National Cooperative Bank this week released its 2019 NCB Co-op 100®, an annual list of the nation’s top 100 revenue-earning cooperative businesses. In 2018, these businesses generated more than $222 billion, up from $214 billion the previous year. The theme of the report coincides with this year’s National Cooperative Month focus of “Co-ops: By the Community, For the Community.”
“Cooperatives are unique because they operate for the benefit of their member-owners and communities,” said Charles E. Snyder, president and CEO of National Cooperative Bank. “Having a vested interest in the co-op fosters a natural closeness and accountability between owners/members and management. We know this is a successful and sustainable business practice, since co-ops have been doing it for 175 years.”
Twenty-four electric cooperatives were included on this year’s list, two more than were on the list last year. North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation ranked 43rd with close to $1.2 billion in revenue in 2018, which is due to its size and the fact that it serves distribution cooperatives throughout North Carolina. NCEMC had ranked 49th on the list for the past several years.
“We’re proud to be a growing contributor to the economic strength of North Carolina’s communities,” said Joe Brannan, CEO of North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives. “As this list demonstrates, electric cooperatives are a tremendous force in our economy, and we continue to play a vital role in both powering and empowering the members and communities we serve.”
Basin Electric Cooperative in Bismarck, North Dakota, once again led the energy sector with more than $2.4 billion in revenue, ranking 16th. Co-op lenders CoBank and National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corp. also made this year’s list, with revenues of $5.7 billion (No. 10) and nearly $1.1 billion (No. 49), respectively. The No. 1 co-op on the list remains CHS Inc., a global agribusiness firm based in Minnesota with revenues of $32.7 billion.