That's where they keep the money.

And financial institutions are where, more and more, you'll find the Top 75's market value concentrated.

Jim Morgan takes a lot of stock in North Carolina companies, both literally and figuratively. As president and CEO of Interstate/Johnson Lane, a Charlotte-based regional brokerage, he

The total market cap for the 1995 Top 75 grew 14.8%, to $78 billion. The median rose to $245.1 million from $208.1 million in 1994, and the cutoff point was $46.1 million, up from $38.5 million last year. The biggest leaps came from Glenayre Technologies, which doubled its market cap and jumped from No. 19 to No. 12, and Medic Computer Systems, which moved from No. 42 to No. 26 with a 179% market-cap increase.

But as an industry, financial institutions - banks, thrifts and brokerages - made the big moves. That 41% is up from 31% in 1991, the first year BNC ranked public companies by market cap. Even though almost a third of the companies on this year's list saw their market value drop over the past year, none of the financial institutions did. Their average gain was 24.5%, more than double the 11.3% norm.

The state's bankers and brokers might not be able to match that relative growth in the future, Morgan says, but "the financial institutions in North Carolina are going to continue to grow in real terms." Their success, he points out, only makes the state more attractive to out-of-state companies looking to move into an economy that grew 5.5% in 1994, outperforming the nation's 4%. "So on a relative basis, you may see [the market share of financial institutions] swing the other way," he says. "We may be close to a peak in the percentage of capital that financial institutions hold."

But interstate banking is a wild card that has yet to be put in full play. Morgan says it means Tar Heel banks will continue to grow through acquisition, the only question being whether they'll be buying or bought.

There's no doubt what an offer of (and for) interest will do. First Citizens Banc-Shares' unsolicited move to merge with the state's largest S&L, Raleigh Federal Savings Bank, drove parent company RS Financial's stock up 35% in the month before our April 3 deadline. That boosted RS Financial to No. 60 from No. 68 had the cutoff been March 3. Similarly, collecting-card maker SkyBox International had gained 13.1% over last year's market cap before Marvel Entertainment's bid in March resulted in a 49% leap.

[TABULAR DATA OMITTED]

Total sales (fiscal 1994)
(in millions)

1 FOOD LION                           $7,933
2 LOWE'S                               6,111
3 DUKE POWER                           4,489
4 NUCOR                                2,976
5 CAROLINA POWER & LIGHT               2,877
6 BURLINGTON INDUSTRIES                2,127
7 UNITED DOMINION INDUSTRIES           2,036
8 RUDDICK                              1,908
9 COLLINS & AIKMAN                     1,536
10 FAMILY DOLLAR STORES                1,428

TOP 75 MEDIAN $300
Sales growth (fiscal 1994)

1 MEDCATH                              96.5%
2 BROADWAY & SEYMOUR                   85.4
3 INTEGRATED SILICON SYSTEMS           82.1
4 BROADBAND TECHNOLOGIES               78.5
5 TANGER FACTORY OUTLET CENTERS        57.8
6 VANGUARD CELLULAR SYSTEMS            54.0
7 QUINTILES TRANSNATIONAL              46.0
8 MEDIC COMPUTER SYSTEMS               43.4
9 OAKWOOD HOMES                        40.6
10 EMPIRE OF CAROLINA                  40.2

TOP 75 MEDIAN 11.5%
Ratio of market cap to 1994 sales

1 BROADBAND TECHNOLOGIES               12.2
2 INTEGRATED SILICON SYSTEMS            8.9
3 GLENAYRE TECHNOLOGIES                 6.6
4 HIGHWOODS PROPERTIES                  5.9
5 VANGUARD CELLULAR SYSTEMS             5.2
6 FACTORY STORES OF AMERICA             5.1
7 SUMMIT PROPERTIES                     4.3
8 MEDIC COMPUTER SYSTEMS                4.3
9 QUINTILES TRANSNATIONAL               3.6
10 MEDCATH                              3.5

TOP 75 MEDIAN 0.8
Net income (fiscal 1994)
(in millions)

1 NATIONSBANK                       $1,680.0
2 FIRST UNION                          858.7
3 DUKE POWER                           589.2
4 WACHOVIA                             539.1
5 CAROLINA POWER & LIGHT               303.6
6 JEFFERSON-PILOT                      239.2
7 SOUTHERN NATIONAL                    231.0
8 NUCOR                                226.6
9 LOWE'S                               223.6
10 FOOD LION                           152.9

TOP 75 MEDIAN $13.1
Net profit margin (fiscal 1994)

