Fortune’s Blue Ribbon Companies 2015

Being recognized as a Fortune 500 or Global 500 company is a reward unto itself. But it takes even greater effort and success to be named among the World’s Most Admired Companies or Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For, to out-pace competitors and become one of the Fastest Growing Companies, or better yet: to be recognized for global efforts to Change the World (check out our newest ranking of companies that are doing well by doing good). Our annual list of the Blue Ribbon Companies is a ranking of the best of the best — organizations that are firing on all cylinders and have been recognized on four or more Fortune lists in 2015. This year’s ranking is comprised of 25 companies — the most in any year to be honored with a Fortune Blue Ribbon. See the winners below.

1

Alphabet

Larry Page, co-founder and chief executive officer of AlphabetPHOTOGRAPH BY BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES

6 list appearances
No. 11 on Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year
No. 2 on Change the World
No. 1 on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For
No. 124 on the Global 500
No. 40 on the Fortune 500
No. 2 on the World’s Most Admired Top 50 All-Stars (and No. 1 in the internet services and retailing industry)

2

Nike

Nike sneakers on display.Photograph by Luke Sharrett — Getty Images

5 list appearances
No. 1 on Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year
No. 37 on Change the World
No. 425 on the Global 500
No. 106 on the Fortune 500
No. 13 on the World’s Most Admired Top 50 All-Stars (and No. 1 in the apparel industry)

3

Facebook

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.Photograph by Josh Edelson — AFP/Getty Images

5 list appearances
No. 2 on Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year
No. 10 on Change the World
No. 10 on the 100 Fastest Growing Companies
No. 242 on the Fortune 500
No. 26 on the World’s Most Admired Top 50 All-Stars (and No. 2 in the internet services and retailing industry)

4

Cisco Systems

Small team rooms with a single screen Cisco video endpoint for impromptu meetings.Courtesy of Cisco Systems

5 list appearances
No. 8 on Change the World
No. 70 on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For
No. 225 on the Global 500
No. 60 on the Fortune 500
No. 1 in the network and other communications equipment industry on the list of the World’s Most Admired Companies

5

Apple

Cook walking into an Apple Store in Palo Alto.Photograph by Joe Pugliese for Fortune

4 list appearances
No. 4 on Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year
No. 15 on the Global 500
No. 5 on the Fortune 500
No. 1 on the World’s Most Admired Top 50 All-Stars (and No. 1 in the computers industry)

6

MasterCard

MasterCard’s technology is leading the industry in delivering innovative ways to shop and pay – from chip cards to mobile payments and even facial recognition.Courtesy of MasterCard

4 list appearances
No. 5 on Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year
No. 11 on Change the World
No. 308 on the Fortune 500
No. 3 in the consumer credit card and related services industry of the World’s Most Admired Companies

7

Starbucks

A Starbucks Coffee Master pulling espresso shots at the 15,000 square foot Reserve® Roastery and Tasting Room in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle.Courtesy of Starbucks

4 list appearances
No. 12 on Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year
No. 23 on Change the World
No. 187 on the Fortune 500
No. 5 on the World’s Most Admired Top 50 All-Stars (and No. 1 in the food services industry)

8

Walt Disney

Photograph of Bob Iger, CEO of Disney taken for Fortune in NY. Scene with Millennium Falcon in Pinewoods Studio, Buckinghamshire, England, is a composite image.Photograph by Wesley Mann for Fortune. Composite scene created by Industrial Light & Magic for Fortune

4 list appearances
No. 13 on Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year
No. 214 on the Global 500
No. 57 on the Fortune 500
No. 6 on the World’s Most Admired Top 50 All-Stars (and No. 1 in the entertainment industry)

9

TJX

Shoppers line up at a layaway counter at a TJ Maxx store in Alexandria, Virginia.Photograph by James Lawler Duggan — Reuters

4 list appearances
No. 28 on Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year
No. 410 on the Global 500
No. 103 on the Fortune 500
No. 3 in the specialty retailers industry on the list of the World’s Most Admired Companies

10

Accenture

Accenture logo at an office in ChicagoPhotograph by Jean-Marc Giboux— Getty Images

4 list appearances
No. 32 on Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year
No. 98 on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For
No. 374 on the Global 500
No. 49 on the World’s Most Admired Top 50 All-Stars (and No. 1 in the information technology services industry)

11

Gilead Sciences

Rima Kulkarni, a research scientist at Gilead, studies resistance to HIV medicines.Courtesy of Gilead Sciences

4 list appearances
No. 37 on Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year
No. 9 on the 100 Fastest Growing Companies
No. 478 on the Global 500
No. 118 on the Fortune 500

