Four Retail-Oriented Firms Make “Most Admired” Top 10

For the 18th year running, Apple (Cupertino, Calif.) leads the list of the World’s Most Admired Companies created by Fortune magazine and management consultant Korn Ferry. The electronics giant, whose operations include 530-plus stores, is joined near the top of the list by e-commerce giant Amazon (Seattle), #3, which has been working to establish its own network of stores, mainly in the food sector, and two pure-play retailers: Costco Wholesale (Issaquah, Wash.), #6, and Walmart (Bentonville, Ark.), #8.

“The world’s most admired companies don’t earn their ranking through financial results alone. They also get there through the reputation of their leadership, their ability to attract and retain top talent, and a strong culture,” said Laura Manson-Smith, Korn Ferry’s Global Leader of Organization Strategy Consulting. “The best strategy on paper is worth nothing without an engaged and skilled workforce to make it happen.”

Here’s the complete list of the  WMAC’s Top 10 All-Stars:

1. Apple
2. Microsoft
3. Amazon
4. Nvidia
5. Berkshire Hathaway
6. Costco Wholesale
7. JPMorgan Chase
8. Walmart
9. Alphabet
10. American Express

To create the list of 50 most admired companies, Korn Ferry and Fortune analyzed 650 businesses and surveyed more than 3300 executives to measure reputation based on nine different attributes, including each firm’s effectiveness in conducting business globally, its ability to attract, develop, and keep talent, its value as a long-term investment, its innovativeness, its wise use of corporate assets, and its responsibility to the community and environment.

This is the roster’s 27^th year.