Who Are The Biggest Public U.S. Companies Donating To?
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Political action committees, or PACs, rake in a lot of money from companies and individuals. In just the first 12 months of the 2024 election cycle, PACs have raised $3.7 billion.
Companies and individuals seeking to support particular political parties or candidates often send their money to PACs, which pool campaign contributions to support or oppose political candidates, parties, or legislative agendas.
In this infographic, we show the top 10 publicly-traded companies by U.S. campaign contributions to company-associated political action committees (PACs) in 2024. The data was collected by Quiver Quantitative and is current as of August 19, 2024.
Republicans Receive More Donations Than Democrats
While the split between donations to Democrat versus Republican PACs was mostly even among the top 10, Republicans received a larger share from every set of company PACs.
Diversified technology and manufacturing company Honeywell saw the narrowest split between Democrats (49.6%) and Republicans (50.4%). The company also recorded the highest total of donations to PACs at $3.7 million.
| Company | Total Donated | Democrat PAC Donations | Republican PAC Donations | Democrat Share | Republican Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honeywell International | $3,743,000 | $1,847,000 | $1,874,500 | 50% | 50% |
| Comcast | $2,953,500 | $1,400,500 | $1,531,000 | 48% | 52% |
| Home Depot | $2,943,000 | $1,122,500 | $1,805,500 | 38% | 62% |
| AT&T | $2,905,500 | $1,306,000 | $1,586,000 | 45% | 55% |
| Boeing | $2,841,000 | $1,231,000 | $1,595,000 | 44% | 56% |
| United Parcel Service | $2,573,599 | $942,899 | $1,613,200 | 37% | 63% |
| Northrop Grumman | $2,504,500 | $1,202,000 | $1,292,500 | 48% | 52% |
| Lockheed Martin | $2,377,000 | $1,040,000 | $1,256,000 | 45% | 55% |
| Charter Communications | $2,192,000 | $1,057,500 | $1,117,000 | 49% | 51% |
| L3Harris Technologies | $2,173,100 | $995,100 | $1,176,000 | 46% | 54% |
Shipping company UPS had 63% of its contributions to Republican PACs associated with the company, the highest percentage of donations to a particular party.
On the other end, besides Honeywell, Charter Communications had the next-highest share of donations to Democrat company-associated PACs at 49%.
Defense Companies Among Top Donors
Defense companies were well-represented among the top 10 biggest contributors, including Boeing, Northrop Grumman, L3Harris Technologies, and Lockheed Martin. These companies provide goods or services to military agencies, with the U.S. Department of Defense being a major client.
Another prominent industry among the top campaign contributors are telecommunications and media companies, including Comcast, AT&T, and Charter Communications.
Both the defense and telecommunications industries are heavily regulated by the U.S. federal government, and often rely on government contracts.
Coming Soon: FREE Visual Guide to the U.S. Election
We’re publishing an eBook that covers the key issues facing Americans in the lead-up to the 2024 U.S. Presidential election.
This exclusive visual guide is packed full of charts and it’s free to VC+ members.
window.onload = function() {
if (window.location.href.includes(“/sp/”)) {
var vcSpNewsletter = document.querySelector(“a.vc-newsletter”);
vcSpNewsletter.style.display = “none”;
} else {
var voronoiAd = document.querySelector(“.voronoi-in-content.visua-target”);
var voronoiAd2 = document.querySelector(“.visua-post-bottom.visua-target”);
voronoiAd2.style.display = “none”;
voronoiAd.style.display = “none”;
}
};
What else do you get as a VC+ Member?
If you enjoy Visual Capitalist’s regular work, you’ll love VC+, our premium subscription. As a member, you’ll get exclusive access to:
- Special Dispatches: Deep dive visual briefings on crucial reports and global trends
- Markets This Month: A snappy summary of the state of the markets
- The Trendline: Weekly curation of the best visualizations from across the globe, handpicked by the Visual Capitalist editorial team
- Global Forecast Series: Our flagship annual report that covers everything you need to know related to the economy, markets, geopolitics, and the latest tech trends
- VC+ Archive: Hundreds of previously released VC+ briefings and reports that you’ve been missing out on, all in one dedicated hub
