Company Climbs BusinessWeek Ranking of World’s Most Innovative Companies

The Coca-Cola Company continues to move up in Bloomberg BusinessWeek 's annual ranking of the world's "50 Most Innovative Companies." After debuting on the list last year at No. 25, we climbed six spots to No. 19 in 2010 on the strength of groundbreaking innovations like Coca-Cola Freestyle.

"Coca-Cola brought the flash of race cars and high-tech wizardry to its fountain-drink dispenser redesign," BusinessWeek wrote. "Its Freestyle machine stocks more than 100 different drinks."

Bloomberg BusinessWeek 's "The 50 Most Innovative Companies" report is based on data from Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The consultancy e-mailed a 21-question poll to senior executives around the globe in December 2009. The 1,590 anonymous respondents were asked to name the most innovative companies from outside their own industry. BCG then factored in the financial performance of the top vote-getters. The final list weights the survey results 80 percent, stock returns 10 percent, and three-year revenue and margin growth 5 percent each. Apple topped the list for the sixth consecutive year, followed by Google and Microsoft.

For the first time since the Bloomberg BusinessWeek rankings began in 2005, the majority of the Top 25 corporations are based outside the United States. Fifteen of the Top 50 are Asian -- up from just five in 2006. China's rise is the biggest, with five companies making the Top 50 (up from only one in 2009).