Warc, 4 March 2013
NEW YORK: Apple, the consumer electronics pioneer, has once
again taken top spot in Fortune's annual list of the world's "most
admired" companies, ahead of Google and Amazon, the online giants.
"For some, the news will come as a surprise," said
Adam Lashinsky, Fortune's senior editor at large. "Headlines of late have
tended to portend Apple's demise... Corporate admiration, however, appears to
outlast the fickle tastes of investors and consumers alike."
Fortune's listing noted that Apple has a "fanatical
customer base, and it still refuses to compete on price, making the iconic
iPhone and iPad products that are still widely seen as prestige devices".
The rest of the top ten are all American and cover a range
of sectors.
Another tech company, Google, is in second spot and
challenging Apple. Fortune observed that Google's OS is expected to overtake
Apple's iOS as the number one mobile operating system in the US and Canada this
year while Google Play is expected to overtake the Apple App Store in total
number of apps for mobile and tablet.
Online retailer Amazon takes third place and with its rapid
geographical growth stands to become the largest beneficiary of the e-commerce
industry boom.
Drinks giant Coca-Cola, at fourth, is the leading
'traditional' business and Fortune remarked on its moves to lessen its reliance
on the iconic carbonated drink, as it builds brands in water and juices.
In fifth place is coffee chain Starbucks, which saw revenue
increase 14% last year, followed by technology services business IBM, which is
showing particularly strong growth in data analytics, cloud computing and
emerging markets.
Southwest Airlines, at seventh, has won plaudits from
customers for policies such as not charging extra for bags, while investment
company Berkshire Hathaway, at eighth, is run by Warren Buffet, who has
promised to give half his wealth to charity.
At ninth, Walt Disney continues to make money from both
theme parks and the film business. Delivery business FedEx completes the top
ten.
The top non-US businesses in the list are both carmakers:
BMW appears in 14th place and Toyota at 29th.
Data sourced from CNNMoney/Fortune; additional content by
Warc staff
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