Apple Tops Fortune's List of World's Most Admired Companies for 11th Consecutive Year

[MacRumors]

Apple has topped Fortune's annual list of the World's Most Admired Companies for the 11th consecutive year.

Apple finished ahead of Amazon, the runner-up for a second consecutive year, while Google's parent Alphabet, Warren Buffett's holding company Berkshire Hathaway, and coffee chain Starbucks rounded off the top five.

Apple topped the list in every category, such as innovation, quality of management, social responsibility, use of corporate assets, financial soundness, quality of products and services, and global competitiveness.

The rankings were determined by some 3,900 executives, directors, and securities analysts who selected the 10 companies they admired most. More on Fortune's methodology:

As we have in the past, Fortune collaborated with our partner Korn Ferry on this survey of corporate reputations. We began with a universe of about 1,500 candidates: the 1,000 largest U.S. companies ranked by revenue, along with non-U.S. companies in Fortune's Global 500 database that have revenues of $10 billion or more. We then winnowed the assortment to the highest-revenue companies in each industry, a total of 680 in 29 countries. The top-rated companies were picked from that pool of 680; the executives who voted work at the companies in that group.

The complete list includes 50 companies, ranging from other tech giants like Microsoft at 7th and Facebook at 12th to iconic brands like Coca-Cola at 18th and McDonald's at 37th. On the upside, both Adidas and Lockheed Martin made it onto the list for the first time. Meanwhile, GE plummeted from 7th to 30th.

In terms of technology companies, Apple ranked sixth in Thomson Reuters' first-ever list of the Top 100 Global Technology Leaders.

Article Link: Apple Tops Fortune's List of World's Most Admired Companies for 11th Consecutive Year

 

[alex00100]

And maybe for the last time.

 

[deanthedev]

Of course Apple is #1.

 

[Evelyn Harthbrooke]

And maybe for the last time.

I highly doubt that.

 

[mtneer]

The list looks like it closely tracks how each companies' stocks have done over the past year. Not sure on what basis the questionnaire attempted to figure out most admired...

 

[Jsameds]

I'd admire them a lot more if they narrowed their profit margin, made their Macs upgradeable, bundled premium accessories with their premium products and used decent batteries in their phones.

But unfortunately it's not about admiration, it's about $$$$$$

 

[EdT]

I think articles like this are the equivalent of clickbait. You know people will come out of the woodwork to bash Apple which will then bring out people who defend Apple. I’m not sure anymore that either group, taken as a whole, is really as rabid as their posts make them seem but it’s easy to be brave when using an anonymous identity.

 

[Rocketman]

I think MacRumors contributes directly to Apple's good reputation.

 

[Lone Deranger]

Admired by shareholders.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Meanwhile, GE plummeted from 7th to 30th.

This is why these lists are so silly. GE has been in a downward spin for a good part of the Immelt CEO era. Surely the "3,900 executives, directors, and securities analysts" selected to take part in this list-making process knew that. The stock market certainly did as GE stock was cut in half from the time Immelt took over to his retirement. And it's still sinking in the aftermath of what he wrought. But these voting movers and shakers likely did not want to bad mouth a big wig like Immelt so they waited until he left and the Fit hit the Shan.

Today GE has the largest pension gap of any S&P 500 company. Dividend cut. About to be broken up. How is it even the 30th most admired company much less 7 when all this crap was just starting?

 

[hoon2999]

I admire their excuses

 

[doelcm82]

This may be the ante-penultimate time Apple takes this honor.

Or maybe not.

 

[Bacillus]

Best of the Universe
(in the milking category)

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

"3,900 executives, directors, and securities analysts"...that explains it. They wish their company could make money hand-over-fist by selling mediocre product at profit margins most companies can only dream of.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

This may be the ante-penultimate time Apple takes this honor.

Or maybe not.

I'd say worst case preantepenultimate. Of course if Apple doesn't become the world's first trillion dollar company soon then all bets are off.

 

[lkrupp]

Best of the Universe
(in the milking category)

Sour grapes never helped anyone. Negativity will damage your soul. Desperately wishing for Apple’s demise will only cause you more pain.

