WASHINGTON — A small fraction of Texas’ corporate titans donated to Republican Donald Trump’s White House bid, a sharp departure from traditional GOP support that could loom over their businesses’ political prospects.

A Dallas Morning News analysis of campaign finance records shows that only 12 percent of Texas' 52 biggest public companies had at least one top executive support Trump. That's compared with 71 percent in 2012 for GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Underscoring that shift, Democrat Hillary Clinton earned support from more in that class than Trump — including executives at American Airlines, AT&T and other large Texas companies.

“They didn’t get on board because they were so confident that Hillary would win,” said Dallas businessman Doug Deason, a prominent Trump donor. “It’s a matter of what you are getting for your dollar — not necessarily that they are trying to buy access.”

Few companies would discuss the donations. But experts said Trump’s long odds probably drove executives to ditch their historic GOP ties. Also, some corporate brass probably didn’t want to risk backlash in a divisive campaign highlighted by Trump’s bombast on race, trade and other issues.

The lingering question, then, for Texas’ business elite is simple: What now?

Companies that whiffed on the White House race could blunt any potential fallout with increased lobbying and support in Congress — or by backing key White House events like the inauguration.

But Trump has rattled the business world by wielding his bully pulpit on Twitter to call out corporations such as Lockheed Martin and Toyota. And though experts said it was unlikely that Trump would pursue grudges based on campaign checks, some said more generally that executives are being cautious.

Based on the tremendous cost and cost overruns of the Lockheed Martin F-35, I have asked Boeing to price-out a comparable F-18 Super Hornet! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2016

“There is some nervousness,” said Dallas businessman Jim Francis, a top Republican fundraiser. “President-elect Trump is an unknown quantity. ... So far, people like what they see, and they are kind of hoping that it works out that way.”

The Trump transition team didn’t respond to a request for comment.

But Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks told The Wall Street Journal last year that Trump has "tremendous support from small and large business CEOs and business owners" and that he "is not beholden to supporters with agendas like CEOs of massive, publicly traded companies."

At one GOP primary debate, Donald Trump said that as a businessman, "I give to everybody." (Pedro Portal/The Miami Herald)

And Trump, so long a businessman, has his own history with political contributions. In one of the GOP primary debates, he laid bare his part in what he called a “broken system.”

“I gave to many people,” he said in 2015. “Before this ... I was a businessman. I give to everybody. When they call, I give. And do you know what? When I need something from them two years later, three years later, I call them, they are there for me.”

To get a sense of how Texas' corporate community, in turn, approached Trump, The News selected the 52 Texas companies on the most recent Fortune 500 list and then used filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission to identify their named executives in 2012 and 2016.

The News searched campaign finance data for donations from that group to candidate accounts, joint fundraising committees and super PACs that backed the contenders.

In 2012, 36 of those companies had at least one top executive support Romney — totaling at least $846,000 — compared with just one for President Barack Obama. That fits big business’ shared ethos with the GOP over limited government, lower taxes and decreased regulation.

But just six companies in 2016 had at least one top executive back Trump, including North Texas companies such as Energy Transfer Partners, Exxon Mobil and Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Nine did so for Clinton. The executives gave at least $113,000 to Trump and at least $66,000 to Clinton.

Experts said there was an obvious reason for the tepid support behind Trump: the prevailing wisdom that the billionaire had no chance.

Some also pointed out that top executives may have been tapped out after supporting other Republican candidates early in the White House race. And others said the prospect of negative publicity — from either side — probably caused some corporate bigwigs to steer clear.

“CEOs and executives of public companies have a lot more to consider than just their own preferences,” said John Tatum, a Trump booster who’s chief executive of Dallas-based Genesco Sports Enterprises. “They have a lot of constituents to consider with their contributions or their actions.”

Several top North Texas companies contacted by The News offered muted responses to their executives' donations.

“We view this as an opportunity to engage with the new administration and discuss the real value that our industry and company brings to the U.S. economy,” said American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller, whose CEO Doug Parker backed Clinton. “We would not view it as a concerning matter.”

