The March issue of Fortune magazine includes their annual world’s most admired companies list. Fortune asked businesspeople to vote for the companies that they admired most, from any industry.
Apple and Google came in at numbers one and two, respectively, which is no surprise to me. Apple has continued to prosper after the death of their legendary founder Steve Jobs, with annual revenues climbing to $108 billion. But the real reason they’re admired most: Apple products can be found in the hands of millions of people worldwide. Google has dropped to number two from their 1st place ranking last year, as the powerhouse went through a lot of changes in the past year.
Fortune identified the most admired stars from the list for each industry. Apple has topped the computers best list for the past three years and Google has topped the Internet services years for the past four years. GE (electronics), P&G (soaps and cosmetics) and Berkshire Hathaway (Insurance: property and casual) have stayed in the top slot of their industry for every year they were included in the survey. 20 companies on the list this year have topped their industry lists for the past 2 years or more.
Prominent companies on the list included Coca-Cola, IBM, Starbucks, Walt Disney, Goldman Sachs, eBay and Ralph Lauren. General Motors, Honda Motor and Unilever tied at the bottom of the list, coming in at number 50.
New York, California, Texas and Illinois are home to the highest number of most admired companies.
To appear as “most admired,” a company must have scored in the top half of its industry survey.
You can find more information about the most admired list here.
Any thoughts on these companies? Do you admire them?
