L.A.’s 150 largest private companies took in $131 billion in revenue last year, up 4 percent from the previous year, according to the Business Journal’s annual list.

The top tier of local private firms are increasingly dominated by food providers, with five of the top 10 as ranked by 2016 revenue either producing, selling or distributing food – or serving it directly to customers.

That’s up from four last year, thanks to strong revenue growth at Rosemead-based Panda Restaurant Group, which moved up to No. 10 from No. 13.

Trader Joe’s Co. Inc. in Monrovia retained the top spot on the list with an estimated $15.7 billion in annual revenue last year, up from an estimated $13 billion a year earlier. Following it at Nos. 2 through 5 with the same rankings as last year were downtown investment management firm Capital Group Cos. at $7.3 billion in revenue, West L.A.-based Wonderful Co. at $4.8 billion, Dole Food Co. Inc. in Westlake Village at $4.5 billion and Commerce-based Unified Grocers Inc. at $4.1 billion.

Overall, 32 of the 150 companies on the list had revenues topping $1 billion last year (see page 12). The cumulative 2016 revenue of $131 billion for all 150 companies was roughly equivalent to the 2016 gross domestic product of Kazakhstan, which ranked No. 55 among the world’s nations, according to the World Bank.

Some of the companies also provided employment figures, but fewer companies offered the data last year compared with this year, leaving it unclear whether companies combined for a net gain in jobs in the latest count.

Food explosion

Twenty food-related companies are on the list overall, including two food equipment providers.

“L.A.’s proximity to the farms to our north, its well-developed transportation networks to move that produce to L.A., the well-established food manufacturing strength in L.A. and the immense consumer market are all reasons why these food companies are thriving here,” said Lawren Markle, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

Two of the five food companies in the top 10 have farming operations in other parts of California: Wonderful and Dole Food.

“In addition, our cultural diversity and openness to new tastes makes fertile ground for developing taste sensations and finding and developing brand-loyal customers,” Markle said. “Once established here in L.A., these companies can use world-class transportation networks to serve the rest of the U.S. and some international markets, too.”

Panda Restaurant Group used that strategy to grow into a restaurant empire with $2.8 billion in revenue last year, up from $2.5 billion the previous year. Panda has been opening more than 100 stores a year in California, the rest of the United States and internationally while new menu items have increased same-store traffic, Chief Financial Officer David Landsberg said in an email.

“As one of the nation’s most looked-upon destinations for dining, Los Angeles is a nourishing community for the restaurant industry due to the diversity of opportunity that the city presents,” Landsberg said. “The … area is home to many neighborhoods, each with its own personality and needs, which offers more opportunity for a varied landscape of restaurants, ranging from fine dining to fast casual.”

Auto dealers cruising

Another industry strongly represented on the private companies list is auto dealers – not surprising for a county known as the world’s car culture capital. Seven auto dealership groups and one stand-alone auto dealer are on the list, with six of those in the top 40.

Most of these auto dealers posted revenue gains last year, which was one of the strongest nationwide in recent memory for auto sales and leases.

At No. 16 Keyes Automotive Group in Van Nuys – the largest auto dealer chain on the list by revenue with nearly $2.2 billion in 2016, a slight increase from a year earlier – a key revenue driver has been the spread of leasing.

“The lease market is particularly strong here because of sales tax issues,” said Howard Tenenbaum, vice president of Keyes.

The entire sales tax is factored into car purchases, which can be a big hit with the region’s relatively high sales tax rates; only a portion of sales taxes are paid on leases, unless the person decides to buy the car when the lease is up.

Big movers

Another newcomer to the top 10 was Harbor Freight Tools USA Inc. of Calabasas. The tools retailer shot up four spots to No. 7 on 2016 revenue of $4 billion.

“We’re opening a new store roughly every three days,” Harbor Freight spokeswoman Karen Denne said. “We now have more than 800 stores in 47 states.”

The title of biggest mover up the list went to No. 51 Levine Leichtman Capital Partners of Beverly Hills. The private equity firm specializing in middle market companies rode the hot mergers and acquisitions market, more than doubling its revenue to $587 million in 2016 and propelling it up from the No. 90 slot last year.

Falling the most in its ranking was No. 119 Newegg Inc. of City of Industry, apparent fallout from the market-dominating Amazon.com. The online computer component retailer fell from No. 9 last year, with revenue dropping to an estimated $165 million from nearly $2.6 billion.

However, that 2015 revenue was based on the company’s reported cash flow in 2014, which was the last time it provided revenue data for the list. The Business Journal estimated the company’s 2016 revenue on its sale of a 37.8 percent stake for $179.3 million in June, with standard industry multiples applied.

Newegg could not be reached by phone for comment and didn’t respond to emails this month.