A spokesman for Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, whose chief executive, Trevor Fetter, donated to Clinton, declined to comment. Plano-based Dr Pepper Snapple Group, whose CEO, Larry Young, backed Trump, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

A spokesman for Irving-based Celanese, whose chief executive, Mark Rohr, supported Clinton, pointed to the company’s political action committee — which didn’t donate to the presidential race.

Experts such as UT-Austin professor Brian Richter confirmed that executive donations are part of a larger puzzle that includes corporate PACs and other activity.

Notably, the PAC donations by those top Texas companies to federal candidates jumped in 2016 from 2012, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. None of those companies' corporate PACs donated to Trump or Clinton in the 2016 cycle.

And some experts downplayed the overall impact of corporate political giving.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings is a Democrat who gave to candidates in both parties when he was CEO of Pizza Hut. Though he lamented that money in politics has gotten “way out of hand,” he said it’s “overexaggerated about how much money buys power.”

“It does buy access, but that’s different than buying a vote,” he said.

Still, some have more at stake than others.

Energy Transfer Partners CEO Kelcy Warren gave $100,000 to the Trump Victory Fund. A spokeswoman said that Warren believes Trump will "be supportive of American infrastructure projects such as the Dakota Access pipeline." (John L. Mone/The Associated Press)

Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners is seeking to complete the contentious Dakota Access pipeline. Stymied by the Obama administration, the company will now turn to Trump. Chief executive Kelcy Warren gave $100,000 to the Trump Victory Fund.

A spokeswoman declined to discuss the donations but said that Warren “believes Mr. Trump will be supportive of American infrastructure projects such as the Dakota Access pipeline.”

Dallas-based AT&T, meanwhile, will soon seek federal approval of a $108.7 billion merger with Time Warner that Trump has given a mixed review.

None of AT&T's top executives donated to Trump, even though CEO Randall Stephenson — who said recently that he's a "novice in the world of politics" — and other brass gave about $80,000 to Romney in 2012. This time around, a couple of top AT&T executives backed Clinton.

AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson, at a congressional hearing with Time Warner Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Bewkes, has said that he's a "novice" in the world of politics. (Evan Vucci/The Associated Press)

A company spokesman said that Trump’s “policies and discussions” fit “right in with AT&T’s goals.”

“As a company that has invested more in America than anyone else over the past five years, we look forward to working with President-elect Trump and his transition team,” the spokesman said.

More broadly, business leaders are evaluating the new order.

Toyota Motor said will build a new plant in Baja, Mexico, to build Corolla cars for U.S. NO WAY! Build plant in U.S. or pay big border tax. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2017

The president-elect has proved sensitive to any slight — perceived or otherwise. He has shown no hesitation in bullying opponents, using his Twitter account with 18.4 million followers as a megaphone to call out corporations and others. And he’s nothing if not unpredictable.

But Trump also staked his campaign on pro-business ideals. He has welcomed one-time critics into his inner circle. And he nominated as secretary of state Exxon Mobil's CEO, Rex Tillerson, who didn't personally contribute to the mogul's White House bid. (Tillerson's wife, Renda, did contribute $12,500 to the Trump Victory Fund.)

Former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson (right, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell) didn't donate to Donald Trump's campaign, though his wife did. Trump has selected Tillerson to be his secretary of state. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Given those competing realities, some business leaders have expressed unease at Trump's volatility. CEO Gary Kelly of Dallas-based Southwest Airlines recently told Bloomberg News that "we just don't know where the bully pulpit is going to come from."

But Dallas businessman Roy Bailey, a Trump supporter, echoed others in saying that he didn’t “feel like anyone has a target on him” based on a political contribution. Even Rawlings, who backed Clinton, said he doubted CEOs who didn’t donate to Trump are “having heartburn.”

Plus, there’s always a chance for businesses to get on the right side of politicians.

That could come through more PAC spending or more intensified lobbying efforts in Congress. And the biggest early test of corporate support will come with Trump's inauguration — organizers reportedly aim to raise $65 million, much of it from corporations.

Bailey, a finance co-chairman of the effort, wouldn’t get into specifics but said the returns so far have been strong.

“Whatever numbers that are out there, we are exceeding them,” he said.