Companies · Puzzle #8 · Wednesday, October 7
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
- Off-calendar year: 10 pts if its year ends off December
- Cash on hand: 1.5 pts per doubling over $200M, at year end
- Workforce: 1.5 pts per doubling over 2,500 staff, at year end
- Inventory: 1.5 pts per doubling over $100M, at year end
- Sales: 1.5 pts per doubling over $1.5B, last year
- Profit: 1.5 pts per doubling over $150M, last year
- Assets: 1.5 pts per doubling over $3B, at year end
- Sales per employee: 2 pts per doubling over $60K a head, last year
The best board
- Deckers (UGG, Hoka) in Off-calendar year: its fiscal year ends in March (10.0)
- Johnson & Johnson in Profit: $26.8B profit in the year to December 2025 (10.0)
- Microsoft in Cash on hand: $20.9B in cash at the end of June 2026 (10.0)
- UnitedHealth in Workforce: 390,000 employees at the end of December 2025 (10.0)
- SLB (Schlumberger) in Inventory: $5.0B of inventory at the end of December 2025 (8.5)
- Goldman Sachs in Assets: $1.8T in assets at the end of December 2025 (10.0)
- ConocoPhillips in Sales per employee: $5.95M in sales per employee in the year to December 2025 (10.0)
- Ford in Sales: $187.3B in sales in the year to December 2025 (10.0)
The most this board could score: 78.5 of 80.
The lineup, figure by figure
Deckers (UGG, Hoka)
UGG boots and Hoka running shoes
- Off-calendar year
- its fiscal year ends in March (10.0) Source: DECKERS OUTDOOR CORP 10-K, filed 2026-05-22
- Cash on hand
- $1.9B in cash at the end of March 2026 (4.9) Source: DECKERS OUTDOOR CORP 10-K, filed 2026-05-22
- Workforce
- 6,000 employees at the end of March 2026 (1.9) Source: DECKERS OUTDOOR CORP 10-K, filed 2026-05-22
- Inventory
- $487M of inventory at the end of March 2026 (3.4) Source: DECKERS OUTDOOR CORP 10-K, filed 2026-05-22
- Sales
- $5.5B in sales in the year to March 2026 (2.8) Source: DECKERS OUTDOOR CORP 10-K, filed 2026-05-22
- Profit
- $1.0B profit in the year to March 2026 (4.2) Source: DECKERS OUTDOOR CORP 10-K, filed 2026-05-22
- Assets
- $3.7B in assets at the end of March 2026 (0.4) Source: DECKERS OUTDOOR CORP 10-K, filed 2026-05-22
- Sales per employee
- $912K in sales per employee in the year to March 2026 (7.9) Source: DECKERS OUTDOOR CORP 10-K, filed 2026-05-22
Johnson & Johnson
Medicines and medical devices
- Off-calendar year
- its fiscal year ends in December (0.0) Source: JOHNSON & JOHNSON 10-K, filed 2026-02-11
- Cash on hand
- $19.7B in cash at the end of December 2025 (9.9) Source: JOHNSON & JOHNSON 10-K, filed 2026-02-11
- Workforce
- 140,800 employees at the end of December 2025 (8.7) Source: JOHNSON & JOHNSON 10-K, filed 2026-02-11
- Inventory
- $14.2B of inventory at the end of December 2025 (10.0) Source: JOHNSON & JOHNSON 10-K, filed 2026-02-11
- Sales
- $94.2B in sales in the year to December 2025 (9.0) Source: JOHNSON & JOHNSON 10-K, filed 2026-02-11
- Profit
- $26.8B profit in the year to December 2025 (10.0) Source: JOHNSON & JOHNSON 10-K, filed 2026-02-11
- Assets
- $199.2B in assets at the end of December 2025 (9.1) Source: JOHNSON & JOHNSON 10-K, filed 2026-02-11
- Sales per employee
- $669K in sales per employee in the year to December 2025 (7.0) Source: JOHNSON & JOHNSON 10-K, filed 2026-02-11
Microsoft
Windows, Office, Xbox and the Azure cloud
- Off-calendar year
- its fiscal year ends in June (10.0) Source: MICROSOFT CORP 10-K, filed 2026-07-29
- Cash on hand
- $20.9B in cash at the end of June 2026 (10.0) Source: MICROSOFT CORP 10-K, filed 2026-07-29
- Workforce
- 223,000 employees at the end of June 2026 (9.7) Source: MICROSOFT CORP 10-K, filed 2026-07-29
- Inventory
- $1.4B of inventory at the end of June 2026 (5.7) Source: MICROSOFT CORP 10-K, filed 2026-07-29
- Sales
- $331.8B in sales in the year to June 2026 (10.0) Source: MICROSOFT CORP 10-K, filed 2026-07-29
- Profit
- $133.7B profit in the year to June 2026 (10.0) Source: MICROSOFT CORP 10-K, filed 2026-07-29
- Assets
- $758.4B in assets at the end of June 2026 (10.0) Source: MICROSOFT CORP 10-K, filed 2026-07-29
- Sales per employee
- $1.49M in sales per employee in the year to June 2026 (9.3) Source: MICROSOFT CORP 10-K, filed 2026-07-29
UnitedHealth
Health insurance, plus Optum
- Off-calendar year
- its fiscal year ends in December (0.0) Source: UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC 10-K, filed 2026-03-02
- Cash on hand
- $24.4B in cash at the end of December 2025 (10.0) Source: UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC 10-K, filed 2026-03-02
- Workforce
- 390,000 employees at the end of December 2025 (10.0) Source: UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC 10-K, filed 2026-03-02
- Inventory
- $3.3B of inventory at the end of December 2025 (7.6) Source: UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC 10-K, filed 2026-03-02
