Remember last year when we reported Apple was Fortune’s “Most-Admired” company? Well, it has happened again. For the fourth year in a row (doesn’t come as a surprise since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007), Fortune has declared the Cupertino company is the most-admired among other tech companies with an average score of 8.16. Fortune’s list includes other 50 companies, most of them based in the Silicon Valley.
Apple took a stock hit when iconic CEO Steve Jobs announced in January that he’d be taking a second medical leave, two years after receiving a liver transplant during a six-month sabbatical. But Jobs assured the market in the company’s recent earnings report that Apple was still “firing on all cylinders.”
It certainly appears to be. Apple nearly doubled its quarterly profits vs. a year ago. The iPad 2 was introduced in March, marking the second generation of one of Apple’s milestone product successes. And Jobs made a surprise appearance at the launch.
And just like last year, I would say one of Apple’s biggest advantages over its competitors in the mobile space is the App Store. Over 350,000 apps available for the iPhone, 65,000 for the iPad. On top of that, an iPad 2 coming next week and the iPhone 5 (which should be a complete redesign) in a few months. Plus, new computers, cloud services and the continuos expansion of retail stores. 2011 is shaping up to be a good year for Apple. [Fortune via 9to5mac]
