Apple Tops Fortune's 'Most Admired Companies' List For Sixth Year Running

Apple has won the number one slot in Fortune's annual "World's Most Admired Companies" list for the sixth year in a row.

fortuneThe ranking is based on a large-scale poll of corporate executives, directors, and industry analysts who were asked to rank companies by nine key attributes: Innovation, People management, Use of corporate assets, Social responsibility, Quality of management, Financial soundness, Long-term investment, Quality of products/services and Global competitiveness. Apple scored #1 in all nine categories.

Apple has had a rough time lately with its stock price in a free fall and the widely publicized failure of its Maps feature. However, it remains a financial juggernaut, posting $13 billion in net income last quarter, making it the most profitable company in the world during that period. The company has its 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. Competition may be stiff, but so far it remains behind: In Q4 2012, the iPhone 5 was the world's best selling smartphone, followed in second place by the iPhone 4S.

The announcement is a bit of an embarrassment for Brad Chase, founding partner of Capitol Media Partners, who wrote a Forbes guest post earlier this week predicting that "bumbling" Apple would lose its number one slot and arguing that Fortune would have to "defy logic" to place Apple at the top once again. Confusion between Fortune and Forbes led to Chase's opinion piece being misreported by several media outlets earlier this week as Apple having actually lost its slot in a Forbes ranking.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
We are still waiting for the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate to come out, so the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week or two away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
Apple Logo Black

Apple's Next Launch is 'Imminent'

Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models. "All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
iOS 26 Home Feature

Apple Gives Final Warning to Home App Users

Tuesday February 3, 2026 8:55 am PST by
In 2022, Apple introduced a new Apple Home architecture that is "more reliable and efficient," and the deadline to upgrade and avoid issues is fast approaching. In an email this week, Apple gave customers a final reminder to upgrade their Home app by February 10, 2026. Apple says users who do not upgrade may experience issues with accessories and automations, or lose access to their smart...
Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. In his Powe...
Apple Foldable Thumb

First Foldable iPhone Design Details Revealed

Monday February 2, 2026 7:19 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone will feature relocated volume buttons, an all-black camera plateau, a smaller Dynamic Island, and more, according to design leaks from a known Weibo leaker. The user known as "Instant Digital" today claimed to share several key details about the design of the foldable iPhone: The volume buttons will be located on the top edge of the device, aligned to the...

Top Rated Comments

cclloyd Avatar
169 months ago
You don't see Samsung on that list.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AQUADock Avatar
169 months ago
google could take no 1 with the innovation they have come up lately.
Chromebook Pixel the $1000+ web browser, so innovative. :rolleyes: Google glass however is a different story but thats not released yet.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Daze & Confuse Avatar
169 months ago
You don't see Samsung on that list.

You don't see any non-US companies on that list.....

And any list that puts Coca-Cola and Starbucks in the top 5 most 'admired' companies on the entire planet can't be taken that seriously.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pgiguere1 Avatar
169 months ago
google could take no 1 with the innovation they have come up lately.
I don't know, as much as Google are able to come up with innovative products, those products (the physical ones) rarely ever affect our daily lives because they rarely are worth buying, or even possible to buy.

How many people do you know personally who own (or plan to own soon) a Chromebook Pixel? A Nexus Q? A Google TV? Google Fiber? How many plan to buy Google Glass at launch?

Now how many people do you know who use recent Apple products daily? Who buy new ones at launch?

Google mostly make niche products that aren't necessarily bad, but still niche products for a reason or another. Most of their income comes from services, mostly targeted ads with information mined from services like web search, maps, gmail, youtube etc. which haven't significantly evolved recently.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
drewyboy Avatar
169 months ago
egg in face much? Just goes to show these investors know **** about running a company... well other than into the ground.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Yelmurc Avatar
169 months ago
I'd like to see this survey by region. How does Apple hold up outside the U.S. compared to inside the U.S?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)