 

[WatchFromAfar]

I'd say worst case preantepenultimate. Of course if Apple doesn't become the world's first trillion dollar company soon then all bets are off.

I keep hearing "world's first trillion dollar company" here but

http://fortune.com/2017/11/08/apple-stock-amazon-trillion-aapl-iphone-x/

says that race was won in 2007 by oil and gas producer PetroChina; granted they didn't stay there but don't be fast and loose with "world's first".

 

[Billsofat]

Admired for what? Their throttling? Or their broken iOS 11 or root password bugs in Sierra? Or is it the $500 back glass repair?

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I keep hearing "world's first trillion dollar company" here but

http://fortune.com/2017/11/08/apple-stock-amazon-trillion-aapl-iphone-x/

says that race was won in 2007 by oil and gas producer PetroChina; granted they didn't stay there but don't be fast and loose with "world's first".

No, that was a smoke and mirrors/sleight of hand/fake news event. It's why no one recognizes it as legit now. It's kind like the big asterisk above Barry Bond's name.

There are 2 classes of PetroChina, A Class that can only be bought and sold in mainland China, and then the ADRs that are sold outside China and have no value inside China. The A class shares sold for a steep premium as an IPO. So then WS analysts attributed the phony A class value to the ADRs and privately held shared owned by the Chinese gov't. Of course the two shares had zero to do with each other since they were in no way interchangeable - A shares could only be traded in China, ADRs outside. The ADRs never had the same valuation as the A shares. It's why the valuation soon collapsed -- there was nothing but thin air holding it up in the first place.

So yes, Apple would be the first legitimate publicly held company to reach the 1 trillion mark.

 

[michaelant]

There must be some mistake. MR forums members have chosen Samsung. Fortune is way off.

 

[Vjosullivan]

Is this like the "World Series" where World = USA?

 

[5105973]

May as well compile a list of least odious dictators. Okay, that’s tongue in cheek exaggeration, but I just don’t think of the corporations that constantly lobby the government to put their interests as a business entity above mine as an individual human being as something that inspires my admiration. I suppose it’s just me, but I just find this an odd list to compile.

I’m just happy if a corporation can manage to go about its business without destroying the environment as badly as it could, doesn’t fire fellow citizens the moment it spots an opportunity to move an office or factory out of the country for cheaper labor, and doesn’t sell a product that could maim me or poison me.

Don’t get me wrong, I generally like Apple because it’s generally good at doing all of the above. But I trust any corporation about as far as I can throw its CEO. Admiration is putting my positive feelings a bit too strongly.

Edit: Oh great, I sound like such a hippy.

 

[WatchFromAfar]

No, that was a smoke and mirrors/sleight of hand/fake news event. It's why no one recognizes it as legit now. It's kind like the big asterisk above Barry Bond's name.

There are 2 classes of PetroChina, A Class that can only be bought and sold in mainland China, and then the ADRs that are sold outside China and have no value inside China. The A class shares sold for a steep premium as an IPO. So then WS analysts attributed the phony A class value to the ADRs and privately held shared owned by the Chinese gov't. Of course the two shares had zero to do with each other since they were in no way interchangeable - A shares could only be traded in China, ADRs outside. The ADRs never had the same valuation as the A shares. It's why the valuation soon collapsed -- there was nothing but thin air holding it up in the first place.

So yes, Apple would be the first legitimate publicly held company to reach the 1 trillion mark.

My point is it doesn't matter how it happened or what slight of hand was at play to make it happen it happened. Like it or not, moan why it wasn't, and present arguments against the case, it happened. Now, people may be looking for a legitimate case of the first sustainable world's first trillion dollar company and good for them but let's not pretend something that happened didn't happen because, well I guess we can't gloat about that.

 

[EdT]

Is this like the "World Series" where World = USA?

No, it’s World Cup where World = Not USA.

 

[simonmet]

This is pretty dumb because exposure counts a lot. I can think of plenty of companies I admire more than Apple, but they might be small, local businesses - like the guy who hand-makes the best shoes for me ever. Compared to him Apple is like a slutty acquaintance. The bootmaker I consider a true artisan.