- Sales
- $447.6B in sales in the year to December 2025 (10.0) Source: UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC 10-K, filed 2026-03-02
- Profit
- $12.1B profit in the year to December 2025 (9.5) Source: UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC 10-K, filed 2026-03-02
- Assets
- $309.6B in assets at the end of December 2025 (10.0) Source: UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC 10-K, filed 2026-03-02
- Sales per employee
- $1.15M in sales per employee in the year to December 2025 (8.5) Source: UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC 10-K, filed 2026-03-02
SLB (Schlumberger)
Oilfield services and technology
- Off-calendar year
- its fiscal year ends in December (0.0) Source: SLB LIMITED/NV 10-K, filed 2026-01-23
- Cash on hand
- $3.0B in cash at the end of December 2025 (5.9) Source: SLB LIMITED/NV 10-K, filed 2026-01-23
- Workforce
- 109,000 employees at the end of December 2025 (8.2) Source: SLB LIMITED/NV 10-K, filed 2026-01-23
- Inventory
- $5.0B of inventory at the end of December 2025 (8.5) Source: SLB LIMITED/NV 10-K, filed 2026-01-23
- Sales
- $35.7B in sales in the year to December 2025 (6.9) Source: SLB LIMITED/NV 10-K, filed 2026-01-23
- Profit
- $3.4B profit in the year to December 2025 (6.7) Source: SLB LIMITED/NV 10-K, filed 2026-01-23
- Assets
- $54.9B in assets at the end of December 2025 (6.3) Source: SLB LIMITED/NV 10-K, filed 2026-01-23
- Sales per employee
- $328K in sales per employee in the year to December 2025 (4.9) Source: SLB LIMITED/NV 10-K, filed 2026-01-23
Goldman Sachs
Investment bank
- Off-calendar year
- its fiscal year ends in December (0.0) Source: GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC 10-K, filed 2026-02-25
- Cash on hand
- $164.3B in cash at the end of December 2025 (10.0) Source: GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC 10-K, filed 2026-02-25
- Workforce
- 47,400 employees at the end of December 2025 (6.4) Source: GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC 10-K, filed 2026-02-25
- Inventory
- no inventory at the end of December 2025 (0.0) Source: GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC 10-K, filed 2026-02-25
- Sales
- $58.3B in sales in the year to December 2025 (7.9) Source: GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC 10-K, filed 2026-02-25
- Profit
- $17.2B profit in the year to December 2025 (10.0) Source: GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC 10-K, filed 2026-02-25
- Assets
- $1.8T in assets at the end of December 2025 (10.0) Source: GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC 10-K, filed 2026-02-25
- Sales per employee
- $1.23M in sales per employee in the year to December 2025 (8.7) Source: GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC 10-K, filed 2026-02-25
ConocoPhillips
Oil and gas producer
- Off-calendar year
- its fiscal year ends in December (0.0) Source: CONOCOPHILLIPS 10-K, filed 2026-02-17
- Cash on hand
- $6.5B in cash at the end of December 2025 (7.5) Source: CONOCOPHILLIPS 10-K, filed 2026-02-17
- Workforce
- 9,900 employees at the end of December 2025 (3.0) Source: CONOCOPHILLIPS 10-K, filed 2026-02-17
- Inventory
- $1.9B of inventory at the end of December 2025 (6.3) Source: CONOCOPHILLIPS 10-K, filed 2026-02-17
- Sales
- $58.9B in sales in the year to December 2025 (7.9) Source: CONOCOPHILLIPS 10-K, filed 2026-02-17
- Profit
- $8.0B profit in the year to December 2025 (8.6) Source: CONOCOPHILLIPS 10-K, filed 2026-02-17
- Assets
- $121.9B in assets at the end of December 2025 (8.0) Source: CONOCOPHILLIPS 10-K, filed 2026-02-17
- Sales per employee
- $5.95M in sales per employee in the year to December 2025 (10.0) Source: CONOCOPHILLIPS 10-K, filed 2026-02-17
Ford
Cars and pickup trucks, including the F-Series
- Off-calendar year
- its fiscal year ends in December (0.0) Source: FORD MOTOR CO 10-K, filed 2026-02-11
- Cash on hand
- $23.4B in cash at the end of December 2025 (10.0) Source: FORD MOTOR CO 10-K, filed 2026-02-11
- Workforce
- 169,000 employees at the end of December 2025 (9.1) Source: FORD MOTOR CO 10-K, filed 2026-02-11
- Inventory
- $15.3B of inventory at the end of December 2025 (10.0) Source: FORD MOTOR CO 10-K, filed 2026-02-11
- Sales
- $187.3B in sales in the year to December 2025 (10.0) Source: FORD MOTOR CO 10-K, filed 2026-02-11
- Profit
- a $8.2B loss in the year to December 2025 (0.0) Source: FORD MOTOR CO 10-K, filed 2026-02-11
- Assets
- $289.2B in assets at the end of December 2025 (9.9) Source: FORD MOTOR CO 10-K, filed 2026-02-11
- Sales per employee
- $1.11M in sales per employee in the year to December 2025 (8.4) Source: FORD MOTOR CO 10-K, filed 2026-02-11