(FORTUNE Magazine) – COMPANIES come and go in the ranks of the most admired U.S. corporations, but IBM marches steadily onward in the vanguard. It is No. 1 for the fourth year in FORTUNE's annual survey of corporate reputations. Bringing up the rear as the least admired of 292 companies ranked is Financial Corp. of America, a diversified financial company. The survey covers the largest companies in 31 industry groups, six more groups than were surveyed last year. Just behind IBM, five companies make repeat appearances among the most admired. Coca-Cola kept a place among the top ten, despite the drubbing its reputation for astuteness took after it first reformulated Coke to give it a new taste and then was forced to bring back the old formula, now dubbed Coca-Cola Classic. Other repeaters: Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing, which replaced Coca-Cola as the second-most- admired company, Dow Jones, Merck, and Boeing. The rest of the top ten this year are new. They include Rubbermaid, the smallest company ever to rank that high (1984 sales: $566 million); Exxon, the world's largest industrial company (1984 sales: $91 billion); J.P. Morgan, the parent of Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. of New York; and Procter & Gamble. P&G is new to the survey as well as to the top ten; its category, soaps and cosmetics, is one of the industry groups added this year. The four companies that appeared among the most admired last year but failed to keep their places this year did not drop far. They are Hewlett-Packard (No. 13), Anheuser-Busch (No. 11), General Electric (No. 17), and Eastman Kodak (tied with R.J. Reynolds Industries as No. 18). Among the least admired companies, the repeaters in addition to Financial Corp. of America are Pan Am, American Motors, Manville, and Crown Zellerbach, back after a two-year absence. This is the fourth year in a row for American Motors and Pan Am, the third for Manville, and the second for Financial Corp. Joining these companies at the bottom of the list are Amax, BankAmerica, Bethlehem Steel, Control Data, and LTV. Of the six companies that were on the least admired list last year but are not this year, two made it out by increasing their scores. Eastern Air Lines, helped by improved earnings in the first six months, took a short hop and landed 12th from the bottom at No. 281. International Harvester, No. 277, drove up ten places and is now 16th from the bottom, after selling its troubled farm-equipment division to Tenneco and concentrating on trucks and diesel engines. Three of last year's least admired companies -- Continental Illinois, which was at the bottom of the list, Asarco, and TWA -- disappeared from the survey because they are no longer among the largest companies in their industries. Pabst Brewing was taken private. Once again this year, profits provide the surest path to respect. The top ten's median return on shareholders' equity for 1984 was 20%, compared with 13.5% for the FORTUNE 500. At the opposite end of the list, five of the least admired lost money in 1984, and the median return on equity for the remaining five was only 6.8%. None of the top ten has had an annual loss in over 35 years. Over the past ten years the least admired group's median total return to investors -- dividends plus the stock's price appreciation -- was 4.6%, well below the 18.7% median for the FORTUNE 500. Even the top ten's ten-year median total return to investors, 14.9%, failed to come up to the 500's median. But the story is different when 1984 alone is considered. Last year the top group's median total return to investors was 11.5%, well above the FORTUNE 500's median of minus 0.75%. The bottom group's median return was dismal: minus 39.8%. In the past FORTUNE's survey covered only industries with at least ten companies ranked in the FORTUNE 500 and FORTUNE Service 500 directories of U.S. industrial and non-industrial corporations. This year, for the first time, every industry group comprising four or more companies is surveyed. The new industries, in addition to soaps and cosmetics: mining and crude-oil production; toys, sporting goods, and musical instruments; shipbuilding, railroad and transportation equipment; textiles and vinyl flooring; and tobacco. FORTUNE bases its industry groups on categories established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Only three OMB categories are not included in the survey of corporate reputations. The missing categories cover too few companies: leather (no companies in a FORTUNE directory); jewelry, silverware (one company); and furniture (two companies). To rank corporate reputations, FORTUNE polled 8,000 executives, outside directors, and financial analysts. The response was good: about 50%. Those surveyed were asked to rate the ten largest companies in their own industry + (or, for analysts, the industry they follow) on eight key attributes of reputation: quality of management; quality of products or services; innovativeness; long-term investment value; financial soundness; ability to attract, develop, and keep talented people; community and environmental responsibility; and