Big Bosses

QWhat are America’s biggest employers? — P.K., West Haven, Connecticut

AThe United States federal government employs the most people in America. As of 2018, it employed more than 585,000 civilians in the U.S. Postal Service and over 2 million more people in all other agencies, per the president’s budget for fiscal year 2020. The military, meanwhile, employed about 1.4 million people in uniform, for a grand governmental total of more than 4.1 million.

Among private employers, Walmart leads the pack by far, employing about 2.2 million people globally, per Fortune 500 data. It’s followed in the Fortune 500 by Amazon.com (647,500 total employees), Kroger (453,000), Yum China Holdings (450,000), Home Depot (413,000), Berkshire Hathaway (389,000), IBM (381,100), United Parcel Service (364,575), Target (360,000), FedEx (359,000), UnitedHealth Group (300,000), Walgreens Boots Alliance (299,000), CVS Health (295,000), Starbucks (291,000) and General Electric (283,000).

QWhat’s stock dilution? — M.S., Aspen, Colorado

AIf a company already has a certain number of shares outstanding and it issues more shares, that can dilute — or decrease — the value of existing shares. The more shares that exist, the smaller the ownership stake each of them will have.

Here’s a simplified example: Imagine that a company has three shares, and you own one. If it issues a fourth share, your stake in the company will go from a third to a quarter.

Issuing additional shares can make sense if it helps the company raise money to fuel its growth and increase earnings (perhaps by buying another company with its stock). But if the shares are issued to finance a merger that doesn’t work out well, or to reward management or employees beyond what they’ve earned or what’s reasonable, then value is being destroyed. Want more information about stocks? Send us an email to foolnews@fool.com.