Utah Companies in your Investment Account
In your 401(k), IRA, or other investment account where you’re invested in mutual funds, you know you’re invested in a lot of different companies - you just don’t know them all.
A mutual fund pools the money of its investors to buy shares of hundreds, or even thousands, of individual stocks or bonds at once.
If you own any mutual funds that track or loosely mirror the S&P 500, the S&P 400 Mid-Cap, or the Russell 2000 index, it’s very possible that some you are partially invested in companies “right down the street” from where you live!
Have you ever wondered what Utah-based companies you might be invested in?
Let’s take a look at 15 publicly traded companies headquartered in Utah that you have a good chance of being invested in, whether you knew it or not.
For each one, I’ll list:
The name of the company
Stock ticker symbol
Location
The year they became publicly traded
Market capitalization at the end of 2019 (the total dollar market value of a certain company’s outstanding shares of stock on the market)
Brief description of the company
Ready to find out what local Utah companies you might be invested in? Let’s go:
ExtraSpace Storage (EXR) - Salt Lake City, UT
Went public in: 2004
Market Cap: $13.68 billion
Listed in the S&P 500 index
Originally founded by Kenneth Woolley in 1975 in Billings, Montana, ExtraSpace expanded by developing and selling storage properties across the country. Their headquarters are in Utah and they operate as a real estate investment trust. On this list, they are the largest company and the only one to appear in the S&P 500.
Overstock.com (OSTK) - Midvale, UT
Went public in: 2002
Market Cap: $278.22 million
Listed in the Russell 2000 index
Overstock is one of the true pioneers of e-commerce, starting to sell furniture and other household merchandise in 1997, well before most people trusted buying goods online. Buying the inventory of risky companies who quickly rose and fell during the “dot-com” era, they went public in 2002. Although they’ve somewhat been lost in the now ubiquitous world of online retailers, it’s fun to know that we have a company that started here in Utah that was influential in changing the direction of how people shop.
NuSkin Enterprises (NUS) - Provo, UT
Went public in: 1996
Market Cap: $2.278 billion
Listed in the S&P 400 Mid-Cap index
With Utah being known as the “Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) corridor” in some other parts of the country, NuSkin is one of the most well known companies in this industry and thus is representative of at least one part of Utah’s economic personality. NuSkin has a global reach, with 1.2 million independent distributors in over 54 countries.
Purple Innovation Inc. (PRPL) - Lehi, UT
Went public in: 2017
Market Cap: $469.36 million
Listed in the Russell 2000 index
Famous for their YouTube commercial of attaching raw eggs to the bottom of a glass board and dropping the glass board onto their well-branded mattress, Purple got their start through brothers Tony and Terry Pearce launching a successful Kickstarter campaign. Purple is a great example of a company using new science to improve an old product, then leveraging new-world advertising and fundraising make a splash in an old industry. They’ve licensed out their technology to several other companies to be used in both similar bedding products as well as other products like shoe insoles, sports braces, footwear, and medical equipment.
SkyWest (SKYW) - St. George, UT
Went public in: 1986
Market Cap: $3.252 billion
Listed in the Russell 2000 index
SkyWest is actually the largest regional airline in North America, right underneath all the major “mainline” airlines. They operate and maintain aircraft for flights of bigger, major airlines - mostly Alaska Airlines, Delta, United, and American Airlines.
Zions Bancorp (ZION) - Salt Lake City, UT
Went public in: 1966
Market Cap: $8.57 billion
Listed in the S&P 500 index
Started in 1955, the company’s origins are closely tied to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. However, several outside investors took majority interest interest of the company as early as 1960, and by 1966 a public offering of shares was made. Although few outside of the Rocky Mountain region would recognize Zions Bank, it’s actually now #43 on the list of top 50 largest banks in the U.S. as measured by assets, and the second of two companies on this list found in the S&P 500.
Vivint Solar (VSLR) - Lehi, UT
Went public in: 2014
Market Cap: $893.39 million (end of 2019)
Listed in the Russell 2000 index
Originally a security systems business built through the summer sales model, APX Alarm Security Solutions rebranded as Vivint in 2011 and expanded into more products. At that same time, they also split off the separate entity of Vivint Solar, which is the company that went public in 2014. Vivint (SmartHome) actually went public as well in early 2020, trading with the symbol VVNT. Although two separate companies on paper, the overall Vivint brand is one of the most recognized in our state, with the SmartHome side making memorable commercials with Utah Jazz players as the sponsor and namesake of the team and its arena.
Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings (SPWH) - Midvale, UT
Went public in: 2014
Market Cap: $347.14 million
Listed in the Russell 2000 index
The first Sportsman’s Warehouse opened in 1986 in Midvale, Utah, where the headquarters still are now. They made it through a rough patch in the late 2000’s following the recession, but made it out on the other side. They’re now a very well-recognized retailer nationwide, boasting 95 storefronts in 25 states around the country (as of 2019).