use of corporate assets. Ratings are on a scale of 0 (poor) to 10 (excellent). The rankings on the following pages show how each company is regarded by those most familiar with the industry to which it is assigned. Companies are assigned to industry groups according to the business that contributed most to 1984 sales (or assets, for certain industries). Some companies feel that they have been put in the wrong categories. Becton Dickinson, which manufactures surgical, laboratory, and diagnostic products, believes it should have been rated among pharmaceutical companies, instead of as a precision-instruments company. While the survey was being made, Gulf & Western sold the businesses that had put it in the apparel group; its remaining operations would probably make G&W part of the diversified services group, which it has regarded as its natural home right along. The ten companies that had the largest point changes in their rankings from last year, all declines, include four that fell to the least admired list, BankAmerica, Control Data, Crown Zellerbach, and LTV. Union Carbide and Wang Laboratories also had big point losses. Before the Bhopal disaster, when a gas leak at a Union Carbide plant in India killed more than 2,000 people, the company ranked in the top half of its industry group for community and environmental responsibility. In that respect it is now near the bottom among the 292 companies; only Financial Corp. of America and Manville rank lower. Wang's sin was to overestimate demand for word processors and computers; earnings fell sharply, and so did the stock price, from $29.25 a share in January to under $20 a share in November. Of the other point losers, three -- Phillips Petroleum, Beatrice, and Crown Zellerbach -- were involved in messy takeover battles. J.C. Penney is spending heavily on remodeling stores to attract higher-income customers. In remaining the most admired company, IBM scored slightly lower than last year -- 8.31 vs. 8.44 -- but beat all comers on five of the attributes of reputation, one more than last year. IBM received the highest score awarded a company on any attribute, 9.4, for financial soundness. Though forced to kill the PCjr, a home computer that it had expected to be a huge success, IBM scores 9.19 for quality of management, the second-highest score awarded for any attribute. IBM also ranks first for long-term investment value, use of corporate assets, and ability to attract, develop, and keep talented people. IBM's biggest decline in score was for innovativeness; it dropped from No. 31 last year to No. 78 this year. 3M ranks among the three most admired companies for wise use of corporate assets, community and environmental responsibility, and innovativeness. Innovation is crucial for 3M, which aims to continue generating at least 25% of sales each year from products introduced in the previous five years. To meet that goal, says Chairman Lewis W. Lehr, ''there has to be a culture, an environment, for innovativeness.'' He adds that management must be tolerant of errors. Says Lehr: ''We try to say around here, 'If you aren't making errors, you probably aren't doing anything.' '' Dow Jones, No. 3 for the second time, scores highest of the 292 companies for quality of products and services, and third for both long-term investment value and financial soundness. Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, had the highest 1984 return on equity of the most admired group, 25.5%. In its 100th year, Coca-Cola drops to No. 10 overall for quality of products; last year it was No. 3 for this attribute, behind only Dow Jones and Boeing. For quality of management, Coca-Cola fell from No. 4 to No. 41. Ranked behind Anheuser-Busch in the beverage group for management last year, it now ranks behind PepsiCo as well. CocaCola's highest ranking was for value as a long-term investment. Here it placed No. 2 behind IBM. ''It's obvious that they did the wrong thing'' in trying to change Coke, says Emanuel Goldman, a security analyst with Montgomery Securities, a San Francisco brokerage firm. ''The thing they did right was to make the change back very quickly.'' Helped by old Coke and wider distribution of the new Cherry Coke, Coca-Cola's soft-drink volume in the U.S. increased eight percentage points in the third quarter of 1985. Merck, No. 10 last year, is No. 5 this year among the most admired. In its industry group Merck ranked No. 2 for quality of management, behind Johnson & Johnson, and No. 1 for wise use of corporate assets. At midyear P. Roy Vagelos, a physician and biochemist who directed Merck's research from 1976 to 1984, was appointed C.E.O. Vagelos is the first scientist to head Merck. Ronald J. Stern of the First Boston investment banking firm calls him ''a big asset, a recognized top researcher who is adjusting very well to the financial mentality.'' Boeing, No. 7 last year among the most admired, ranks sixth this year, scoring second overall for product quality, despite the company's admission that it had improperly repaired a critical bulkhead on a Japan Air Lines 747 that crashed in August, killing 520 people. For management quality