If the operations of Apple, say, in those countries are mostly logistics and distribution, then the profits of those subsidiaries will be low. By international tax law your German subsidiary cannot charge $200 per iPhone to bring it from a port warehouse to a retail outlet. It can only book a "reasonable" or arms-length profit for it's part of getting an iPhone into the hands of a consumer.
Re. clutching at straws - it doesn't contribute much to offer guesses about how confident I am with my arguments. If I were not happy with my case, I would not be putting it into writing.
It is avoiding to look at reality to claim that it must be that these companies report no profits in the countries I mentioned. The reality is that this is done on purpose by clever schemes.
And yet the reality is that all those companies report virtually zero profit in countries like the UK, France, Germany, etc.
I feel you are clutching at straws here.