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Tuesday February 10, 10:34 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: FORTUNE
General Electric Tops Fortune's List of America's Most Admired
Companies; FORTUNE Releases Its 16th Annual All-Star
Survey Based on Key Attributes
NEW YORK, Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- General Electric, the company that ''brings good
things to life,'' is the Most Admired Company in America, according to the country's business
men and women. The top ten list of Most Admired Companies, along with a list of where
some 476 companies rank in their own industries, appears in the March 2 issue of FORTUNE.
The other companies earning distinction as America's top ten Most Admired are: Microsoft
(#2), Coca-Cola (#3), Intel (#4), Hewlett-Packard (#5), Southwest Airlines (#6), Berkshire
Hathaway (#7), Disney (#8), Johnson & Johnson (#9) and Merck (#10). For the first time in
its 16-year history of conducting the survey, FORTUNE used a new methodology in
determining the ten most admired list. FORTUNE asked top executives, outside directors and
securities analysts -- 12,600 ballot recipients in all -- to select which companies, regardless
of industry, they admire most. In past years FORTUNE picked the top scores within industry
categories to create the top-ten ranking.
In evaluating the companies in their respective industries, FORTUNE employed the same
research techniques that it has in the past -- asking business executives to rate companies on
the following eight key attributes of reputation: innovativeness, quality of management,
employee talent, quality of products/services, long-term investment value, financial
soundness, social responsibility and use of corporate assets. Microsoft broke a pair of survey
records with the highest scores ever in the categories of employee talent and financial
soundness.
Much of the credit for GE's number one standing can be attributed to the leadership of its
CEO Jack Welch, reports FORTUNE editorial board member Thomas Stewart. ''Jack Welch
has rewritten the book on management while keeping GE huge, nimble and immensely
profitable,'' writes Stewart.
GE Board Member Gertrude Michelson concurs. ''GE is singular not only in its top leadership,
but in the institutional development of leadership. That's the outstanding attribute of the
company, and it's largely a result of Jack's vision,'' says Michelson. Under Welch, GE spends
more than $800 million a year on training and leadership development -- about half of what
it spends on R&D.
The breakdown of this year's top ten list includes three companies that are more than a
century old (GE, Coke, Johnson & Johnson), two upstarts still run by their founding
entrepreneurs (Microsoft and Southwest), and the top three ranking companies in market
capitalization among all U.S. corporations (GE, Coca-Cola and Microsoft). Among the
industries, four companies have dominated their respective categories since this survey's
beginning. Boeing in the aerospace sector, J.P. Morgan in the commercial bank sector,
Northwestern Mutual in the life insurance sector and Kimberly-Clark in the forest products
sector have led their industry every year.
Some companies didn't fare as well this year as in previous years. Rubbermaid lost its number
one position in the rubber and plastics products category to Goodyear Tire & Rubber. This is
the first time since the group was created in 1985 that it didn't garner the top spot. Kodak fell
to number seven from number three in the scientific, photo, and control equipment group, a
reversal largely due to intense competition from Fuji Photo Film and a steep drop in the
company's stock price.
The year's biggest gainer, however, is Yellow. The trucking company posted a 3l% jump in its
score, moving from number eight to number three, thanks to a robust 18-month turnaround
driven by its CEO Maurice Myers.
The March 2 issue of FORTUNE is on newsstands beginning February 16. To schedule an
interview with a FORTUNE editor or writer, call Meredith Halpern at 212-522-6724. For
more data on this year's Most Admired Companies survey, visit the FORTUNE Website at
fortune.com.
The 10 Most Admired Companies of 1997
1. General Electric
2. Microsoft
3. The Coca-Cola Company
4. Intel Corporation [Nasdaq:INTC - news]
5. Hewlett-Packard Company [NYSE:HWP - news]
6. Southwest Airlines Co.
7. Berkshire Hathaway Inc [NYSE:BRKa - news].
8. The Walt Disney Company [NYSE:DIS - news]
9. Johnson & Johnson
10. Merck & Co., Inc.
SOURCE: FORTUNE
More Quotes
and News:
Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRKa - news)
General Electric Co (NYSE:GE - news)
Hewlett-Packard Co (NYSE:HWP - news)
Intel Corp (Nasdaq:INTC - news)
The Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS - news)
Related News Categories: computer hardware, computer peripheral, computers, insurance,
leisure/travel, publishing, semiconductors, utilities
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