Boeing ranks third. It gained sharply for soundness of financial position, moving to No. 13 from No. 27 last year. Industry analysts expect business to boom for Boeing as airlines order planes again. For 1985, Boeing expected to deliver 201 new planes, an increase from a seven-year low of 146 in 1984. The company's shareholders have enjoyed an average annual return on investment of 36.9% over the past ten years, by far the highest for any of the most admired group. RUBBERMAID ranks seventh overall, up from No. 12 last year. The company ranked in the top ten for three attributes: wise use of corporate assets, innovativeness, and quality of products and services. Says Jay H. Freedman, a security analyst at Kidder Peabody, a New York brokerage firm: ''Rubbermaid is a well-managed company with the strongest brand name going.'' Freedman adds, ''They're also exceptionally good at telling the world how good they are.'' Rubbermaid Chairman Stanley C. Gault likes to point out that Rubbermaid has introduced more than 500 new products in the past five years. His company's stock price has increased sixfold in the same period (from $5 a share in 1980 to a recent $32.50 a share). Procter & Gamble is eighth among the most admired companies and takes first place in the soaps and cosmetics group on all eight attributes surveyed. It ranks among the top ten for three attributes: soundness of financial position; ability to attract, develop, and keep talented people; and community and environmental responsibility. (See box for Chief Executive John G. Smale's comments on these and other matters.) Shortly before FORTUNE's survey was taken, P&G reported that net profit fell 29% in the fiscal year that ended June 30. The company explains that it has introduced eight major products, an expensive process, in the past two years, and has spent heavily on them. The survey was half completed before P&G pleased Wall Street by announcing plans to acquire Richardson-Vicks, and finished before P&G revealed that it is buying G.D. Searle's over-the-counter drug lines. Exxon, No. 27 last year, jumps to No. 9 in this year's survey. It ranks second among the 292 companies for financial soundness and is first among its petroleum-refining peers for all but three of the eight attributes of reputation. In two of the three categories in which it fell short of perfection (management quality and wise use of assets) it is No. 2; in innovativeness it is No. 3. Exxon has been trimming operations across the board, which helped it to lead all big oil companies for return on equity in 1984 (19.2%). (For Chairman Clifton C. Garvin Jr.'s views on his company, see box.) J.P. Morgan, the fifth-largest U.S. commercial bank holding company and the only one still rated triple-A by Standard & Poor's, ranks tenth among the most admired companies, up from No. 17 last year. It places No. 2 among the 292 companies for both quality of management and ability to attract, develop, and keep talented people, behind only IBM in both respects. For wise use of corporate assets it is No. 5; for value as a long-term investment, No. 6. J.P. Morgan's president, Robert V. Lindsay, says of Morgan's high overall ranking: ''I'm particularly glad to see that reputation can be maintained and improved at a time when the banking industry and we ourselves are in a transition from what you might call the old days to the new days.'' Of his company's strategy, he says: ''Opportunistic is a word that could be used. We're trying to spot the opportunities and run with them -- conservatively, carefully.'' At the bottom of the list, Financial Corp. of America, parent of American Savings & Loan Association, is ranked among the bottom three for every attribute but innovativeness, for which it placed 283rd out of the 292 companies. FCA lost $590.5 million in 1984, the most ever lost by a thrift. The company's new management, though still tarred with the old brush, reported a profit of $12.3 million in the June-September quarter. American S&L's portfolio is still 90% based on long-term fixed-rate loans, while 84% of the interest it pays is on short-term deposits and borrowings. American S&L is drawing no revenue on $1.8 billion in foreclosed property and other delinquent loans. Two metal manufacturers -- LTV, No. 291, and Bethlehem Steel, No. 283 -- are among the least admired. The industry received the survey's lowest median score for the eight attributes of reputation, 5.22. Since LTV acquired ^ Republic Steel Corp. in 1984, stacking up enormous debt, LTV has not lost less than $19.5 million a quarter. LTV scored last in the metal manufacturing group for every attribute but innovativeness, where it placed ninth. Its lowest overall rating was 290 of 292 for soundness of financial position; only Manville and Financial Corp. of America were rated lower. Bethlehem, which has stuck with steel while other companies diversified, scored lowest for innovativeness, No. 291. Security analysts say LTV and Bethlehem's new managers are struggling with the aftermath of ancient misjudgments that led steel companies to maximize capacity and invest in marginal, high-cost plants. Pan Am, No. 