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The top ten companies on Fortune’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies for 2021.

Samsung Electronics has returned to a list of the most respected companies in the world.

According to US business magazine Fortune, Samsung ranked 49th on a list of the World’s Most Admired Companies, which the magazine updated for 2021 on Feb. 2. The South Korean company received an overall score of 7.56.

Fortune has been researching and rating companies for the list since 1997.

Samsung was the only Korean company to be named one of the top 50 “All-Star” companies. Samsung first broke into the top 50 in 2005, at 39th, and rose as high as 21st in 2014.

But Samsung missed out on the top 50 in 2017 and 2018, following reports of the Galaxy Note 7 catching fire and a criminal investigation of company vice chairman Lee Jae-yong. The company placed in the top 50 in 2019, but not in 2020.

Fortune started with 1,500 candidates — the 1,000 US companies and 500 non-US companies with the highest revenue — and narrowed them down to 670 companies in 52 industries, representing 30 countries.

The magazine then asked 3,820 analysts, executives and managers at leading companies to rate these 670 companies on nine categories: innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term investment value, quality of products/services and global competitiveness. They were also asked to name the ten companies most worthy of admiration. Those ratings served as the basis for the magazine’s final list.

The top ten companies on Fortune’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies for 2021.

With an overall score of 8.59, Apple ranked first on the list for the 14th year in a row. It was followed by Amazon, Microsoft, Walt Disney, Starbucks, Berkshire Hathaway, Alphabet (parent company of Google), JPMorgan Chase, Netflix, and Costco Wholesale, with American companies occupying the top 10 spots on the list.

Walmart came in 11th, its highest rank since 2011. Semiconductor maker Nvidia ranked 38th, while IBM ranked 41st.

Fortune explained that the top three spots on the list were filled by IT firms with huge scale that are capable of delivering food, keeping people entertained at home and managing remote communication as isolation and quarantine became routine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies like Netflix and Walmart also gained even more respect during the pandemic, the magazine said.

Samsung Electronics was one of just three Asian companies in the top 50. The other two Asian All-Stars were Toyota Motor (31st) and Singapore Airlines (34th).

Fortune also ranked the companies inside their respective industries, with 52 industries represented on the list. Samsung Electronics shared first place with US company Arrow Electronics in the electronics category.

Although they weren’t All-Stars, Hyundai Motor Company (7th in automotive) LG Electronics (6th in electronics) were ranked 169th and 196th overall.

Taiwanese firm TSMC, the world’s number one global semiconductor fabricator, or foundry, received a total score of 7.71, ranking second in the semiconductor category after Nvidia but 289th overall.

By Cho Kye-wan, staff reporter

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