For the tenth consecutive year, FedEx Corp. has ranked among the top 20 world’s most admired companies, according to a survey published in FORTUNE magazine. FORTUNE magazine today released its annual report on corporate reputation, listing FedEx as #13.
FORTUNE cited the ability of FedEx to manage costs while maintaining service levels during the economic downturn, as well as increased demand in international business – especially in Asia and Latin America, as enhancing the overall corporate reputation for reliable deliveries.
“Although FedEx has been ranked a FORTUNE most admired company in the past, this year’s honor is especially meaningful,” said Frederick W. Smith, chairman and CEO, FedEx Corp. “Our being ranked again among the top 20 most admired global companies during such a challenging year is mainly due to the sacrifice, hard work and commitment of our 275,000 team members throughout the world.”
FedEx has consistently ranked in FORTUNE’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies and FORTUNE’s list of America’s Most Admired Companies since 2002 and 2001, respectively. This is the second year FedEx placed in the top twenty on the FORTUNE World’s Most Admired Companies list. Prior to FORTUNE’scombination of the U.S. and world ranks, FedEx had placed on the U.S. list for eight consecutive years and the global list for seven consecutive years.
Last month, FedEx was honored as one of FORTUNE’s Best Companies to Work For, an accolade the company has received 12 of the past 13 years. FedEx was also named to the Best Companies to Work For Hall of Fame in 2005.
Most Admired Companies Survey Methodology
The Most Admired list is the definitive report card on corporate reputations. Our survey partners at Hay Group start with about 1,400 companies: the Fortune 1,000 (the 1,000 largest U.S. companies ranked by revenue), non-U.S. companies in Fortune’s Global 500 database with revenue of $10 billion or more, and the top foreign companies operating in the U.S. Hay Group sorts them by industry and selects the 15 largest for each international industry and the 10 largest for each U.S. industry. A total of 667 companies from 33 countries were surveyed. To create the 55 industry lists, Hay asks executives, directors, and
analysts to rate companies in their own industry on nine criteria, from investment value to social responsibility.
This year only the best are listed: A company’s score must rank in the top half of its industry survey. To arrive at the top 50 Most Admired Companies overall, the Hay Group asked 4,170 executives, directors, and securities analysts who 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 is why some results can seem anomalous. For example, although Toyota is one of the top 10 Most Admired Companies, it is only third in the Motor Vehicle industry—after BMW, which is ranked 22nd on the top 50 overall, yet is No. 1 among Motor Vehicles.