290, reported an operating loss in 1984 and ranks among the least admired companies for the fourth year. It ranks 291st for quality of services offered and tenth in the transportation group for every attribute. The company has lost $771 million since 1980 and faces another loss this year. The biggest surprise of the year was Pan Am's agreement to sell its Pacific routes to United for $750 million. Also ranked in the bottom ten for the fourth year is American Motors, No. 289. Ranked last overall for value as a long-term investment, AMC also scored in the bottom three for quality of products and ability to attract, develop, and keep talented people. After a small profit in 1984 for the first time since 1979, AMC lost $118.6 million in the first nine months of 1985. AMC's Jeep will also face greater competition as Japanese and U.S. automakers bring out four-wheel-drive versions of their passenger cars. AMC hopes to get back on track by introducing a high-priced, exotic car in 1987 and two intermediates in 1987 and 1988. MANVILLE, No. 288, in Chapter 11 since August 1982, hopes to emerge in about a year. Last August, Manville's board approved a plan to set up a trust of as much as $2.5 billion to settle some 17,000 asbestos-related health claims and 19,800 property-damage claims. The trust would be funded by at least half the company's stock, $847 million in cash and receivables, and perhaps 20% of future profits and 30% more stock. The former asbestos producer has switched to fiberglass and forest products, but ranks last overall for soundness of financial position and second to last for community and environmental responsibility. Control Data, No. 287, the fourth-largest U.S. computer maker, with revenues of $5 billion in 1984, misjudged how fast disk-drive technology was moving and how the proliferation of personal computer work stations would shrink its computer services business. Control Data lost $270 million in the first nine months of 1985. The company's overall score dropped from 5.5 last year to 3.89. Control Data placed in the bottom three for quality of management, use of corporate assets, and value as a long-term investment. A harsh market also battered Amax, No. 286, the world's largest producer of molybdenum and also a miner of coal, zinc, copper, nickel, tungsten, silver, and gold. About 65% of molybdenum and 60% of nickel goes to the slumping steel industry, and Amax has lost more than $1.4 billion since 1982. Metal prices are low and Amax is not known as a low-cost producer. Because of heavy debt -- $1.3 billion in long-term debt -- interest payments are high. Says Ronald Shorr, a security analyst with the New York brokerage firm of Bear Stearns, ''They're working for the banks now.'' Part of Amax's debt is attributed to a splurge on acquisitions the company made in the 1970s. Amax ranks No. 290 of 292 for wise use of corporate assets. President Allen Born, who took office in June, will become chief executive in January. He has already begun selling assets. Says Born, ''I didn't come to a sinking ship that I didn't think could be saved.'' BankAmerica, No. 285, hit the least admired list for the first time, ranking at the very bottom overall for quality of management and 290th for innovativeness. Bank of America has had huge loan losses since 1980 -- over $3.5 billion -- more than any other U.S. bank. While most money center banks showed robust results for the third quarter of 1985, BankAmerica had an operating loss of about $90 million. However, financial analysts say the chairman and president, who have been in place four years, are now catching up in electronic banking and in consolidating the California branch system. CROWN ZELLERBACH, No. 284, has seen its reputation erode over a long period. Financial analyst John Maack at the San Francisco brokerage firm of S.G. Warburg Rowe & Pitman Akroyd says that since 1953 Crown Zellerbach shareholders have endured ''a long history of failures'' in an industry that is now hard pressed by overcapacity for certain types of paper, the strength of the dollar, and rising imports. The company had a nine-month net loss in 1985 of $43.9 million on sales of $2.3 billion. Now Sir James Goldsmith, having bought around 50% of its shares after a hard fight, is Crown / Zellerbach's majority shareholder and new chairman. Some analysts think Goldsmith will sell off assets, as he did after acquiring Diamond International, a forest products company. Companies -- and managements -- that want to be well thought of should be in a well-regarded business. But that isn't enough. As in the past, respondents to FORTUNE's survey point to quality of management and quality of products and services as by far the most important attributes in judging corporate reputations. A reputation can be quickly lost; just last year BankAmerica ranked above Manufacturers Hanover and Chase Manhattan in its industry group, and Control Data outshone Burroughs and Sperry. Rebuilding reputation is a slow process -- but the painful climb of International Harvester and Eastern Air Lines out of the bottom ten companies in this survey demonstrates that it can be done.