1 HIGHWOODS PROPERTIES                  26.0
2 FACTORY STORES OF AMERICA             25.5
3 INTEGRATED SILICON SYSTEMS            24.5
4 TANGER FACTORY OUTLET CENTERS         24.3
5 SUMMIT PROPERTIES                     24.0
6 GLENAYRE TECHNOLOGIES                 19.5
7 SKYBOX INTERNATIONAL                  18.8
8 NATIONAL GYPSUM                       13.2
9 DUKE POWER                            13.1
10 MARTIN MARIETTA MATERIALS            10.7

TOP 75 MEDIAN 4.4%
Ratio of 4/3/95 price to fiscal 1994 earnings per share

1 QUINTILES TRANSNATIONAL               46.1
2 MEDIC COMPUTER SYSTEMS                46.0
3 COASTAL HEALTHCARE GROUP              37.0
4 INTEGRATED SILICON SYSTEMS            35.6
5 GLENAYRE TECHNOLOGIES                 35.4
6 SECURITY CAPITAL BANCORP              33.1
7 MEDCATH                               30.1
8 LADD FURNITURE                        25.3
9 LOWE'S                                24.8
10 AMERICAN CITY BUSINESS JOURNALS      24.7

TOP 75 MEDIAN 13.5
Shareholders' equity (fiscal 1994)
(in millions)

1 NATIONSBANK                        $11,011
2 FIRST UNION                          5,398
3 DUKE POWER                           4,533
4 WACHOVIA                             3,287
5 CAROLINA POWER & LIGHT               2,586
6 JEFFERSON-PILOT                      1,733
7 SOUTHERN NATIONAL                    1,429
8 LOWE'S                               1,420
9 NUCOR                                1,123
10 FOOD LION                           1,027

TOP 75 MEDIAN $124
Return on average equity (fiscal 1994)

1 SCHWITZER                            45.5%
2 COCA-COLA BOTTLING                   37.5
3 REGIONAL ACCEPTANCE                  27.3
4 NATIONAL GYPSUM                      26.2
5 MEDIC COMPUTER SYSTEMS               25.5
6 GALEY & LORD                         25.3
7 WANDEL & GOLTERMANN TECHNOLOGIES     24.8
8 BROADWAY & SEYMOUR                   24.0
9 MARTIN MARIETTA MATERIALS            20.6
10 INTEGRATED SILICON SYSTEMS          19.8

TOP 75 MEDIAN 14.1%
Ratio of debt to equity

1 COCA-COLA BOTTLING                   12.7
2 VANGUARD CELLULAR SYSTEMS             8.9
3 SUMMIT PROPERTIES                     2.2
4 GALEY & LORD                          1.9
5 BURLINGTON INDUSTRIES                 1.5
6 FIELDCREST CANNON                     1.4
7 INGLES MARKETS                        1.4
8 PIEDMONT NATURAL GAS                  1.0
9 TANGER FACTORY OUTLET CENTERS         1.0
10 CAROLINA POWER & LIGHT               1.0

TOP 75 MEDIAN 0.3
Dividend yield
(1994 dividend to 4/3/95 price)

1 FACTORY STORES OF AMERICA             9.3%
2 TANGER FACTORY OUTLET CENTERS         7.7
3 SUMMIT PROPERTIES                     7.6
4 CAROLINA POWER & LIGHT                6.2
5 INGLES MARKETS                        5.9
6 LANCE                                 5.6
7 N.C. NATURAL GAS                      5.4
8 PUBLIC SERVICE OF N.C.                5.3
9 DUKE POWER                            5.0
10 PIEDMONT NATURAL GAS                 4.9

TOP 75 MEDIAN 1.6%
Stock-price change
(12/31/93 to 4/3/95)

1 MEDIC COMPUTER SYSTEMS              208.9%
2 SKYBOX INTERNATIONAL                153.0
3 SCHWITZER                            72.9
4 BROADWAY & SEYMOUR                   71.3
5 EMPIRE OF CAROLINA                   69.2
6 NATIONAL GYPSUM                      63.1
7 RS FINANCIAL                         58.8
8 GLENAYRE TECHNOLOGIES                56.5
9 FIRST CHARTER                        52.5
10 GOODMARK FOODS                      46.5

TOP 75 MEDIAN (3.2)%
Return on average assets (fiscal 1994)

1 SKYBOX INTERNATIONAL                 50.6%
2 MEDIC COMPUTER SYSTEMS               17.8
3 INTEGRATED SILICON SYSTEMS           16.6
4 WANDEL & GOLTERMANN TECHNOLOGIES     14.5
5 NATIONAL GYPSUM                      13.7
6 GLENAYRE TECHNOLOGIES                13.0
7 CEM                                  12.1
8 NUCOR                                11.8
9 GOODMARK FOODS                       11.8
10 BROADWAY & SEYMOUR                  11.2

TOP 75 MEDIAN 4.7%