST CORP 10-K, filed 2026-02-03
- Profit margin
- a 16.2% profit margin in the year to December 2025 (5.4) Source: COMCAST CORP 10-K, filed 2026-02-03
- Cash on hand
- $9.5B in cash at the end of December 2025 (8.4) Source: COMCAST CORP 10-K, filed 2026-02-03
- Heritage
- founded in 1963, 63 years ago (4.2) Source: COMCAST CORP 10-K, filed 2026-02-03
- Sales
- $123.7B in sales in the year to December 2025 (9.5) Source: COMCAST CORP 10-K, filed 2026-02-03
- Workforce
- 179,000 employees at the end of December 2025 (9.2) Source: COMCAST CORP 10-K, filed 2026-02-03
McCormick
Spices, seasonings and French's mustard
- Dividends
- $483M paid in dividends in the year to November 2025 (6.6) Source: MCCORMICK & CO INC 10-K, filed 2026-01-22
- California HQ
- headquartered in Hunt Valley, MD (0.0) Source: MCCORMICK & CO INC 10-K, filed 2026-01-22
- Buybacks
- $35M of its own stock bought back in the year to November 2025 (1.8) Source: MCCORMICK & CO INC 10-K, filed 2026-01-22
- Profit margin
- a 11.5% profit margin in the year to November 2025 (3.8) Source: MCCORMICK & CO INC 10-K, filed 2026-01-22
- Cash on hand
- $96M in cash at the end of November 2025 (0.0) Source: MCCORMICK & CO INC 10-K, filed 2026-01-22
- Heritage
- founded in 1669, 357 years ago (10.0) Source: MCCORMICK & CO INC 10-K, filed 2026-01-22
- Sales
- $6.8B in sales in the year to November 2025 (3.3) Source: MCCORMICK & CO INC 10-K, filed 2026-01-22
- Workforce
- 14,100 employees at the end of November 2025 (3.7) Source: MCCORMICK & CO INC 10-K, filed 2026-01-22
Live Nation
Concerts, plus Ticketmaster
- Dividends
- no dividends in the year to December 2025 (0.0) Source: Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-02-19
- California HQ
- headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA (10.0) Source: Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-02-19
- Buybacks
- $24M of its own stock bought back in the year to December 2025 (1.3) Source: Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-02-19
- Profit margin
- a 2.0% profit margin in the year to December 2025 (0.7) Source: Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-02-19
- Cash on hand
- $7.1B in cash at the end of December 2025 (7.7) Source: Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-02-19
- Heritage
- founded in 2005, 21 years ago (1.4) Source: Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-02-19
- Sales
- $25.2B in sales in the year to December 2025 (6.1) Source: Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-02-19
- Workforce
- 34,700 employees at the end of December 2025 (5.7) Source: Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-02-19
Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE)
Stock exchanges and mortgage software
- Dividends
- $1.1B paid in dividends in the year to December 2025 (7.8) Source: Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-02-05
- California HQ
- headquartered in Atlanta, GA (0.0) Source: Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-02-05
- Buybacks
- $1.3B of its own stock bought back in the year to December 2025 (7.0) Source: Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-02-05
- Profit margin
- a 26.2% profit margin in the year to December 2025 (8.7) Source: Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-02-05
- Cash on hand
- $837M in cash at the end of December 2025 (3.1) Source: Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-02-05
- Heritage
- founded in 2000, 26 years ago (1.7) Source: Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-02-05
- Sales
- $12.6B in sales in the year to December 2025 (4.6) Source: Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-02-05
- Workforce
- 12,844 employees at the end of December 2025 (3.5) Source: Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. 10-K, filed 2026-02-05
Humana
Health insurance, mostly Medicare plans
- Dividends
- $430M paid in dividends in the year to December 2025 (6.4) Source: HUMANA INC 10-K, filed 2026-02-19
- California HQ
- headquartered in Louisville, KY (0.0) Source: HUMANA INC 10-K, filed 2026-02-19
- Buybacks
- $151M of its own stock bought back in the year to December 2025 (3.9) Source: HUMANA INC 10-K, filed 2026-02-19
- Profit margin
- a 0.9% profit margin in the year to December 2025 (0.3) Source: HUMANA INC 10-K, filed 2026-02-19
- Cash on hand
- $4.2B in cash at the end of December 2025 (6.6) Source: HUMANA INC 10-K, filed 2026-02-19
- Heritage
- founded in 1961, 65 years ago (4.3) Source: HUMANA INC 10-K, filed 2026-02-19
- Sales
- $129.7B in sales in the year to December 2025 (9.7) Source: HUMANA INC 10-K, filed 2026-02-19
- Workforce
- 67,060 employees at the end of December 2025 (7.1) Source: HUMANA INC 10-K, filed 2026-02-19