USANA Health Sciences (USNA) - West Valley City, UT
Went public in: 1995
Market Cap: $1.701 billion
Listed in the Russell 2000 index
The second multi-level marketing company on the list supposedly got their name from a word of Latin and Greek origin meaning “True Health”. USANA produces various nutritional products, dietary supplements, and skincare products. They manufacture most of it here in Utah too! Many Utahns are aware of the company due to their USANA Ampitheatre concert venue, which hosts many of the most famous musicians and live concerts who come through our Utah on tour.
Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (MMSI) - South Jordan, UT
Went public in: 1990
Market Cap: $1.724 billion
Listed in the Russell 2000 index
As a company that manufactures disposable medical devices, Merit may not be as well-known to the average consumer in Utah but is nonetheless a leader in their field. Founded in 1987 and going public only 3 years later, they are one of the oldest companies on this list.
Zagg (ZAGG) - Midvale, UT
Went public in: 2007
Market Cap: $239.69 million
Listed in the Russell 2000 index
As the use of handheld electronic and media devices proliferated in the mid-2000’s, ZAGG emerged as one of the first creators of screen protection for phones, iPods, and Palm Pilots. Many will remember the initial “Invisible Shield” brand and line of products. They’ve since expanded into selling all kinds of accessories for popular electronic devices, and doing repairs as well. They now operate storefronts and mall booths and kiosks all over North America.
HealthEquity (HQY) - Draper, UT
Went public in: 2014
Market Cap: $5.25 billion
Listed in the S&P 400 Mid-Cap index
If you have a Health Savings Account through your employee benefits, there’s a good chance it’s provided through HealthEquity. Although it started in Tucscon, Arizona back in 2002, the company moved its headquarters to Utah quite soon afterwards in early 2004. As the trend away from traditional health insurance plans to High Deductible Health Plans in employee benefits programs continues, HealthEquity is sure to stay successful going forward.
Franklin Covey (FC) - West Valley City, UT
Went public in: 1992
Market Cap: $445.75 million
Listed in the Russell 2000 index
An institution known world-wide due to Stephen R. Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective people, Franklin-Covey provides time management training and assessment services for business and individuals. The Franklin Quest company was public as far back as 1992, although the current form of the company comes from them acquiring Covey Leadership Center and become FranklinCovey in 1997. They used to have a nationwide network of stores to sell their accompanying planners and other associated products, but that aspect of their company has been diminished over time in the digital age of e-commerce.
Health Catalyst (HCAT) - Salt Lake City, UT
Went public in: 2019
Market Cap: $1.273 billion
Listed in the Russell 2000 index
Another company associated with the healthcare industry rounds out our list. Health Catalyst provides technology for data analytics and modeling used in hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare providers.
Qualtrics (XM) - Salt Lake City, UT
Went public in: 2021
Market Cap: $19.53 billion (as of March 12, 2021)
Too new to be listed in an index yet
The newest addition to this list, Qualtrics originally was going to go public in 2018 before being bought out by SAP, Inc (SAP). However, SAP decided to spin-off Qualtrics into a publicly traded entity and the IPO was finalized in early 2021.
As an experience management company, Qualtrics feedback surveys are now a seemingly ubiquitous part of business and consumer interactions.
Pluralsight (PS) - Farmington, UT
Went public in: 2018
Market Cap: $2.436 billion
Listed in the Russell 2000 index
Currently building a new headquarters in Draper at Point of the Mountain, Pluralsight creates video training courses and educational content for technology and creative professionals and businesses. They started in 2004, moved their courses online in 2007, and were early adopters of the online subscription model. Pluralsight is right at the front of the exciting “Silicon Slopes” tech industry movement going on in Utah.
With the news in late 2020 that Pluralsight is being acquired by a private equity firm, I’ve updated this list
Summary
Out of these 15 publicly traded companies headquartered in Utah, how many did you know? Did you realize you might be invested in them?
It is fun to know what individual companies you might be invested in through your mutual funds or ETF’s.
However, a sound investing strategy calls for a broader diversification in companies of all sizes across the world.
Getting unbiased investment advice through a fiduciary financial advisor can be hard to find, but luckily, the Utah Financial Advisor Network was created to help Utahns find this exact type of advisor. Our vetting process removes any advisors who have negative disclosures (such as complaints or lawsuits). In addition, all of our advisors are fee-only (compensated directly by clients) and always act as fiduciaries (meaning we put your interests ahead of our own). Finally, each of our advisors lives and works in Utah. We understand the risks and opportunities that Utah retirees face and can help you navigate a successful investing strategy in this great state.
Learn how to find the right advisor for you by reading our “Choosing Your Advisor” page. We look forward to helping you!
About the Author
Justin Chidester, CFP®, AFC®
is a fee-only financial planner specializing in high student loan balance planning and RSU/stock options tax planning for young professionals. He lives in Logan, but works virtually with clients all over the state of Utah.
