For the sixth straight year, John Deere is listed as No. 1 in the Construction and Farm Machinery Industry division of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies list.
The Moline-based global equipment giant topped the former Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar, which came in No. 2 in 2023 on the magazine’s Construction and Farm Industry List.
Since 1997, Korn Ferry has partnered with Fortune magazine to identify and rank the World’s Most Admired Companies. The study also reveals how they win their strong reputations, the organizations say.
The study surveys top executives and directors from eligible companies, along with financial analysts, to identify the companies that enjoy the strongest reputations within their industries and across industries.
Researchers begin with 1,500 candidates, including the 1,000 largest U.S. companies ranked by revenue, along with non-U.S. companies in Fortune’s Global 500 database that have revenues of $10 billion or more, then narrowed the list to the highest-revenue companies in each industry, a total of 645 in 27 countries.
To determine the best-regarded companies in 52 industries, Korn Ferry said it asked executives, directors, and analysts to rate enterprises in their own industry on nine criteria, from investment value and quality of management and products to social responsibility and ability to attract talent. A company’s score must rank in the top half of its industry survey to be listed.
