Companies · Puzzle #23 · Thursday, October 22
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
- Cash on hand: 1.5 pts per doubling over $200M, at year end
- California HQ: 10 pts if based in California
- Growth: 1 pt per 2.5% sales growth, last year
- Assets: 1.5 pts per doubling over $3B, at year end
- Heritage: 1 pt per 15 years old
- Inventory: 1.5 pts per doubling over $100M, at year end
- Buybacks: 1 pt per doubling over $10M, last year
- Off-calendar year: 10 pts if its year ends off December
The best board
The best board is hidden while some of these items are still in play: they're on a board again within 14 days.
The lineup, figure by figure
Carnival
Cruise lines, including Carnival and Princess
Carnival's best fit on this board was Off-calendar year, worth 10.0: its fiscal year ends in November. Its weakest was California HQ, worth 0.0: headquartered in Miami, FL.
- Cash on hand
- $1.9B in cash at the end of November 2025 (4.9) Source: Carnival Corp Ltd. 10-K, filed 2026-01-27
- California HQ
- headquartered in Miami, FL (0.0) Source: Carnival Corp Ltd. 10-K, filed 2026-01-27
- Growth
- sales up 6.4% in the year to November 2025 (2.6) Source: Carnival Corp Ltd. 10-K, filed 2026-01-27
- Assets
- $51.7B in assets at the end of November 2025 (6.2) Source: Carnival Corp Ltd. 10-K, filed 2026-01-27
- Heritage
- founded in 1972, 54 years ago (3.6) Source: Carnival Corp Ltd. 10-K, filed 2026-01-27
- Inventory
- $505M of inventory at the end of November 2025 (3.5) Source: Carnival Corp Ltd. 10-K, filed 2026-01-27
- Buybacks
- no buybacks in the year to November 2025 (0.0) Source: Carnival Corp Ltd. 10-K, filed 2026-01-27
- Off-calendar year
- its fiscal year ends in November (10.0) Source: Carnival Corp Ltd. 10-K, filed 2026-01-27
Amazon
Online store, Prime and the AWS cloud
Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.
PayPal
Online payments, plus Venmo
Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.
Thermo Fisher
Lab instruments and supplies for science
Thermo Fisher's best fit on this board was Inventory, worth 8.6: $5.4B of inventory at the end of December 2025. Its weakest was California HQ, worth 0.0: headquartered in Waltham, MA.
- Cash on hand
- $9.9B in cash at the end of December 2025 (8.4) Source: THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC. 10-K, filed 2026-02-26
- California HQ
- headquartered in Waltham, MA (0.0) Source: THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC. 10-K, filed 2026-02-26
- Growth
- sales up 3.9% in the year to December 2025 (1.6) Source: THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC. 10-K, filed 2026-02-26
- Assets
- $110.3B in assets at the end of December 2025 (7.8) Source: THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC. 10-K, filed 2026-02-26
- Heritage
- founded in 2006, 20 years ago (1.3) Source: THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC. 10-K, filed 2026-02-26
- Inventory
- $5.4B of inventory at the end of December 2025 (8.6) Source: THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC. 10-K, filed 2026-02-26
- Buybacks
- $3.0B of its own stock bought back in the year to December 2025 (8.2) Source: THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC. 10-K, filed 2026-02-26
- Off-calendar year
- its fiscal year ends in December (0.0) Source: THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC. 10-K, filed 2026-02-26
General Motors
Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac and Buick
Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.
Gap
Clothing brands Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic
Gap's best fit on this board was California HQ, worth 10.0: headquartered in San Francisco, CA. Its weakest was Growth, worth 0.7: sales up 1.9% in the year to January 2026.
- Cash on hand
- $2.6B in cash at the end of January 2026 (5.6) Source: GAP INC 10-K, filed 2026-03-17
- California HQ
- headquartered in San Francisco, CA (10.0) Source: GAP INC 10-K, filed 2026-03-17
- Growth
- sales up 1.9% in the year to January 2026 (0.7) Source: GAP INC 10-K, filed 2026-03-17
- Assets
- $12.6B in assets at the end of January 2026 (3.1) Source: GAP INC 10-K, filed 2026-03-17
- Heritage
- founded in 1969, 57 years ago (3.8) Source: GAP INC 10-K, filed 2026-03-17
- Inventory
- $2.2B of inventory at the end of January 2026 (6.7) Source: GAP INC 10-K, filed 2026-03-17
- Buybacks
- $155M of its own stock bought back in the year to January 2026 (4.0) Source: GAP INC 10-K, filed 2026-03-17
- Off-calendar year
- its fiscal year ends in January (10.0) Source: GAP INC 10-K, filed 2026-03-17
Campbell's
Soup, plus Goldfish crackers
Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.
Reddit
Online communities and discussion forums
Its figures are hidden while it's still in play: it's on a board again within 14 days.