Top companies in innovation, responsibility, and more

See the 10 Most Admired companies in social responsibility, people management, product quality, and more.

Quality of management

Company (score)

1. Exxon Mobil (8.66)
2. VF (8.60)
3. McDonald's (8.54)
4. Marriott International (8.45)
5. Starbucks (8.37)
6. Qualcomm (8.36)
7. Royal Dutch Shell (8.32)
8. J.P. Morgan Chase (8.30)
9. Nestlé (8.27)
10. IBM (8.15)

Innovation

Company (score)

1. Apple (9.43)
2. Amazon.com (8.51)
3. Google (8.30)
4. Qualcomm (7.98)
5. Whole Foods Market* (7.96)
6. Royal Dutch Shell* (7.96)
7. Nike (7.91)
8. Starbucks (7.80)
9. Facebook (7.77)
10. Starwood Hotels & Resorts (7.73)

* Tie

Long-term investment

Buyback will sauce returns in an environment where growth is hard to grind out.

Company (score)

1. Nestlé (8.31)
2. VF (8.30)
3. Qualcomm (8.00)
4. Visa (7.99)
5. Caterpillar (7.97)
6. Hyatt Hotels (7.95)
7. Nike (7.93)
8. Walt Disney (7.91)
9. Sysco (7.89)
10. Exxon Mobil (7.84)

Financial soundness

Company (score)

1. Google (9.22)
2. Apple (9.14)
3. Exxon Mobil (8.94)
4. McDonald's (8.78)
5. Qualcomm (8.74)
6. Marriott International (8.52)
7. Nestlé (8.51)
8. Nike (8.39)
9. Berkshire Hathaway (8.38)
10. Oracle (8.36)

Social responsibility

Company (score)

1. Walt Disney (8.11)
2. Deere (8.01)
3. Cisco Systems (7.91)
4. Starbucks (7.84)
5. Unilever (7.60)
6. Whole Foods Market (7.59)
7. BMW (7.58)*
8. Johnson & Johnson (7.58)*
9. Nestlé (7.56)**
10. Alcoa (7.56)**

*Tie
**Tie

Use of corporate assets

Company (score)

1. Walt Disney (8.17)
2. Nestlé (7.89)
3. U.S. Bancorp (7.87)
4. Accenture (7.82)
5. Chevron (7.68)
6. Costco Wholesale (7.66)
7. Simon Property Group (7.61)
8. Starbucks (7.59)
9. Deere (7.58)*
10. Wells Fargo (7.58)*

*Tie

Quality of products/services

Company (score)

1. Apple (8.93)
2. Nordstrom (8.92)
3. Amazon.com (8.76)
4. Whole Foods Market (8.64)
5. Qualcomm (8.47)
6. Caterpillar (8.44)
7. Exxon Mobil (8.20)*
8. Royal Dutch Shell (8.20)*
9. Walt Disney (8.18)
10. Procter & Gamble (8.15)

*Tie

People management

Company (score)

1. Apple (8.61)
2. Walt Disney (8.49)
3. Facebook (8.43)
4. Google (8.36)
5. Accenture (8.29)
6. Goldman Sachs (8.28)
7. Comcast (7.92)
8. BMW (7.85)
9. Nestlé (7.81)*
10. Whole Foods Market (7.81)*

*Tie

Global competitiveness

Company (score)

1. Walt Disney (8.55)
2. Coca-Cola (8.54)
3. Caterpillar (8.53)
4. Nestlé (8.51)
5. Boeing (8.38)
6. IBM (8.25)
7. McDonald's (8.23
8. Accenture (8.22)
9. ArcelorMittal (8.17)
10. L'Oréal (8.00)