Today, Fortune is out with its 32nd annual list of the World’s Most Admired Companies. Apple tops the list for the eighth consecutive year and is followed by Google, Berkshire Hathaway, Amazon.com and Starbucks.
Of this year’s list, Fortune Senior Editor Christopher Tkaczyk writes: “What becomes a reputation most? Healthy financials and stock performance, for starters. This year four companies have landed on the 50 All-Stars for the first time — Chipotle, CVS Health, Salesforce.com, and the financial services giant USAA, which at No. 28 is this year’s strongest debut. But not all companies fared as well. Consumer criticism and a change in leadership caused McDonald’s to slip to No. 46, its lowest rank in the seven years it has appeared in the top 50, and a hacking scandal and public stumbles resulted in Target’s dropping to No. 48.”
Fortune’s 2015 World’s Most Admired Companies Top 10:
1. Apple: Apple holds the top spot for the eighth year in a row. In February, it became the first company to hit more than $700 billion in market value. As tech devotees await the launch of the Apple Watch in April, record smartphone sales were announced in January — 74.5 million phones in final three months of 2014– proving that the iPhone is still the product to beat.
Apple Ranked in Nine Key Attributes of Reputation:
• Innovation: #1
• People management: #1
• Use of corporate assets: #1
• Social responsibility: #1
• Quality of management: #1
• Financial soundness: #1
• Long-term investment value: #1
• Quality of products / services: #1
• Global competitiveness: #1
2. Google
3. Berkshire Hathaway
4. Amazon.com
5. Starbucks
6. Walt Disney
7. Southwest Airlines
8. American Express
9. General Electric
10. Coca-Cola
See the full list of 349 companies in 55 industries and sort by rank, industry or location here.
Google should not be so admired. But then Microsoft was once much admired.
Google is the new Microsoft.
No matter… Still doomed.
/s
I’m sure there are still plenty of pundits out there saying how Apple no longer innovates and certainly how its long-term value is questionable.
I’m waiting from some Apple Bear Bullshitter to pull the old line about ‘The higher they fly, the farther they fall’. I have my yawn at the ready.
Clue to analysts: Study Apple before opening your mouth. There’s far more going on at Apple than I ever see recognized or discussed in any typical analyst report. IOW: Do your homework and you shall be rewarded with insight, as opposed to asshat-sight.
Another recognition of Apple’s great leadership. Way to go Apple.
It always astounds me that General Electric makes it onto these lists. It’s a sign of severe cognitive dissonance. Also, why is Southwest Airlines still on the list. They’ve thoroughly trashed their reputation over the past two years.
At least the list makes some sense in that OF COURSE Apple is #1.
Can’t mean that much if Samsung ranked #1 in innovation.
If pundits want to believe that Apple is doomed, then they have to wait for the next century for whoever is leading Apple to become distracted and lets hubris takes over.