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1/20/13

USA, Inc: Forecast: Top three Inc's with the higest profits: Apple, Exxon and Microsoft - by Douglas A. McIntyre

Each January, 24/7 Wall St. forecasts the publicly traded U.S. companies that will have the highest profits in the year ahead.

This year, Apple (AAPL) almost certainly will keep first place, well ahead of No. 2 Exxon (XOM), as the most profitable corporation in America. It already passed the oil giant in market capitalization.

However, while the market appears to anticipate continued rapid growth from Apple, its prospects have dimmed somewhat. After reaching all-time highs last year, Apple's stock advance has stopped and shares have sold off recently.

The list of most profitable companies is still dominated by oil companies, banks and big tech. A look back at profits over the past five years shows that this trend has continued. Some of these companies have not grown much on the top line of revenue for several years. But they continue to be earnings machines because of their long-time sales success, which will help them produce higher profits in the foreseeable future.

Microsoft (MFST) is the best example of this. The software company is no longer considered a leader in the tech world, a position taken by public corporations like Google (GOOG) . Yet, Microsoft's Windows and business franchises still have huge profit margins. Microsoft's net income is greater than that of almost all other tech firms.

Read more: Forecast: 10 most profitable U.S. companies in 2013

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