Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Disney (DIS) are the most admired companies

Apple Inc. (AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) and The Walt Disney Company (DIS) are all ahead of the class at the 2021 launch of the World’s Most Admired Companies list, a longtime article in Fortune Magazine. These companies are in first, third and fourth places, respectively, in the 2021 list.

The methodology

Fortune partners with organizational consulting firm Korn Ferryin creating the list of the Most Admired Companies in the World. They start with a universe of 1,500 companies, consisting of the 1,000 largest in the United States in revenue, plus 500 non-American companies with revenues of at least $ 10 billion. Then they select the companies with the highest revenue in each sector, reducing the field to 670 companies representing 52 sectors and 30 countries.

Executives, directors and securities analysts responded to surveys sent by Korn Ferry. They were asked to rate companies in their own sectors based on nine criteria, from the value of the investment and the quality of management and products to social responsibility and the ability to attract talent. This stage produced lists of the most reputable companies in each of these 52 sectors.

Then, the 3,820 securities executives, directors and analysts who responded to industry surveys were asked to select the 10 companies they most admired, regardless of the sector. The field in which they made their selection included the top 25% in the 2020 polls and the top 20% in each sector in the 2021 process. The end result was a 50-star list, comprising the World’s Most Admired Companies in 2021.

Significance for investors

A high ranking on such a list certainly offers some bragging rights for companies so honored, but the direct impacts on the company’s bottom line and return to investors are likely to be marginal, at best. However, companies use these honors as a recruitment tool, and some potential job seekers are influenced by them when making decisions about where to work. As a result, companies like Apple, Microsoft and Disney may be gaining a certain advantage over their competitors in the war for the best talent.