Are there any large private companies in the Star Trek universe?

Question

We know there are small companies on earth like Picard's vineyard and Sisko's (Ben's dad) restaurant, but are there any large private companies that operate within Federation space like say a Procter and Gamble, FedEx, or Boeing size companies?

Private company means private company, not publicly traded stocks, etc. This question has nothing to do with the economic or monitary system or means of exchange. This has to do with any large private company that provides goods or services to others.

The entire economy of the federation is generally dealt with by hand waving and mumbling - can a private citizen get free travel between solar systems? What if they want to move something massive between solar systems, how do they hire a cargo ship? Who do they hire the cargo ship off of? Who built that cargo ship? If no one gets paid, why is that cargo ship crewed? Can't be very fulfilling... — Moo, Mar 31 '16 at 15:13
@MartinHandrlica Good point. I limited the question to earth as that would be sufficient to answer the curiosity. — Morgan, Mar 31 '16 at 15:15
I assume you don't 'private' in the sense of not government/military-run, not not publicly traded on the stock market — ThePopMachine, Mar 31 '16 at 15:24
If you expand this to the entire Star Trek universe (e.g. not just the Federation) this isn't a dupe. There are clearly companies that deal and trade with non-Federation cultures. — Valorum, Mar 31 '16 at 15:31
@Richard thanks for the suggestion. I've fine tuned the question and opened up the parameters to include all Federation space. — Morgan, Mar 31 '16 at 15:43
I don't think you can class Chateau Picard and Nokia as companies. They're certainly brands but we don't have any clue how they're administered. — Valorum, Mar 31 '16 at 16:01
Doesn't a company imply seeking currency in exchange for products or services? Do we know if Picard's vineyard or any other place of business actually deals with currency in their transactions? — Ellesedil, Mar 31 '16 at 17:02
@Ellesedil - No, we absolutely don't. For all we know, the whole thing is basically a commune. — Valorum, Mar 31 '16 at 17:57
@Ellesedil I edited the question... again. The question implies a large company that provides goods and/or services. — Morgan, Mar 31 '16 at 17:58

score 3 · Accepted Answer · edited Jan 07 '20 at 00:41

3

YES

There are several mentioned through out the series;

Dytallix Mining Company

Galactic Mining Company and here at approx 5.31

Earth Broadcasting Company

and an unnamed power company on Bajor Power Company

and several smaller ones including the ones you mentioned in your question

Quarks Bar

Chateau Picard

Sisko's Creole Kitchen

edited Jan 07 '20 at 00:41

Community

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answered Mar 31 '16 at 15:33

sfhq_sf

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Nice answer. This proves there ARE larger companies operating within the Federation despite all the proclamations to the contrary. Is it suppose to be a quiet little secret none talk about and dismiss out of hand if mentioned? – Morgan Mar 31 '16 at 15:58
@Morgan - There's no special indication that the Earth-based organisations were exchanging money for services. – Valorum Mar 31 '16 at 16:00
@Richard no one is talking about "exchanging money". The question is about the existence of larger 'private' businesses. Not the monetary system. – Morgan Mar 31 '16 at 16:47
@Morgan - Fair enough. Can you provide some evidence that the EBD and Galactic Mining companies are actually companies? I don't believe they were named in their respective episodes... – Valorum Mar 31 '16 at 16:50
@Richard that question would be better directed to sfhj_sf as it's her? answer. That's actually why I didn't accept as answered... yet. – Morgan Mar 31 '16 at 16:55
@Richard: For Galactic Mining check the memory-alpha link and for EBC check IMDb about half way down the page – sfhq_sf Mar 31 '16 at 17:37
@Morgan: him please – sfhq_sf Mar 31 '16 at 17:38
@sfhq_sf Yes sir :) – Morgan Mar 31 '16 at 17:46
Neither of those are primary sources. Memory Alpha is a fan-wiki and IMDB is wrong more often than it's right. – Valorum Mar 31 '16 at 17:48
@sfhq_sf - I meant you, obviously :-) – Valorum Mar 31 '16 at 17:59
@Richard: Galactic Mining here at aprox. 5.31 – sfhq_sf Mar 31 '16 at 18:03
@sfhq_sf - Yes, but is it a company? I see "Galactic Mining Delta-Vega Station"... – Valorum Mar 31 '16 at 18:25

score 2 · Answer 2 · edited Jan 07 '20 at 00:52

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This is a probably duplicate of: The fates of corporations in the Star Trek universe but that question is somewhat different in focus.

There are two potential examples:

One, in the reboot continuity, there is clear product placement of Nokia phone. So if you accept that, then you infer that Nokia, or at least some corporation using that brand exists in the 2240s (Kirk is a kid).

Two, Broht & Forrester is a holonovel publisher from the Voyager episode "Author, Author". However, it's not really clear if this qualifies as either "large" or as a "company".

edited Jan 07 '20 at 00:52

Community

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answered Mar 31 '16 at 15:12

ThePopMachine

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This is probably the best fit I can find: http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/82763/the-fates-of-corporations-in-the-star-trek-universe – ThePopMachine Mar 31 '16 at 15:14

Are there any large private companies in the Star Trek universe?

2 Answers2