Good morning.
Fortune’s annual World’s Most Admired Companies list can sometimes seem like an exercise in the obvious. Apple is still on top of our ranking of corporate reputation this year, capping a string of 16 years. Amazon, Microsoft, and Berkshire Hathaway are close behind. Anyone surprised?
But occasionally, a reputational shift demands notice. That happened last year to Pfizer, which came from nowhere to capture the fourth spot on the All-Stars list, based on its pandemic performance. This year it’s hanging in at No. 8. Another mover this year is Occidental Petroleum, which earned the top spot on the mining and crude oil production industry list. That’s a feather in the cap of CEO Vicki Hollub, who may have gotten a boost from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway investment, but also has led the industry in focusing and investing in efforts to counteract carbon and methane emissions. On the downside, Netflix slid from No. 9 to No. 29 on our All-Stars list. And when asked to name the world’s most overrated CEO, survey respondents mentioned Elon Musk most often.
