(FORTUNE Magazine) – CALL THEM the Big Eight. Of the 50 women on the power list, only these highfliers are at the very top of their companies--as chair or CEO. By order of ranking, they are Meg Whitman, eBay; Anne Mulcahy, Xerox; Brenda Barnes, Sara Lee; Oprah Winfrey, Harpo (privately held); Andrea Jung, Avon; Pat Russo, Lucent; Carol Bartz, Autodesk; and Mary Sammons, Rite Aid. Below, we show how they (and their companies) stack up in a variety of categories; at right is a look at other highlights from the list.

MARKET CAP

(As of Oct. 17)

LARGEST: eBay $55.3 billion

SMALLEST: Rite Aid $1.9 billion

STOCK PERFORMANCE

(Total return, from Jan. 1 to Oct. 17)

WOMEN CEOs' AVERAGE: --14.8 %

BEST PERFORMER: Autodesk 13.8 %

WORST PERFORMER: eBay --29.8%

S&P 500 INDEX: --0.4%

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

MOST: Brenda Barnes Sara Lee, 137,000

FEWEST: Oprah Winfrey Harpo, 312

2004 PROFITS

MOST: Pat Russo Lucent, $2 billion (net income)

LEAST: Carol Bartz Autodesk, $222 million (net income)

YOUNGEST

Andrea Jung Avon, 47

FAME GAME

MOST GOOGLE HITS: Oprah 14.5 million

MOST GOOGLE HITS FOR WOMAN NOT NAMED OPRAH: Meg Whitman 211,000

LIST LIFERS

A CONSTANT ON A CHANGING LIST: These women have made it each year since 1998.

Cathleen Black Hearst Magazines

Andrea Jung Avon

Karen Katen Pfizer

Shelley Lazarus Ogilvy & Mather, WPP

Judy McGrath MTV Networks, Viacom

Ann Moore Time Inc.

Pat Russo Lucent

Oprah Winfrey Harpo

MOST LETTERS AFTER HER NAME

Genentech's Susan Desmond-Hellman, BA, MD, MPH

LADY IN WAITING

Abigail Johnson Fidelity

Abby Johnson has made the list seven times in the past eight years, and each time we've used the term "heir apparent." We'll probably do it again next year and the year after that--until she finally takes over from her father, Ned Johnson.

LONGEST TIME ON THE JOB

Karen Katen has worked at Pfizer for 31 years.

MOST WOMEN AT THE TOP

R.J. Reynolds

No good ol' boys club here. Three women rule the smoke-filled boardroom at this tobacco giant: chairman and CEO Susan Ivey (No. 24), president and COO Lynn Beasley, and CFO Dianne Neal. Reynolds is the only FORTUNE 500 company with women in the top three spots.

BLOCKBUSTERS OF THE YEAR

MOVIES: Stacey Snider's Meet the Fockers has grossed $517 million for Universal since its release last year.

DRUGS: Lipitor racked up $5.9 billion in sales for the first half of the year, claiming this category for Pfizer's Karen Katen.