If there's one thing Apple has proven to us time and time again since unveiling the iPhone, it’s that it knows how to lead revolutions—not only in the tech field. This year as well, Apple takes the title of "The Most Admired Company in the World" from Fortune magazine, maintaining an impressive 18-year streak at the top.
Fortune's annual ranking is based on a comprehensive survey of 3,380 business leaders from various industries, who evaluated companies on nine criteria, including innovation, investment value, social responsibility, and the ability to attract talent. Unsurprisingly, Apple once again secured the top spot, surpassing Microsoft and Amazon, which continue to accompany it at the top of the rankings.
But this year, alongside the familiar giants, we can see a dramatic rise of another tech giant—Nvidia. The company, which jumped to 4th place, is benefiting from the explosion of the artificial intelligence field, with its chips becoming the beating heart of generative models from OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft. Nvidia is quickly becoming a major player, and it seems likely it will soon challenge the future leadership of the ranking.
Despite the dominance of tech giants, the 2025 ranking highlights that other industries are also maintaining their strength. Berkshire Hathaway, Costco, and JPMorgan Chase round out the top seven, while companies like ServiceNow, chip manufacturer TSMC, and Novo Nordisk appeared for the first time in the top 50.
Another trend worth noting: for the second consecutive year, the ten most admired companies are American. Despite the competitive global market, it seems that U.S. companies continue to set the pace and lead in many fields. Will anyone manage to challenge this hegemony in the near future? We will probably have to wait until 2026 to find out.