CHART: AT THE TOP AND BOTTOM OF THE 292 COOMPANIES The most admired IBM remains the most admired large U.S. corporation, though its score for eight ttributes is down from last year's 8.44. Coca-Cola's score, 8.34 last year, drop ed sharply. RANK COMPANY INDUSTRY GROUP SCORE 1 IBM Office equipment, computers 8.31 2 3M Precision instruments 8.12 3 Dow Jones Publishing, printing 8.07 4 Coca-Cola Beverages 7.98 5 Merck Pharmaceuticals 7.91 6 Boeing Aerospace 7.90 7 Rubbermaid Rubber, plastic products 7.80 8 Procter & Gamble Soaps, cosmetics 7.79 9 Exxon Petroleum refining 7.72 10 J.P. Morgan Commercial banking 7.71 The least admired Financial Corp. of America is the least admired of 292 companies. New to the le st admired list are LTV, Control Data, Amax, BankAmerica, and Bethlehem Steel. TEXT NOT AVAILABLE

CHART: EIGHT KEY ATTRIBUTES OF REPUTATION Innovativeness MOST ADMIRED SCORE Citicorp 8.66 Gannett 8.64 3M 8.33 LEAST ADMIRED SCORE Amax 3.76 Bethlehem Steel 3.82 BankAmerica 4.01 Ability to attract, develop, and keep talented people MOST ADMIRED SCORE IBM 8.51 J.P. Morgan 8.21 Merck 8.14 LEAST ADMIRED SCORE Beatrice Cos. 2.79 American Motors 3.09 Financial Corp. of America 3.10 Quality of management MOST ADMIRED SCORE IBM 9.19 J.P. Morgan 8.73 Boeing 8.46 LEAST ADMIRED SCORE BankAmerica 3.40 Control Data 3.41 Financial Corp. of America 3.57 Long-term investment value MOST ADMIRED SCORE IBM 8.74 Coca-Cola 8.04 Dow Jones 7.90 LEAST ADMIRED SCORE American Motors 2.50 Financial Corp. of America 2.54 Control Data 2.62 Community and environmental responsibility MOST ADMIRED SCORE Eastman Kodak 8.43 3M 7.92 Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson (tie) 7.88 LEAST ADMIRED SCORE Financial Corp. of America 3.40 Manville 3.61 Union Carbide 3.80 Quality of products or services MOST ADMIRED SCORE Dow Jones 8.98 Boeing 8.65 Eastman Kodak 8.52 LEAST ADMIRED SCORE Financial Corp. of America 4.24 Pan Am 4.51 American Motors 4.82 Financial soundness MOST ADMIRED SCORE IBM 9.40 Exxon 9.02 Dow Jones 8.90 LEAST ADMIRED SCORE Manville 1.90 Financial Corp. of America 2.03 LTV 2.14 Use of corporate assets MOST ADMIRED SCORE IBM 8.27 3M 7.94 Amoco 7.78 LEAST ADMIRED SCORE Financial Corp. of America 2.59 Control Data 2.97 Amax 3.09

CHART: TEXT NOT AVAILABLE Changes in Scores Celanese, its earnings up sharply thanks to brisker sales and lower costs, scor d the biggest gain in reputation over last year, while struggling Control Data h d the biggest decline.

CHART: HOW COMPANIES RANK IN 31 INDUSTRIES Industry groups are based on U.S. office of Management and Budget categories. Companies are assigned to industries according to the business that contributed most to 1984 sales (or assets, for certain industries). Aerospace: Boeing, tops for all attributes except innovativeness, leads its industry again Northrop is first for innovativeness. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 Boeing 7.90 2 3 Rockwell International 7.16 3 2 Lockheed 7.00 4 6 McDonnell Douglas 6.95 5 9 Martin Marietta 6.91 6 5 Signal Cos. 1 6.74 7 7 Northrop 6.73 7 4 United Technolog es 6.73 9 8 General Dynamics 6.35 10 -- Textron 3 6.05 Apparel: Gulf & Western has sold its apparel operations. Arrow shirt maker Cluett Peabody is merging with West Point-Pepperell. TEXT NOT AVAILABLE 1Acquired by Allied September 1985. 2Tie. Each scores higher than the other on four of eight attributes. 3Ranked No. 8 last year in the industrial and farm equipment category. 4Not ranked last year. 5Taken private December 1985. Beverages: Coca-Cola kept its grip on first place in its industry group, despite a quickly eversed attempt to change Coke's formula. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 Coca-Cola 7.98 2 2 Anheuser-Busch 7.69 3 3 PepsiCo 7.39 4 5 General Cinema 6.83 5 4 MEI 6.33 6 7 Brown-Forman 6.16 7 6 Joseph E. Seagram & Sons 6.14 8 8 G. Heileman Brewing 5.98 9 9 Adolph Coors 5.94 Chemicals: Haunted by Bhopal, Union Carbide ranks 290th for community and environmental res onsibility. