Every year the NCEO releases the Employee Ownership 100, the 100 largest companies that are majority-owned by their employees. Just over half (53) are 100% owned by their employees, mostly through an ESOP.

The list is once again headed by Publix Super Markets of Lakeland, Fla., with 200,000 employee-owners. Rounding out the top five companies are the staffing company Penmac (27,850 employees), industrial component company Amsted Industries, the supermarket WinCo Foods, and the supermarket and related services company Houchens Industries (each with 18,000 employees).

Supermarkets are common among the largest employee-owned companies, with ten on the list, including Brookshire Brothers (15), Harp's Food Stores (29), Homeland (48), Reasor's (53), Bhueler's Fresh Foods (61), Yoke's Foods, Inc. (78), and North State Grocery (93).

The most common line of business is engineering or engineering / architecture, with fourteen firms. The second is supermarkets, and the third largest category, with eight companies, is construction.

Most states are represented on the list. The companies have headquarters in 41 states. Five states have five or more companies listed: California (10), Missouri and Illinois (7), Texas (6), and Wisconsin (5).