America's Most Admired Companies 2008

Top 20 Most Admired Companies

To create the top 20, Fortune and its survey partners at Hay Group asked the experts -- in this case, more than 3,700 people from dozens of industries -- to select the 10 companies they admire most. This year's winners all have strong records of innovation, leadership, and financial strength -- and their employees know it.

6 of 20

Starbucks

Top 20 rank: 6
Rank in Food Services: 2

After years of dizzying growth, there's trouble brewing at Starbucks, which dropped four places on this year's list due to weak sales, overexpansion, and intense competition. Its once-soaring stock trades for about half what it fetched a year ago, and in January chairman Howard Schultz returned as CEO. But Starbucks remains a sought-after employer, and its brand, while bruised, is still powerful. -Matthew Boyle

See how Starbucks rates in 8 key areas

Have your say: Do you admire the top 20 companies?

Last updated March 03 2008: 2:10 PM ET