Fortune has released its ranking of the world's most admired companies for 2019, and as in previous years, the entertainment and technology industries have a heavy presence on the list.
Not much has changed from the top 10 list that Fortune released a year ago. Only one company, Southwest Airlines, has dropped off the list, replaced by streaming and entertainment company Netflix. The others remain the same, although some have switched positions.
Fortune said it worked with partner Korn Ferry to determine the best-regarded companies in 52 industries, starting with a list of about 1,500 candidates.
The results were based on a polling of 3,750 executives, directors, and securities analysts, based on nine criteria ranging from "investment value and quality of management and products to social responsibility and ability to attract talent."
The following companies, in ascending order, were deemed the most admired by Fortune:
10. FedEx
The delivery company dropped from nine to 10 on the list. It is the 19th consecutive year that FedEx has ranked among the top 20 in the Fortune most admired companies list, with 15 of those years ranking among the top 10.
9. JPMorgan Chase
One of the oldest financial institutions in the U.S., JPMorgan rose from 10 to nine on the list. The company controls $2.6 trillion in assets and has 250,000 employees.
8. Netflix
The company started as a DVD rental business in 1997 and has grown into a global streaming-media company that is also growing into one of the largest creators of entertainment content. Netflix has over 139 million paid subscriptions worldwide, including 58.49 million in the U.S.
7. Alphabet
The holding company of Google offered investors only flat performance in 2018, but that looked good compared to other tech companies that got hit hard at the end of the year. The company, however, is not as admired in Europe, where regulators continue to scrutinize the company after imposing billions of dollars in fines for anti-trust violations. That may be one of the reasons it fell from three to seven on the list this year.
6. Microsoft
This company doesn't get the headlines it used to when Bill Gates was still in charge, but it is neck-and-neck with Apple in terms of valuation and flirted with the $1 trillion valuation mark in 2018. Analysts expect good growth ahead as the company expands its cloud computing business.
5. Starbucks
The retail coffeehouse chain continues to grow, with a 10 percent growth in net revenues last year at $24.7 billion. But the company continues to face mounting competition and is responding by launching a delivery services this year.
4. Walt Disney
One of the nation's oldest entertainment companies has been steadily increasing its stockpile of content, such as with the acquisition of the Star Wars franchise and 21st Century Fox. This year it plans to go head to head with Netflix and Amazon with the launch of a streaming service called Disney Plus.
3. Berkshire Hathaway
This $500 billion conglomerate continues to click to the beat of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, with holdings in a wide assortment of industries. Buffett says he's in great health and will continue to lead the company for the foreseeable future, but analysts remain busy trying to predict who will be his successor.
2. Amazon
Unlike other FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google) stocks, Amazon's share price actually had a good year in 2018, rising more than 28 percent. The growth was exemplified by the company's unveiling of a plan to build two new headquarter locations in New York City and Virginia.
1. Apple
Apple was in the top spot last year and remains there in 2019, despite some concerns about market saturation of its iconic and revenue-driving iPhone. Apple became the first publicly traded U.S. company to pass the $1 trillion valuation market last year.
The full report can be viewed here.
