When it comes to picking the right investment, the bottom line of industries themselves matter.
To find the most profitable industries, FORBES took a look at the forecasted 2015 net margin of 19 major U.S. sectors. With a 21% net profit margin, healthcare technology tops the list as the most profitable industry, according to Factset. Finance and technology services trail with 17.3% and 16.1% net profit margin respectively. On the other end of the spectrum, energy minerals, distribution services, and non-energy minerals occupy the bottom of our list with 2.1%, 1.8% and 1.2%.
(See also: The World's Largest U.S. Companies [Gallery])
While healthcare technology has always been one of the most lucrative sectors, its net margin has been steadily on the rise along with the industry’s top line (revenue), as shown in the chart below. Within the broader healthcare technology category, the superstars of profitability go to major and generic pharmaceutical companies, such as
Following finance and technology services, electronic technology snags the fourth spot with 13.2% net margin. The industry has been on an uptick, steadily rising from 11.5% in 2011. The most notable examples are
By contrast, the two industries at the bottom of our list show how rough a time it has been since the collapse of oil prices at the end of the super commodities cycle. Factset forecasts the net margin for energy minerals to be 2.1% this year, a steep drop from 7.4% back in 2011. Similarly, the net margin for the non-energy minerals sector fell from 6.7% five years ago to a mere 1.1% forecasted for 2015.
Here are the profitability of 19 major industries in the U.S. according to our analysis:
Sector | Net Margin |
Health Technology | 20.9% |
Finance | 17.3% |
Technology Services | 16.1% |
Electronic Technology | 13.2% |
Consumer Non-Durables | 11.8% |
Transportation | 9.8% |
Consumer Services | 9.7% |
Utilities | 9.2% |
Producer Manufacturing | 8.4% |
Communications | 7.4% |
Process Industries | 7.3% |
Commercial Services | 6.5% |
Consumer Durables | 5.9% |
Industrial Services | 5.0% |
Health Services | 3.8% |
Retail Trade | 3.5% |
Energy Minerals | 2.1% |
Distribution Services | 1.8% |
Non-Energy Minerals | 1.2% |