30 Companies Getting the Most From the Government

L3 Technologies is a company that provides intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance products and services for land, sea, and space missions for a variety of government and commercial customers. The company was awarded $5.2 billion in contracts with the federal government in 2017. One of the contracts was a $37.6 million maintenance deal to provide support to the Navy’s T-45 Goshawk aircraft system.

BAE Systems was awarded more in U.S. government contracts in 2017 than any other company based in a foreign country. The U.K.-based company made $5.3 billion in 2017 in U.S. taxpayer dollars. A major defense contractor, BAE Systems designs and manufactures fighter jets, artillery systems, electronic equipment, and surface combat vehicles. Nearly a third of BAE’s 83,200 employees are based in the United States.

Bechtel Group is a private engineering, construction, and project management company. With $5.5 billion in contracts from the federal government in 2017 — largely from deals with the Defense Department and Navy — it is also one of the largest defense contractors in the world. The company has worked with the U.S. government, and many of its allies, providing missile defense services and developing and maintaining military bases and other infrastructure for over 50 years. The company’s recent projects with the U.S. government include a missile defense and space surveillance program at the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Test Site in the Marshall Islands.

One of the largest defense contractors in the world, Huntington Ingalls Industries won $7.2 billion in federal contracts in 2017. The only company in the world to build U.S. aircraft carriers and one of just two to build nuclear-powered submarines, Huntington Ingalls is critical to the strength of the U.S. Navy. Some of the company’s recent government deals include a $60 million contract to overhaul the USS Boise, a light cruiser vessel, and a $468 million contract to begin component development for the U.S. Navy’s Columbia-class submarine, a nuclear sub slated for use in 2021.

McKesson Corporation is one of several health care companies to receive billions of dollars from U.S. taxpayers. Through its subsidiaries, the company supplies a range of branded and generic pharmaceuticals, surgical supplies, and electronic infrastructure to health care providers. The Department of Veterans Affairs is one of the company’s largest clients, and the company was awarded $8.8 billion in government contracts in 2017.