Apple Tops Fortune's Most Admired Company List

by , 12:45 PM EST, March 5th, 2007

Apple Inc. landed in the number one spot on Fortune's Most Admired Companies list for 2007 in the Innovation category. The rankings are comprised from survey information gathered by Hay Group from 3,322 executives, directors, and securities analysts.

The top ten innovators includes:

1. Apple
2. Google
3. FedEx
4. Genentech
5. Nike
6. Whole Foods Market
7. Procter & Gamble
8. Network Appliance
9. Herman Miller
10. Starbucks

Apple also took second place in Fortunes Computers category:

1. IBM
2. Apple
3. Xerox
4. Canon
5. Hewlett-Packard
6. Pitney Bowes
7. Sun Microsystems
8. Dell
9. NCR
10. Gateway

Apple ranked seventh overall, marking the first time the Mac and iPod maker has landed in Fortune's top ten for the most admired companies. "Apple's peers have watched it upend industries from computers to music. And now it's become the best retailer in America. In 2004, Apple reached $1 billion in annual sales faster than any retailer in history; last year, sales reached $1 billion a quarter."

Apple CEO Steve Jobs commented "Our stores were conceived and built for this moment in time - to roll out iPhone."

The top ten companies overall include:

1. General Electric
2. Starbucks
3. Toyota Motor
4. Berkshire Hathaway
5. Southwest Airlines
6. FedEx
7. Apple
8. Google
9. Johnson & Johnson
10. Procter & Gamble