Riding Out The Storm

Amid signs of an impending recession, local companies continued to weather the tempest. Here's how.

Visa's gangbuster IPO too late for Chron 200

Sam Zuckerman

If Visa had been part of this year's Chronicle 200, its revenue would have put it in 29th place. The company's March 19 IPO was the largest in U.S. history. Read more

Mark Hurd has earned a name at Hewlett-Packard

Ryan Kim

CEO of the Year: When Hurd was named in March 2005, the first question on some observers' lips was: Mark who? Read more

Varied group of newbies joins Chronicle 200

James Temple

This year's additions are a varied lot, producing everything from anthrax tests to online training, but there are several common threads among the freshmen. Read more

Many private firms do well in a down economy

Deborah Gage

Private companies don't worry about Wall Street expectations every quarter but in this economy they're feeling pinched. Read more

Widespread meager performance lowers returns

Tom Abate

Wall Street took off like a rocket in the first half of 2007 only to crash in the second half, which made it tough for Chronicle 200 companies to deliver the total returns - stock appreciation plus dividends - that investors crave. Read more

How we ranked the 200

Revenue was the criterion used to rank the companies. Read more about the method used to review the financial data provided to us by FactSet Research Systems.