RJ and Makay

As year-end earnings reports come in, one thing seems clear. Large U.S. corporations generally did very well in the fourth quarter and 2010 as a whole. Furthermore, 2010 is shaping up as the best year for large corporations in more than a decade, with especially good results occurring in the telecommunications, energy, and financial sectors.

Roughly half the Standard & Poors (S&P) 500 companies have reported fourth-quarter and year-end earnings so far. Based on those reports, earnings in the S&P 500 were up 17% last year on a weighted basis. Sales were up about 9% for the year and rose 7% in the fourth quarter, far more than the third quarter's meager 0.9% increase.