The 50 Most Innovative Companies 2010

The 50 Most Innovative Companies 2010
Special Report: The 50 Most Innovative Companies 2010

Story: 50 Most Innovative Companies

Story: What Executives Make of Innovation

Slide Show: Cutting Edge Companies
Before the world shuddered two years ago, U.S. companies dominated our Most Innovative Companies ranking, easily outnumbering corporations based outside of America. But now that the global economy seems to be growing again, senior executives surveyed by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) no longer consider the U.S. the be-all and end-all in innovation. Yes, Apple reigns as No. 1 again, trailed by silver medalist Google. And Microsoft and IBM find themselves back in the top five, based on BCG's global poll. But for the first time ever, more companies on our Top 50 are based outside the U.S. China's rise is the fastest. A year ago, its only representative was Lenovo, at 46. This year Greater China is tied with Asia's postwar powerhouse, Japan, thanks to showings by BYD (8), Haier Electronics (27), Lenovo (29), China Mobile (44), and Taiwan-based HTC (47). To make room for 2010's freshmen, a half-dozen American giants on 2009's list got dumped: AT&T, ExxonMobil, 3M, Johnson & Johnson, Southwest Airlines, and Target. For more details on the ranking, see the footnotes at the bottom of the table.



Click column heading once to reorder from highest to lowest. Click twice to reorder from lowest to highest.
2010
Rank
2009
Rank
Company
HQ Country
HQ Continent
Stock Returns 2006-09 *
(in %)
Revenue Growth 2006-09 **
(in %)
Margin Growth 2006-09 ***
(in %)


1 1 Apple   U.S. North America 35  30  29 
2 2 Google   U.S. North America 10  31  2 
3 4 Microsoft   U.S. North America 3  10  -4 
4 6 IBM   U.S. North America 12  2  11 
5 3 Toyota Motor   Japan Asia -20  -11  NA
6 11 Amazon.com   U.S. North America 51  29  6 
7 27 LG Electronics   South Korea Asia 31  16  707 
8 NR BYD   China Asia 99  42  -1 
9 17 General Electric   U.S. North America -22  -1  -25 
10 14 Sony   Japan Asia -19  -5  NA
11 16 Samsung Electronics   South Korea Asia 10  17  -9 
12 33 Intel   U.S. North America 3  0  12 
13 31 Ford Motor   U.S. North America 10  -12  NA
14 8 Research In Motion   Canada North America 17  75  -6 
15 18 Volkswagen   Germany Europe 8  0  14 
16 7 Hewlett-Packard   U.S. North America 9  8  9 
17 13 Tata Group   India Asia Private Private Private
18 20 BMW   Germany Europe -8  0  NA
19 24 Coca-Cola   U.S. North America 9  9  1 
20 5 Nintendo   Japan Asia -8  22  3 
21 10 Wal-Mart Stores   U.S. North America 7  6  -1 
22 NR Hyundai Motor   South Korea Asia 23  12  17 
23 9 Nokia   Finland Europe -14  0  -37 
24 34 Virgin Group   Britain Europe Private Private Private
25 12 Procter & Gamble   U.S. North America 1  5  2 
26 22 Honda Motor   Japan Asia -11  -9  NA
27 NR Fast Retailing   Japan Asia 17  15  0 
28 NR Haier Electronics   China Asia 28  22  -15 
29 19 McDonald's   U.S. North America 15  2  10 
30 46 Lenovo   China Asia 18  -1  NA
31 32 Cisco Systems   U.S. North America -4  8  -6 
32 21 Walt Disney   U.S. North America 0  2  0 
33 15 Reliance Industries   India Asia 21  23  -4 
34 NR Siemens   Germany Europe -3  -4  27 
35 NR Dell   U.S. North America -17  -4  -7 
36 38 Nestlé   Switzerland Europe 8  4  1 
37 NR British Sky Broadcasting   Britain Europe 6  9  -10 
38 25 Vodafone   Britain Europe 6  17  -13 
39 47 JPMorgan Chase   U.S. North America -2  18  -21 
40 NR Oracle   U.S. North America 13  13  5 
41 NR Petrobras   Brazil South America 18  5  -11 
42 42 Banco Santander   Spain Europe 2  -1  8 
43 48 Fiat   Italy Europe -10  -2  -12 
44 NR China Mobile   China Asia 1  16  1 
45 NR Goldman Sachs   U.S. North America -5  6  4 
46 43 Nike   U.S. North America 12  5  2 
47 NR HTC   Taiwan Asia 6  11  -11 
48 40 Facebook   U.S. North America Private Private Private
49 36 HSBC   Britain Europe -5  -7  -45 
50 30 Verizon Communications   U.S. North America 1  7  6