The 50 Most Innovative Companies

Special Report: Most Innovative Companies 2009

Slide Show: BW's 50 Most Innovative Companies

CEO's Picks: CEOs name the companies they admire

Methodology: The thinking behind the rankings

Survey: Agree? Disagree? Let us know

With the sudden reversal of the global economy, businesses are struggling not only with shrinking income and budgets, but also with seismic shifts that are upending entire industries, from autos and retail to banking and entertainment. These same forces are apparent in our latest ranking of the Most Innovative Companies. While the 2009 list includes some stalwarts in their usual top positions—namely Apple and Google—15 newcomers have joined the lineup, the biggest change since BusinessWeek and Boston Consulting Group first partnered on this proprietary survey in 2005. These include more companies headquartered outside the U.S. than in the past, such as Volkswagen, Infosys, and Telefónica. See a full explanation of our methodology as well as 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.
2009
Rank
2008
Rank
Company
HQ Country
HQ Continent
Stock Returns 2005-08 *
(in %)
Revenue Growth 2005-08 **
(in %)
Margin Growth 2005-08 ***
(in %)
Known for its Most Innovative
(% who think so)
11Apple  U.S.North America5.9 30.4 15.8 Product (47%)
22Google  U.S.North America-9.5 52.6 -8.2 Customer Experience (26%)
33Toyota Motor  JapanAsia-20.7 4.2 -35.9 Process (35%)
45Microsoft  U.S.North America-8.0 13.5 -1.3 Process (26%)
57Nintendo  JapanAsia36.7 61.1 20.6 Product (48%)
612IBM  U.S.North America2.3 4.4 14.3 Process (31%)
715Hewlett-Packard  U.S.North America9.1 10.9 31.6 Process (39%)
813Research In Motion  CanadaNorth America24.6 74.1 11.2 Product (53%)
910Nokia  FinlandEurope-8.3 14.0 -10.3 Product (38%)
1023Wal-Mart Stores  U.S.North America8.0 9.1 -2.1 Process (49%)
1111Amazon.com  U.S.North America2.8 31.2 -4.8 Customer Experience (41%)
128Procter & Gamble  U.S.North America4.5 11.7 2.4 Process (27%)
136Tata Group  IndiaAsiaPrivatePrivatePrivateProduct (44%)
149Sony  JapanAsia-25.8 3.1 -41.1 Product (40%)
1519Reliance Industries  IndiaAsia22.6 28.5 11.9 Business Model (35%)
1626Samsung Electronics  South KoreaAsia-10.8 10.5 -1.5 Product (41%)
174General Electric  U.S.North America-19.7 10.1 -12.2 Process (36%)
18NRVolkswagen  GermanyEurope-14.4 7.1 33.6 Customer Experience (38%)
1930McDonalds  U.S.North America25.8 7.2 9.5 Customer Experience (55%)
2014BMW  GermanyEurope-14.8 6.9 -14.6 Customer Experience (37%)
2117Walt Disney  U.S.North America-0.2 6.4 17.2 Customer Experience (68%)
2216Honda Motor  JapanAsia-15.4 4.8 -14.6 Product (47%)
2327AT&T  U.S.North America9.9 41.5 9.7 Product (33%)
24NRCoca-Cola  U.S.North America6.8 11.4 0.1 Customer Experience (38%)
2547Vodafone  BritainEurope8.6 10.2 N/AProduct (25%)
26NRInfosys  IndiaAsia-8.1 32.4 2.0 Process (40%)
27NRLG Electronics  South KoreaAsia-5.0 9.6 17.0 Product (46%)
28NRTelefónica  SpainEurope12.2 17.0 -2.0 Business Model (40%)
2931Daimler  GermanyEurope-11.9 1.5 39.0 Product (40%)
3034Verizon Communications  U.S.North America10.4 11.9 -1.0 Customer Experience (38%)
31NRFord Motor  U.S.North America-32.6 -3.3 N/AProduct (36%)
3235Cisco Systems  U.S.North America-1.6 14.3 -8.0 Process (27%)
3348Intel  U.S.North America-14.3 -1.1 -8.0 Process (35%)
3428Virgin Group  BritainEuropePrivatePrivatePrivateCustomer Experience (45%)
35NRArcelorMittal  LuxembourgEurope-6.7 64.4 -18.0 Business Model (63%)
3640HSBC Holdings  BritainEurope-6.1 20.3 -18.0 Process (32%)
3742ExxonMobil  U.S.North America14.5 8.8 2.0 Process (47%)
38NRNestlé  SwitzerlandEurope4.3 6.5 -14.0 Product (47%)
39NRIberdrola  SpainEurope7.5 54.0 -14.0 Customer Experience (40%)
4025Facebook  U.S.North AmericaPrivatePrivatePrivateCustomer Experience (51%)
41223M  U.S.North America-7.2 6.1 -3.0 Product (44%)
42NRBanco Santander  SpainEurope-9.3 11.8 2.0 Business Model (37%)
4345Nike  U.S.North America7.1 11.5 -4.0 Customer Experience and Product (36% each)
44NRJohnson & Johnson  U.S.North America2.4 8.1 1.0 Customer Experience (42%)
4549Southwest Airlines  U.S.North America-19.2 13.3 -25.0 Customer Experience (45%)
46NRLenovo  ChinaAsia-14.2 6.6 4.0 Business Model (35%)
47NRJPMorgan Chase  U.S.North America-4.4 -2.6 N/AProcess (62%)
48NRFiat  ItalyEurope-13.5 8.5 2.0 Product (30%)
4924Target  U.S.North America-13.5 8.1 2.0 Customer Experience (60%)
50NRRoyal Dutch Shell  NetherlandsEurope4.7 14.3 -8.0 Process (45%)

FOOTNOTES

DATA: Analysis and data provided in collaboration with the innovation practice of the Boston Consulting Group and BCG-ValueScience. Reuters and Compustat were used for financial and industry data and Bloomberg for total shareholder returns.

* Stock returns are annualized, Dec. 31, 2005, to Dec. 31, 2008, and account for price appreciation and dividends.

** Revenue and operating margin growth are annualized based on 2005-08 fiscal years. Margin growth is earnings before interest and taxes as a percentage of revenues reported in most recent statements or filings. Where possible, quarterly and semiannual data were used to bring performance for pre-June yearends closer to December 2008. Financial figures were calculated in local currency.

*** Calculating three-year compound annual growth rate for operating margins was not possible when either figure was negative.

NR: Not Rated.

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