MOST FAVOURABLE COMPANY: APPLE THE GREAT

No matter how you look at it, and even if it's stock hit a new 52-week low today, Apple is still the world's most admired company, bar none, at least in the eyes of executives interviewed by Fortune magazine.
For the 6th straight year in a row, Apple took home the top honors for the title, this year scoring 8.24 on Fortune's ranking point system, ahead of Google with a score of 8.01, and Amazon with 7.28. Overall, Apple was deemed the most admired corporation, despite recent concerns over the company's performance and even after the fact that it's losing some affection from Wall Street.
Its stock has dropped over 34.9 percent since September as investors and industry analysts are worried that Apple's best days may be behind it. Of course, not everyone agrees on that view.
According to Fortune's description-- "Apple has had a tough time lately with its stock price in a free fall and the widely publicized failure of its Maps feature. But it still remains a very healthy company, posting $13 billion in net income last quarter, making it the most profitable company in the world during that period."
"The company has its fanatical customer base, and it still refuses to compete on price, making the iconic iPhone and iPad products that are still widely seen as prestige devices. Competition may be stiff, but so far it remains behind: In Q4 2012, the iPhone 5 was the world's best selling smartphone, followed in second place by the iPhone 4S," added Fortune Magazine.

In a related story on the company titled "It's lonely at the top for Apple," senior editor-at-large Adam Lashinsky did acknowledge concerns over the stock price and post-Steve Jobs management. But Apple has gotten to the point where people expect miracles from the company, he wrote.
And it seems that when Apple doesn't deliver those miracles, investors and analysts give the company the thumbs down. To be sure, Apple's corporate peers obviously see the current struggles as a short-term blip and continue to believe in the company's long-term potential.
But one question raised by Fortune is whether the "most admired" title is a true sign of Apple's value. "Perhaps the admiration of one's peers is a lagging indicator, akin more to a hall-of-fame vote than to a most-valuable-player award," Lashinsky wrote.
"The company whose late founder aimed for it to be 'insanely great' still remains damn good, and by any standards. The years to come will determine if for Apple, that's good enough," he added.
Beyond Google and Amazon, other tech players among the top 50 included IBM, Microsoft, Samsung, Intel, eBay, Facebook, and Cisco Systems.
Fortune's list of the world's most admired companies is based on surveys from executives across 30 different countries. The companies are ranked on nine separate criteria, including the quality of management, innovativeness, the quality of products or services, the ability to attract and retain talented people, social responsibility, and long-term investment value.