Considering the challenges of 2008, the 25 highest-grossing Texas-based firms showed financial spark in 2008, with their combined gross revenue increasing a little compared to 2007. However, combined net income was flat.

Those not-too-shabby financial results came despite the nation’s dramatic economic downturn, which worsened as the year went on, and the impact of Hurricane Ike, which slammed into the Gulf Coast in September 2008, darkening homes, offices and the economic outlook for Texas.