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

iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
imac video apple feature

Apple Launching These 15+ Products Later This Year

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The calendar has turned to July, meaning that 2025 is now more than half over. And while the summer months are often quiet for Apple, the company still has more than a dozen products coming later this year, according to rumors. Below, we have outlined at least 15 new Apple products that are expected to launch later this year, along with key rumored features for each. iPhone 17 Series iPho...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
iPhone Car Key Kia

Here's Which Vehicles Offer iPhone Car Keys

Sunday July 6, 2025 3:03 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. Apple has a web page with a list of vehicle models that ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iphone 17 pro render majin bu

New iPhone 17 Pro Renders Highlight Apple Logo and MagSafe Design Changes

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:43 pm PDT by
New renders today provide the best look yet relocated Apple logo and redesigned MagSafe magnet array of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Image via Majin Bu. Several of the design changes coming to the iPhone 17 Pro model have been rumored for some time, such as the elongated camera bump that spans the full width of the device, with the LiDAR Scanner and flash moving to the right side. ...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 17 Models Rumored to Feature Redesigned Dynamic Island

Monday July 7, 2025 7:38 am PDT by
iPhone 17 models will feature a redesigned Dynamic Island user interface, according to a post today from Digital Chat Station, an account with more than three million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The account has accurately leaked some information regarding future Apple products in the past. The account did not share any specific details about the alleged changes that are ...
Prime Day 25 Feature Warm Triad

The Best Prime Day Deals on AirPods, iPads, MacBooks, and More

Monday July 7, 2025 10:55 am PDT by
Amazon is back with its annual summertime Prime Day event, lasting for four days from July 8-11, the longest Prime Day yet. As it does every year, Prime Day offers shoppers a huge selection of deals across Amazon's storefront. With the event now underway, we're tracking numerous all-time low prices on Apple gear right now. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a...

Top Rated Comments

cclloyd Avatar
161 months ago
You don't see Samsung on that list.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AQUADock Avatar
161 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
161 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
161 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
161 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
161 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)