Analysts: These Companies Will Be The Most Profitable In 2020 It's time to look forward to 2020 — as 2019 is ancient history for investors. And analysts are already forecasting which will be the most profitable S&P 500 companies in the new year. S&P 500 companies are expected to earn $1.5 trillion as a group in 2020. And just 14 S&P 500 companies are seen hauling in a quarter of that sum, according to an Investor's Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The most profitable companies in 2020? Tech giantsApple(AAPL) andMicrosoft(MSFT) as well as communications services firm Alphabet(GOOGL). Analysts are positiveabout S&P 500 earnings next year. If S&P 500 companies deliver $1.5 trillion in profit as predicted, that would be an increase of 7.5% from what the same companies made in 2019. And on an earnings-per-share and market-cap weighted basis, S&P 500 companies are expected to post 11% higher profit in 2020 vs. 2019, says S&P Dow Jones Indices. 2020 profit estimates are subject to revision. There are certainly profit winners and losers, though. SPDR Sector ETFs: Intraday % Chg. Energy XLE 1.91% Financials XLF 1.34% Industrials XLI 1.21% Information Technology XLK 1.11% Materials XLB 1.03% Consumer Discretionary XLY 0.8% Health Care XLV 0.66% Communication Services XLC 0.59% Consumer Staples XLP 0.38% Real Estate XLRE 0.03% Utilities XLU -0.3% Sponsored by Provided by Nasdaq Last Sale. Real-time quote and/or trade prices are not sourced from all markets. 2020: S&P 500 Sector Profit Standouts S&P 500 companies in the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) are theones to watchnext year. The 69 tech companies in the S&P 500 together are expected to report net income of nearly $300 billion. That's more profit than any of the 11 S&P 500 sectors. Only stocks in the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) come anywhere close with total expected net income of $273 billion in 2020. No wonder the Technology Select Sector SPDR is up 40% this year, which is more than any other sector. It's a different story with earnings growth, vs. sheer dollar value of profit. Looking at expected 2020 growth on a market-cap earnings per share basis, stocks in the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) are expected to post 25.1% higher profit in 2020, says S&P Dow Jones Indices. That's the strongest expected growth of the 11 sectors. It tops the 22.8% expected earnings growth in 2020 of the S&P 500 Energy sector. Sectors' Expected Growth In 2020 S&P 500 Sector Operating earnings per share % growth by sector 2020 (estimated) Health Care 25.1% Energy 22.8% Materials 20.6% Information Technology 15.6% Consumer Discretionary 15.3% Industrials 14.1% Communication Services 14.0% S&P 500 11.4% Consumer Staples 7.1% Utilities 5.3% Financials -5.1% Real Estate -12.7% Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices Prediction: Apple Will Be The S&P 500 Profit Winner Apple will continue to be the biggest S&P 500profit machine next year, analysts say. Analysts think the smartphone maker will make $58.1 billion next calendar year, topping Microsoft's $42.9 billion expected profit and Alphabet's $38 billion net income haul during that time. On an adjusted EPS basis, Apple's profit is seen rising nearly 12% to $13.59 a share in calendar 2020. Hopes for a strong 2020 help explain the powerful 68% jump in Apple's stock this year, even as its earnings per share in the calendar year 2019 are essentially flat. Apple commands a strong 89IBD Composite Rating, according toIBD Stock Checkup. Financial Profit Powerhouses Technology is the S&P 500's profit engine, but financials are close behind.JPMorgan Chase(JPM) is seen posting net income of $31.7 billion next year. That makes it the most profitable S&P 500 company not in either the information technology or communications services sector. And the financial company is coming off robust 15% EPS growth in 2019. Strong profit growth combined with a 36% rise in JPMorgan's stock price explains its stellar 94 IBD Composite Rating, of a best-possible 99. Next year though, growth expectations for the financial firm are more muted. Analysts think its EPS in 2020 will rise just 2.4% to $10.57 a share. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathawayisn't seen boosting profit much either in 2020. Analysts are calling for just 3.8% growth in Berkshire's 2020 EPS. But when your company is Berkshire Hathaway and seen making $26.9 billion next year, that's still enough to make you the fifth most profitable in the S&P 500. S&P 500 Companies Expected To Be The Most Profitable in 2020 Company Exchange:Ticker 2020 Net Income, excl. unusual items ($ billions), expected 2020 EPS expected growth YTD stock % ch. Composite Rating Apple (AAPL) $58.1 11.6% 68.4% 89 Microsoft (MSFT) $42.9 7.6% 47.7% 93 Alphabet (GOOGL) $38.0 9.6% 26.8% 96 JPMorgan Chase (JPM) $31.7 2.4% 36.4% 94 Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) $26.9 3.8% 7.7% 70 AT&T (T) $25.9 2.2% 33.9% 81 Bank of America (BAC) $25.8 6.2% 34.5% 91 Facebook (FB) $25.7 9.1% 52.0% 99 Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $24.1 4.8% 8.3% 65 Verizon Communications (VZ) $20.5 2.5% 8.3% 66 Source: IBD, S&P Global Market Intelligence Follow Matt Krantz on Twitter @mattkrantz https://www.investors.com/etfs-and-...these-companies-will-be-most-profitable-2020/