Innovative Companies

The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies

Meet the companies that make up this year's list, as determined by BusinessWeek and the Boston Consulting Group

Our ranking of the World's Most Innovative Companies, a collaboration with the innovation practice of the Boston Consulting Group, is our most global list ever. It's also determined by a broader set of data than in the past. In addition to the votes cast in our annual survey—which receive the heaviest weighting in our results—we also weighed companies' three-year margin growth, revenue growth, and total shareholder return*. The result: Plenty of new names, including Tata Group, Nintendo (NTDOY), and Reliance Industries. Check them out.

*DATA: The regional lists are determined by votes from more than 2,950 senior executives in the 2008 BusinessWeek/Boston Consulting Group survey, along with financial measures provided by Reuters, Compustat, and Bloomberg. To determine our ranking, votes cast in our survey were weighted 80%, three-year margin growth and revenue growth were each weighted 5%, and three-year stock returns were weighted 10%.

Revenue and operating margin growth is annualized based on 2004-2007 fiscal-year earnings before interest and taxes, as a percent of revenues as they were originally stated. Where possible, quarterly and semiannual data were used to bring performance for pre-June yearends closer to December, 2007. Financial figures were calculated in local currency.

Stock returns were annualized Dec. 31, 2004 to Dec. 31, 2007, and account for price appreciation and dividends.