The Biggest Grow Even Bigger, But a Few Sectors Struggle

Revenues of the 14 Hawaiʻi companies and nonprofit organizations with annual sales greater than $1 billion grew by 3.8% in 2025 and by 12% over the past two-year period. The list is not exactly the same year over year, as some companies drop out, others are added or combined. But the measure is a good approximation of the ranking and economic activity of the state’s largest enterprises.

To understand Hawai‘i’s economy during the past year, consider where residents, companies, governments and nonprofits are channeling their money. Construction and healthcare sectors delivered strong performances in 2025 with continuing promise for this year. Tourism, the largest driver of economic activity that accounts for about a fifth of the economy, showed signs of recovering before the U.S.-Israel war with Iran dealt it another blow in early 2026.

“Hawai‘i’s economy must weather a new storm,” concludes the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization (UHERO) in its May forecast. “The Iran war has sent oil prices surging, promising to raise inflation, increase travel costs and slow the major economies that send visitors to the Islands. These headwinds arrive on top of the serious damage from the two March Kona Low storms and an already-slow labor market growth. An outright contraction remains unlikely, but the near-term outlook has materially worsened.”

“Construction and healthcare sectors delivered strong performances in 2025 with continuing promise for this year.”

Even so, the latest forecast from the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) predicts visitor arrivals in 2026 will rise 1.9%, with visitor spending projected to rise 4.3%. It says energy prices spiked 28.8% in May but still forecasts overall economic growth in 2026 of 1.6%, down only slightly from its March outlook.

The 14 companies and nonprofits with annual revenues of over $1 billion collectively drew in sales of $36.4 billion. Of that group, four are in the healthcare sector and amassed $11.7 billion in revenue, a growth rate of 10.2%. Put another way, of the largest organizations in the state, nearly one in every three dollars of revenue went to a healthcare provider or an insurer.

Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA), technically a nonprofit that reports more than 760,000 members, again took the No. 1 spot in the Top 250 ranking, with $4.72 billion in revenues, an 8.5% increase from the year before. The insurer has been the state’s biggest enterprise by revenue nearly every year for the past decade.

The healthcare sector could consolidate further if the proposed combination of HMSA and the state’s largest healthcare provider, Hawai‘i Pacific Health (No. 10), is approved. (Clash of Titans: Hawai‘i’s Healthcare Leaders Disagree on Best Path Forward – Hawaii Business Magazine, April 2026)

Alaska/Hawaiian Moves Up

No. 2 on the Top 250 list is the combined Hawai‘i operations of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, moving up a notch from No. 3 last year. The merged company showed strong revenue growth of 8% in 2025 ahead of a rocky start to 2026 due to Iran war-induced fuel cost spikes that have forced it to raise fares (EXCLUSIVE: Hawaiian Airlines CEO: Iran War Pushes Fares Up But Merger Goals on Track – Hawaii Business Magazine, June 2026). Before this year’s challenges, Hawaiian Airlines CEO Diana Birkett Rakow says it had cut running annual losses of $350 million ahead of the merger to half that amount.

Down one spot in third position on this year’s list is Servco Pacific, a diversified company that spans operations from automotive distribution and retail, musical instruments, car sharing, industrial equipment and venture capital, with revenue of $4.1 billion. That marks a 28% increase over the last two years.

Privately owned Servco is the exclusive distributor of Toyota, Lexus and Subaru vehicles in Hawai‘i, with offices also in Australia, and is a majority stakeholder in Fender Musical Instruments and other companies in that field. Servco opened an investment office in California and says it plans to expand the company’s other businesses into new global markets.

In the No. 4 slot, Par Hawaii, is the flip side of the fuel coin, showing an 8.1% drop in revenue in 2025. However, as a refiner, distributor and marketer of petroleum products, as well as transportation fuels across Hawai‘i, it has benefited from the global price increases that the war with Iran has triggered. First quarter 2026 profits jumped to $54.5 million from a loss of $30.4 million the year before.

“Our outlook is strong, and we are well positioned to capitalize on the elevated margin environment across our system,” Will Monteleone, president and chief executive officer of the parent company, told shareholders in May.

Also in the energy sector, Island Energy Services with its Texaco Network of stations and other fuel distribution, suffered a 12.6% drop in revenue in 2025 before the fuel price spikes of early 2026. It slid from No. 11 to No. 14 position, with revenue of $1.02 billion.

Matson, the shipping company that is perennially a most-profitable company in Hawai‘i, held its 2025 revenue ranking at No. 5, with $3.35 billion in sales. That was a decline of 2.3% from the prior year, marked by shifting global trade patterns in response to President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs and threats. Hawaii Business Magazine publishes its annual list of the state’s most profitable companies in the September issue.

Matson’s competitor in the shipping sector, Pasha Hawaii, logged a nearly 1% revenue gain in similarly tough conditions to $778 million, holding steady at No. 17.

Hawaiian Electric Industries (HEI), which previously has been among the top three companies when ranked by revenue, retained its recent spot at No. 6, with a 4.1% decline in sales to $3.1 billion. It is still recovering from a $1.4 billion profit loss in 2024 as a result of its nearly $2 billion contribution to the Maui wildfire settlement. And after storms in early 2026 caused extensive damage to transmission lines and facilities that caused power outages, the utility with 472,000 customers has sought rate increases for the next two years.

