Methodology for World’s Most Admired Companies (2024)
How we determine the list
As we have in the past, Fortune collaborated with our partner Korn Ferry on this survey of corporate reputations. We began with a universe of about 1,500 candidates: the 1,000 largest U.S. companies ranked by revenue, along with non-U.S. companies in Fortune’s Global 500 database that have revenues of $10 billion or more. We winnowed the assortment to the highest-revenue companies in each industry, a total of 660 in 29 countries. The top-rated companies were picked from that pool of 660; the executives who voted work at the companies in that group.
To determine the best-regarded companies in 52 industries, Korn Ferry asked executives, directors, and analysts to rate enterprises in their own industry on nine criteria, from investment value and quality of management and products to social responsibility and ability to attract talent. A company’s score must rank in the top half of its industry survey to be listed. (For complete rankings, visit fortune.com).
Results were not published in the following categories due to insufficient response rates: Food and Drug Stores, Mining-Crude Oil Production, Motor Vehicles, Network and Communications Equipment, Wholesalers: Health Care.
To select our 50 All-Stars, Korn Ferry asked 3,720 executives, directors, and securities analysts who had responded to the industry surveys to select the 10 companies they admired most. They chose from a list made up of the companies that ranked in the top 25% in last year’s surveys, plus those that finished in the top 20% of their industry. Anyone could vote for any company in any industry.
The difference in the voting rolls explains why some results can seem at odds with each other. For example, Lockheed Martin fell off the All-Star list but ranked No. 1 within the aerospace and defense category when votes from only those in that industry were counted.
Korn Ferry, which has conducted the research for the World’s Most Admired Companies list since 1997, is a global management consulting firm. For information about Korn Ferry’s services, go to https://www.kornferry.com/. For more details on scoring and methodology, click here.
Fortune is no longer publishing the list of World’s Most Admired contenders online. If you are interested in obtaining your company’s industry score and ranking from our survey results, please email your request to editor Scott Decarlo at: scott.decarlo@fortune.com
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