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 Du Pont 7.27 2 3 Dow Chemical 6.76 3 -- Allied 1, 2 6.35 4 4 Hercules 6.31 5 2 Monsanto 6.27 6 5 American Cyanamid 6.24 7 9 Celanese 6.19 8 -- FMC 1 6.12 9 6 W.R. Grace 5.63 10 7 Union Carbide 4.37 Commercial banking: BankAmerica hit the bottom of its industry group. It ranks 292nd out of 292 comp nies for management quality. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 J.P. Morgan 7.71 2 2 Citicorp 7.24 3 4 Bankers Trust New York 6.80 4 3 Security Pacific 6.69 5 5 First Interstate Bancorp 5.96 6 6 Chemical New York 5.95 7 9 Chase Manhattan 5.44 8 8 Manufacturers Hanover 5.25 9 -- First Chicago Corp. 1 4.66 10 7 BankAmerica 4.09 Diversified financial: First Boston leads its group on six attributes. It was ninth for responsibility nd second for financial soundness. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 First Boston 7.23 2 2 American Express 7.02 3 3 Merrill Lynch 6.53 4 4 Travelers Corp. 6.20 5 5 Aetna Life & Casualty 6.11 6 9 Cigna 5.91 7 6 Great Western Financial 5.90 8 8 H.F. Ahmanson 5.74 9 7 Federal Natl. Mortgage Assn. 5.51 10 10 Financial Corp. of America 3.23 Diversified services: RCA, praised for the revival of NBC and the sale of Hertz to United Airlines, wo General Electric as a merger partner. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 Phibro-Salomon 7.00 2 2 Super Valu Stores 6.54 3 4 Fleming Cos. 6.31 4 5 McKesson 6.25 5 8 RCA 6.19 6 6 CBS 6.15 7 3 Halliburton 6.08 8 -- HNG/InterNorth 1, 3 6.02 9 7 Fluor 5.65 10 9 Farmland Industries 5.43 Electronics, appliances: AT&T scores best for quality and responsibility, Motorola for innovativeness. G is first for all other attributes. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 General Electric 7.57 2 3 Emerson Electric 6.90 3 4 AT&T Technologies 6.81 4 2 Motorola 6.60 5 5 Raytheon 6.35 6 8 Westinghouse Electric 5.96 7 7 North American Philips 5.87 8 9 Litton Industries 5.65 9 6 Texas Instruments 5.46 10 10 ITT 5.05 1Not ranked last year. 2Acquired Signal Cos. September 1985. New name Allied-Signal. 3Acquired Houston Natural Gas July 1985. New name HNG/InterNorth. Food: Mergers and leveraged buyouts are changing the shape of the food industry. The atest: Beatrice is being taken private. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 3 Nabisco Brands 1 7.06 2 6 Sara Lee 2 7.02 3 4 Dart & Kraft 6.86 3 1 Genertal Mills 6.86 3 5 2 General Foods 4 6.76 6 5 Ralston Purina 6.69 7 9 Archer Daniels Midland 6.17 8 8 Borden 6.01 9 7 CPC International 5.78 10 10 Beatrice Cos. 4.36 Forest products Paper towel and tissue maker James River stands first in its group for managemen quality and use of assets. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 Kimberly-Clark 7.38 2 -- James River Corp. of Virginia 5 6.76 3 4 Mead 6.18 4 5 Scott Paper 6.16 5 2 Weyerhaeuser 5.90 6 7 Georgia-Pacific 5.86 7 3 Boise Cascade 5.83 8 6 Champion International 5.39 9 8 International Paper 4.96 10 9 Crown Zellerbach 4.23 Glass, building materials: Asbestos-stricken Manville is far out of the running in this group. Financial an lysts liked U.S. Gypsum best. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 Corning Glass Works 7.10 2 2 PPG Industries 6.93 3 3 Owens-Corning Fiberglas 6.53 4 4 Owens-Illinois 6.43 5 5 U.S. Gypsum 6.24 6 6 Norton 6.04 7 8 National Gypsum 6.01 8 7 Libbey-Owens-Ford 5.93 9 9 CertainTeed 5.33 10 10 Manville 3.79 Industrial and farm equipment: Cummins scored highest for only one attribute, community and environmental respo sibility, but placed second for five. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 -- Cummins Engine 5 6.83 2 2 Deere 6.69 3 3 Teledyne 6.68 4 6 Caterpillar Tractor 6.33 5 -- Emhart 5 6.21 6 7 Dresser Industries 6.14 7 4 Combustion Engineering 6.02 8 9 Ingersoll-Rand 5.94 9 10 Baker International 5.90 10 -- Colt Industries 5 5.70 Life insurance: Long seen as a lumbering giant, Metropolitan Life bestirred itself to buy Centur 21, a big real estate sales company. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 Northwestern Mutual 7.17 2 2 Prudential 6.58 3 3 Travelers 6.24 4 4 Teachers Insurance & Annuity 6.17 6 5 10 Metropolitan Life 6.17 6 6 6 Connecticut General Life 6.10 7 7 5 John Hancock Mutual 6.10 7 8 9 Equitable Life Assurance 6.05 9 7 Aetna Life 6.04 10 8 New York Life 5.94 1Acquired by R.J. Reynolds September 1985. 