12

Cigna

The Cigna headquarters in Connecticut.Courtesy of Cigna

4 list appearances
No. 40 on Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year
No. 338 on the Global 500
No. 90 on the Fortune 500
No. 4 in the health care: insurance and managed care industry on the list of the World’s Most Admired Companies

13

General Dynamics

Courtesy of General Dynamics

4 list appearances
No. 42 on Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year
No. 386 on the Global 500
No. 100 on the Fortune 500
No. 6 in the aerospace and defense industry on the list of the World’s Most Admired Companies

14

Microsoft

Microsoft HoloLens.Courtesy of Microsoft

4 list appearances
No. 47 on Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year
No. 95 on the Global 500
No. 31 on the Fortune 500
No. 20 on the World’s Most Admired Top 50 All-Stars (and No. 4 in the computer software industry)

15

UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealthcare signage is displayed outside of a store in the Queens borough of New York.Photograph by Michael Nagle — Getty Images

4 list appearances
No. 48 on Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year
No. 35 on the Global 500
No. 14 on the Fortune 500
No. 1 in the health care: insurance and managed care industry on the list of the World’s Most Admired Companies

16

Ford Motor

The aluminum body of a 2015 Ford F-150.Courtesy of Ford Motor for Fortune

4 list appearances
No. 42 on Change the World
No. 27 on the Global 500
No. 9 on the Fortune 500
No. 6 in the motor vehicles industry on the list of the World’s Most Admired Companies

17

Capital One Financial

The reflection of pedestrians appears on the window of a Capital One Financial Corp. bank branch in New York.Photograph by Victor J. Blue — Getty Images

4 list appearances
No. 91 on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For
No. 496 on the Global 500
No. 126 on the Fortune 500
No. 4 in the consumer credit card and related services industry on the list of the World’s Most Admired Companies

18

CVS Health

The inside of a CVS store in Charlotte, North Carolina.Courtesy of CVS Health

4 list appearances
No. 31 on Change the World
No. 30 on the Global 500
No. 10 on the Fortune 500
No. 45 on the World’s Most Admired Top 50 All-Stars (and No. 3 in the food and drug stores industry)

19

Wal-Mart Stores

Walmart employees Iliana Sanchez (C) and her fellow employees stock the shelves at a Walmart store in Miami, Florida.Photograph by Joe Raedle — Getty Images

4 list appearances
No. 4 on Change the World
No. 1 on the Global 500
No. 1 on the Fortune 500
No. 38 on the World’s Most Admired Top 50 All-Stars (and No. 3 in the general merchandisers industry)

20

International Business Machines

A system engineer for IBM Corp. tests new SyNAPSE chips at the IBM Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California.Photograph by David Paul Morris — Getty Images

4 list appearances
No. 20 on Change the World
No. 82 on the Global 500
No. 24 on the Fortune 500
No. 25 on the World’s Most Admired Top 50 All-Stars (and No. 2 in the information technology services industry)

21

Publix Super Markets

Customers shop at a Publix Super Markets Inc. grocery store in Knoxville, Tennessee.Photograph by Luke Sharrett — Getty Images

4 list appearances
No. 81 on Fortune‘s 100 Best Companies to Work For
No. 388 on the Global 500
No. 101 on the Fortune 500
No. 2 in the food and drugs store industry on the list of the World’s Most Admired Companies

22

American Express

American Express Co. corporate credit cards are arranged for a photograph in Washington, D.C.Photograph by Andrew Harrer — Getty Images

4 list appearances
No. 51 on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For
No. 325 on the Global 500
No. 88 on the Fortune 500
No. 8 on the World’s Most Admired Top 50 All-Stars (and No. 1 in the consumer credit card and related services industry)

23

Costco Wholesale

Inside the most profitable Costco location in the world, South Korean costumers clog the two-story location, purchasing a wide range of wholesale goods.Photograph by Benjamin Lowy for Fortune

4 list appearances
No. 47 on Change the World
No. 52 on the Global 500
No. 18 on Fortune 500
No. 16 on the World’s Most Admired Top 50 All-Stars (and No. 1 in the specialty retailers industry)

24

Intel

Intel’s leading-edge, in-house manufacturing network delivers a wide range of high-performance to low-power chips for servers, personal computing devices and the Internet of Things.Courtesy of Intel

4 list appearances
No. 39 on Change the World
No. 182 on the Global 500
No. 52 on the Fortune 500
No. 40 on the World’s Most Admired Top 50 All-Stars (and No. 1 in the semiconductors industry)

25

Whole Foods Market

Photograph by Ty Wright — Getty Images

4 list appearances
No. 30 on Change the World
No. 55 on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For
No. 214 on the Fortune 500
No. 1 in the food and drug stores industry on the list of the World’s Most Admired Companies