List of companies based in Miami facts for kids

The Miami metropolitan area in Florida is a busy place! It's home to many important companies. These companies have their main offices, called "headquarters," here. Miami's economy has grown a lot. It's not just about tourism anymore. Many businesses choose Miami because it's close to Latin America. This makes it a great spot for companies that do business across North and South America.
More than 1,100 large international companies have their Latin American offices in Greater Miami. These companies make a lot of money, over $221 billion each year! Some big names you might know include American Airlines, Cisco, Disney, Kraft Foods, Microsoft, Sony, and Wal-Mart.
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Top Companies in Miami
Miami is home to some of the biggest companies in the United States. These are often called "Fortune 500" companies. The Fortune 500 is a list of the 500 largest companies in the U.S. by how much money they make. Having a company on this list means it's a very successful business!
Here are some of the Fortune 500 companies based in the Miami area:
- Lennar (Miami): This company builds homes and communities.
- Office Depot (Boca Raton): They sell office supplies, furniture, and technology.
- World Kinect Corporation (Miami): This company helps businesses get energy and fuel.
- AutoNation (Fort Lauderdale): They are one of the largest car dealership chains.
- Ryder System (Miami): This company provides trucks, logistics, and supply chain services.
International Companies with US Headquarters
Many international companies choose the Miami area for their main U.S. or Americas headquarters. This means their biggest office for this part of the world is right here.
Some of these companies include:
- Bacardi U.S.A. (Coral Gables): A well-known spirits company from Bermuda.
- Benetton USA Corp (Miami Beach): A fashion company from Italy.
- Club Med (Coral Gables): A popular resort company from France.
- Embraer Aircraft Holding (Fort Lauderdale): An airplane maker from Brazil.
- Iberia Airlines of Spain (Miami): An airline from Spain.
- South African Airways (Ft. Lauderdale): An airline from South Africa.
- Telefónica USA, Inc. (Miami): A telecommunications company from Spain.
- Teva Pharmaceutical (Miami): A large medicine company from Israel.
Companies Focused on Latin America
Because Miami is a gateway to Latin America, many companies have their regional headquarters here. These offices specifically handle their business in countries like Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina.
Some examples are:
- American Airlines (Coral Gables)
- Canon Latin America (Miami)
- Caterpillar Americas Services (Miami)
- Cisco Systems (Miami)
- DHL Global Forwarding Latin America (Plantation)
- Hewlett-Packard Latin America (Miami)
- Kraft Foods (Coral Gables)
- Microsoft Latin America (Ft. Lauderdale)
- Nokia Corp (Miami)
- Oracle Latin America (Miami)
- Visa International (Miami)
Largest Local Employers
These companies employ many people in the Miami metropolitan area. They provide thousands of jobs and are very important to the local economy.
Here are some of the largest employers:
- American Airlines - 9,000 employees
- Precision Response Corporation - 5,000 employees
- Costa Farms - 5,000 employees
- Royal Caribbean International - 4,000 employees
- Office Depot - 3,800 employees
- Carnival Corporation & plc - 3,500 employees
- Wackenhut Corp - 3,000 employees
- Motorola - 2,500 employees
- Assurant Solutions - 2,100 employees
- Burger King - 2,000 employees
- Pollo Tropical - 2,000 employees
- Beckman Coulter - 1,800 employees
- Cordis - 1,800 employees
- NCL Corp - 1,500 employees
- Interval Leisure Group - 1,130 employees
- Boston Scientific - Miami - 1,000 employees
- OHL USA - 1,000 employees
- Securitas Security Services USA - 1,000 employees
- UPS - 1,000 employees