2Formerly Consolidated Foods. 3Tie. Each scores higher than the other on four of eight attributes. 4Acquired by Philip Morris November 1985. 5Not ranked last year. 6Tie. Teachers Insurance & Annuity scores higher than Metropolitan Life on five of eight attributes. 7Tie. Connecticut General Life, wholly owned by Cigna, scores higher than John Hancock Mutual on five of eight attributes. Metal manufacturing: Alcoa's winning score would be mediocre in most groups. LTV and Bethlehem are am ng the ten least admired companies. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 Alcoa 6.35 2 2 Reynolds Metals 5.63 3 -- Alumax 1 5.53 4 4 Inland Steel 5.37 5 -- Marmon Group 1 5.28 6 5 National Intergroup 5.16 7 7 Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical 4.55 8 8 Armco 4.30 9 9 Bethlehem Steel 4.25 10 6 LTV 3.66 Metal products: Gillette rates highest except for management quality and investment value. On th se, faucet maker Masco is first. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 Gillette 7.19 2 2 Masco 6.85 3 4 Stanley Works 6.82 4 5 Parker Hannifin 6.78 5 3 Ball 6.72 6 7 American Can 6.29 7 8 Crown Cork & Seal 6.18 8 -- Harsco 1 6.06 9 -- CBI Industries 1 5.83 10 10 Chromalloy American 5.28 Mining, crude-oil production This industry group has one of the lowest median scores. Sohio ranks No. 1 on f ur attributes of reputation. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 2 1 Standard Oil (Ohio) 6.24 2 Mitchell Energy 6.13 3 Vulcan Materials 6.11 4 Freeport-McMoRan 6.10 5 International Minerals & Chemicals 5.68 3 5 Louisiana Land & Exploration 5.68 3 7 Occidental Petroleum 5.62 8 Westmoreland Coal 5.16 9 Inspiration Resources 4.89 10 Amax 3.90 Motor vehicles and parts: General Motors ranks first for six attributes. Ford wins for product quality, C rysler for innovativeness. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 General Motors 7.62 2 4 Ford Motor 7.14 3 5 Chrysler 6.98 4 3 Dana 6.91 5 2 TRW 6.79 6 6 Paccar 6.35 7 -- Borg-Warner 1 6.12 8 8 Fruehauf 5.68 9 10 International Harvester 4.56 10 9 American Motors 3.75 Office equipment, computers: IBM, scoring highest for six attributes, trails Hewlett-Packard and Digital for nnovativeness. H-P wins for product quality. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 IBM 8.31 2 2 Hewlett-Packard 7.67 3 4 Digital Equipment 6.97 4 5 NCR 5.94 5 3 Wang Laboratories 5.62 6 6 Honeywell 5.46 7 9 Burroughs 5.40 8 7 Pitney Bowes 5.22 9 10 Sperry 4.89 10 8 Control Data 3.89 Petroleum refining: Blockbuster Exxon rates highest for five attributes. Amoco leads for management uality, innovativeness, and asset use. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 2 1 Standard Oil (Ohio) 6.24 2 Mitchell Energy 6.13 3 Vulcan Materials 6.11 4 Freeport-McMoRan 6.10 5 International Minerals & Chemicals 5.68 3 5 Louisiana Land & Exploration 5.68 3 7 Occidental Petroleum 5.62 8 Westmoreland Coal 5.16 9 Inspiration Resources 4.89 10 Amax 3.90 1Not ranked last year. 2This industry was not surveyed last year. 3Tie. Each scores higher than the other on four of eight attributes. 4Formerly Standard Oil (Indiana). Pharmaceuticals: Johnson & Johnson rates highest for management quality and responsibility, while Merck ranks first for the rest. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 Merck 7.91 2 3 Johnson & Johnson 7.69 3 5 Pfizer 7.44 4 4 Bristol-Myers 7.29 5 2 Abbott Laboratories 7.16 6 7 Eli Lilly 7.03 7 6 American Home Products 6.88 8 9 Upjohn 6.81 9 8 SmithKline Beckman 6.48 10 10 Warner-Lambert 6.34 Precision instruments: Kodak leads for product quality and responsibility, while 3M takes first place f r all other attributes. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 3M 8.12 2 2 Eastman Kodak 7.52 3 3 EG&G 7.03 4 4 Perkin-Elmer 6.86 5 5 Tektronix 6.74 6 6 Xerox 6.55 7 9 General Signal 6.45 8 8 Becton Dickinson 6.41 9 7 Polaroid 6.16 10 10 Lear Siegler 5.74 Publishing, printing: Gannett rates second for innovativeness among the 292 companies, but tenth in it industry for product quality. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE 1 1 Dow Jones 8.07 2 4 New York Times 7.50 1 3 3 Gannett 7.50 1 4 2 Time Inc. 7.13 5 5 R.R. Donnelley & Sons 7.09 ! 6 8 Knight-Ridder Newspapers 7.08 7 9 Washington Post 6.92 8 6 Times Mirror 6.86 9 7 McGraw-Hill 6.72 10 10 Tribune 6.46 Retailing: American Stores, which owns food and drug chains and purchased Jewel Cos. last y ar, climbs to No. 2 from No. 7. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 Sears Roebuck 6.37 2 7 American Stores 6.22 3 4 Kroger 6.16 4 3 Federated Department Stores 6.06 5 5 Safeway Stores 6.03 6 2 J.C. Penney 5.91 7 9 Lucky Stores 5.73 8 6 K mart 5.59 2 9 8 Southland 5.59 210 10 Household Intern tional 5.17 Rubber and plastic products: Rubbermaid scores first for all attributes. Goodrich has been hit by the shrink ge of the replacement-tire market. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 Rubbermaid 7.80 2 2 Goodyear Tire & Rubber 7.43 3 -- Carlisle 3 6.24 4 4 Cooper Tire & Rubber 5.77 5 3 Armstrong Rubber 5.65 6 6 GenCorp 5.60 7 8 Dayco 5.04 8 7 Firestone Tire & Rubber 5.02 9 10 Uniroyal 4 4.99 10 5 B.F. Goodrich 4.98 Shipbuilding, railroad and transportation equipment: American Standard, most familiar as a plumbing supplier, makes braking and contr l equipment for mass transit. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 5 1 American Standard 6.93 2 Fleetwood Enterprises 6.90 3 Mack Trucks 6.36 4 Ogden 6.16 5 Coachmen Industries 5.98 6 Todd Shipyards 5.94 1Tie. New York Times scores higher than Gannett on five of eight attributes. | 2Tie. K mart scores higher than Southland on five of eight attributes. 3Not ranked last year. 4Taken private September 1985. 5This industry was not surveyed last year. Soaps and cosmetics: Procter & Gamble takes first for every attribute. Revlon tried to go private and has been taken over by Pantry Pride. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 Procter & Gamble 7.79 2 International Flavors & Fragrances 6.66 3 Clorox 6.64 4 Lever Brothers 6.58 5 Economics Laboratory 6.16 6 Colgate-Palmolive 6.10 7 Chesebrough-Pond's 5.66 8 Avon Products 5.64 9 Revlon 5.59 Textiles, vinyl flooring: M. Lowenstein, No. 7 in this group, a maker of apparel fabrics, is being acquire by Springs Industries, No. 4. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 Collins & Aikman 7.30 2 Armstrong World Industries 7.22 3 West Point-Pepperell 7.16 4 Springs Industries 6.67 5 Shaw Industries 6.60 6 Burlington Industries 6.06 7 M. Lowenstein 5.94 8 Fieldcrest Mills 5.56 9 J.P. Stevens 4.71 10 United Merchants & Mfrs. 4.64 Tobacco: Philip Morris is first for all attributes but investment value and use of assets for which Reynolds is rated highest. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 Philip Morris 7.63 2 R.J. Reynolds Industries 7.52 3 United States Tobacco 6.78 4 American Brands 6.31 Toys, sporting goods, musical instruments: Hasbro, maker of the G.I. Joe doll, ranks first for all attributes but innovativ ness, for which Coleco is most admired. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 Hasbro 7.49 2 Mattel 6.81 3 Kidde 6.35 4 Coleco Industries 5.74 Transportation: UPS ranks No. 1 for four attributes, including quality of services and financial soundness. Pan Am ranks last on all. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 1 United Parcel Service 7.27 2 2 Delta Air Lines 7.10 3 3 AMR (American Airlines) 6.98 4 7 Burlington Northern 6.67 5 -- Union Pacific 2 6.60 6 6 UAL (United Airlines) 6.58 7 4 CSX 6.31 8 5 Santa Fe Southern Pacific 6.03 9 9 3 Eastern Air Lines 4.34 10 9 3 Pan Am 3.71 Utilities: Seven regional telephone companies spawned by the breakup in 1984 of the Bell Sy tem are the seven most admired utilities. RANK LAST COMPANY SCORE YEAR 1 -- Ameritech 2 7.23 2 -- BellSouth 2 7.18 3 -- Bell Atlantic 2 7.17 4 -- Pacific Telesis Group 2 7.04 5 -- US West 2 7.01 6 -- Southwestern Bell 2 6.98 7 -- Nynex 2 6.80 8 5 Pacific Gas & Electric 6.46 9 8 Southern Co. 6.43 10 4 GTE 6.01 1This industry was not surveyed last year. 2Not ranked last year. 3Tied last year.