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Apple Named 'World's Most Admired Company' for 12th Year in a Row

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Despite its recent financial stumble, Apple has topped Fortune's annual ranking of the World's Most Admired Companies for the 12th consecutive year.

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Apple finished ahead of Amazon, the runner-up for a third consecutive year, while Warren Buffett's holding company Berkshire Hathaway, The Walt Disney Company, and coffee chain Starbucks rounded off the top five. Apple rivals Microsoft, Google, and Samsung ranked 6th, 7th, and 50th respectively.

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 3,750 executives, analysts, directors, and experts" who selected the 10 companies they admired most:

As we have in the past, Fortune collaborated with our partner Korn Ferry on this survey of corporate reputations. […]

To select our 50 All-Stars, Korn Ferry asked 3,750 executives, directors, and securities analysts who had responded to the industry surveys to select the 10 companies they admired most. They chose from a list made up of the companies that ranked in the top 25% in last year’s surveys, plus those that finished in the top 20% of their industry. Anyone could vote for any company in any industry.

Fortune also asked its respondents to weigh in on the reputations of the executives who lead these top companies, with 79 respondents calling Apple CEO Tim Cook "underrated" and 183 calling him "overrated."

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Top Rated Comments

BvizioN Avatar
BvizioN
100 months ago
I would be interested to know what the forum members think about this? :)
Looking forward to reading some "positive" comments as usual.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Enclavean Avatar
Enclavean
100 months ago
What other company can charge $749 for sub-1080p screens and still have them sell? I mean, you gotta admire that
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iShater Avatar
iShater
100 months ago
I'm more irritated with Apple than I have ever been before. Form over function and more BS and spin than usual.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
F
femike
100 months ago
Yes, I do admire the hobbled products, the products that have been neglected and discontinued, and the astronomical high prices, the reduced quality control, and the sheer number uncritical fans.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheShadowKnows! Avatar
TheShadowKnows!
100 months ago
"Fortune also asked its respondents to weigh in on the reputations of the executives ('http://fortune.com/2019/01/22/most-over-and-underrated-ceos/') who lead these top companies, with 79 respondents calling Apple CEO Tim Cook "underrated" and 183 calling him "overrated."

2.3:1 vote Cook "overrated".
[Cook "winning!"/s]
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nwcs Avatar
nwcs
100 months ago
In other news, MacRumors curmudgeons voted Apple the Most Heinous Company. In typically humorless forum posts, Apple critics disregard all evidence to the contrary and unilaterally declare Apple as the worst company to ever exist.

“Where is my US$99 iPhone?” seems to be the rallying cry. “Apple keeps overcharging. We know they use slave labor and never pay taxes. They also use inferior intel parts. No way there’s more than 3¢ worth of parts there,” others say. Rampant denial and equivocation is expected when news is received that anyone could reasonably disagree.

Expect to see more comments of “Fire Tim Cook” as critics rally together in force not seen since the last Guy Fawkes day.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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