“Our commitment to our communities is just as strong, as we actively support recovery efforts following the recent floods in Hawai‘i and Typhoon Sinlaku’s impact on Guam and Saipan.” – Bob Harrison, Chairman, President and CEO of First Hawaiian Bank

Construction Is a Bright Spot

The state economy has gotten a boost from the construction sector, despite continued permitting delays for residential construction across the Islands.

“Construction remains a genuine bright spot, with job growth ranging from more than 2% on O‘ahu to nearly 6% in Maui County,” UHERO says in its latest outlook. “Large federal contracts, Maui wildfire rebuilding, and the launch of the $4 billion New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District will sustain elevated activity through the end of the decade.”

One construction firm is part of the billion-dollar-revenue club, Hawaiian Dredging Construction, with annual revenues of $1.1 billion, which were flat on the year. General construction company Nan, meanwhile, posted a 7.2% jump in revenue to $917 million. In just four years, it has steadily climbed from No. 24 on the list with $465.8 million in revenues to No. 15 this year, just shy of the billion-dollar mark.

Employee-owned general contractor Hensel Phelps (No. 19) has more than doubled its Hawai‘i revenue in the past five years, adding 7.5% in 2025 to $602 million. After government contracts propelled growth of nearly 50% in 2024, Maui-based contractor Goodfellow Bros. (No. 27) gained another 2.8% in 2025.

Two financial firms were again included in the over-$1 billion club – First Hawaiian Bank and Bank of Hawai‘i. Both moved up one slot on the year, to No. 11 and No. 13, respectively.

Bob Harrison, chairman, president and CEO of First Hawaiian Bank, said first quarter 2026 loans and deposits grew. “Our commitment to our communities is just as strong, as we actively support recovery efforts following the recent floods in Hawai‘i and Typhoon Sinlaku’s impact on Guam and Saipan. We will continue to stand alongside our customers across our markets throughout the recovery.”

Jim Polk, who took over as president and CEO at Bank of Hawai‘i following the retirement of Peter Ho, said the bank started 2026 “on a firm footing. This performance underscores the strength and resilience of our franchise.”

Tourism Can’t Catch a Break

Tourism, which is a key part of Hawai‘i’s economy, is still struggling to get back to pre-Covid levels. Plagued by the Maui wildfires, a simultaneous drop-off in international travelers from the mainstay markets of Japan, Canada and Australia, and now war-induced airfare hikes, the entire sector is smarting.

Revenues at top hotel chain Kyo-ya Hotels and Resorts (No. 18), which operates such notable properties as the Moana Surfrider, the Palace Hotel, the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Waikiki Beach and the Royal Hawaiian, among others, fell 5.9% to $752.2 million.

In a year when tourist numbers were down but overall spending was up, sector results were mixed.

The OUTRIGGER Hospitality Group (No. 21) fared better with 2.3% sales growth in the year to $568 million. In a March interview with industry publication Hotel Dive, Sean Dee, executive vice president and chief commercial officer, said that despite the slump in international tourists, it has seen a slight recovery in U.S.-based visitors and also a shift to more well-heeled guests spending more per night.

“It’s not just rate growth, which is there obviously, but room night growth has been pretty significant,” Dee says. “Where there is softness is in the midscale and limited- and select-service segments. This is absolutely happening in Hawai‘i as well.”

Across the state, Hawai‘i organizations are still feeling a gut punch from federal program cuts that started during the first year of President Trump’s second term. Some 3,000 federal workers in Hawai‘i lost their jobs last year. Meanwhile, federal funding for scientific research, healthcare, agriculture, arts, education, oceans, community and legal services, housing, food assistance, Native Hawaiian programs and elderly care among other areas was cut entirely, reduced or threatened.

That is putting strains on nonprofits and charities that have tried to fill the federal gaps with donations. Hawai‘i Community Foundation, the largest charitable clearinghouse in the state, saw revenues drop nearly 23% in the year to $88 million, knocking its ranking to No. 94 from No. 76 last year. Although it has a strong asset base from which it can also draw to make donations to other nonprofits and charities, the hit to new income will surely affect its long-term outlook if the trend continues.

Hawaii Business Magazine will publish its annual list of the state’s most charitable companies and organizations in our November issue. Last year proved to be a record level of giving, but national and global economic disruptions have raised new uncertainties.

“Hawai‘i is now absorbing three major supply-side shocks simultaneously: high tariffs, reduced immigration, and the worst oil disruption in 50 years,” says UHERO in its latest forecast. “The cumulative burden is substantial and equally uncertain.”

Please see the Top 250 list starting on page 38 with an alphabetized index to organizations on the list on page 76.

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How We Compile the Top 250

Top 250 companies and nonprofits are ranked by gross sales or gross revenue, key indicators of market strength and influence.

Each spring, Hawaii Business Magazine surveys companies in our database and gathers updated financial figures, employee counts, names of executives and other information.

Businesses are asked to calculate gross sales using generally accepted accounting principles, while nonprofits report contributions to revenue, funding for services and/or proceeds from activities that support their missions. Each business and nonprofit provides the name of an executive who verifies the self-reported figures.

Companies headquartered in Hawai‘i report sales from all of their subsidiaries worldwide; those based elsewhere report Hawai‘i figures only. While we prefer calendar year data, some organizations operate on a fiscal year.

To supplement the survey process, we draw on public records such as annual reports, financial statements, databases of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and National Credit Union Administration, and insurance figures from the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

Some companies with large local presences don’t appear on the list. Those omissions often happen when offshore parent companies can’t or won’t supply data for their Hawai‘i operations, or when companies are privately held and do not disclose financial information.

Top 250 executives are surveyed and profiled in our Black Book issue each December.