Coach Tops the 12th Annual BusinessWeek 50 Ranking of Best Performing U.S. Companies

NEW YORK (Map) - NEW YORK, March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- New York-based retailer Coach comes in at No.1 on the 12th annual BusinessWeek ranking of the best performing U.S. companies. Rounding out the top five are Gilead Sciences, Allegheny Technologies, Verizon, and Questar. Last year's No.1 company, Google, dropped to No.34 on the list -- shares are down almost 40% from their high of 747 last November.

How Coach took the top ranking in the BusinessWeek 50 can be summed up in two percentages: the handbag maker and retailer posted average sales growth of 24% over the last three years while generating a 61% average return on invested capital. The results are a testament to Chief Executive Lew Frankfort's strategy of moving the brand more upscale, as well as the skillful way designer Reed Krakoff has increased the brand's sex appeal.

With the economy sitting on the precipice of what could potentially be a deep recession, management vision and moxie could spell the difference between the companies that not only survive, but thrive, and those that are carried away in the economic undertow. The BW50 companies, for all of their past successes, are not afraid to alter their business models at the first signs of weakness.

No.1 performer, Coach, moved quickly when it understood that its aspirational customers might suddenly hesitate at spending $900 for one of its Legacy handbags. Coach quickly rolled out more affordable lines of bags for as little as $160. Starbucks (No.16), in the face of a renewed push by McDonald's to boost coffee sales, announced a sweeping remake of its stores that includes free refills and Internet access for regular customers, and more handcrafted coffee drinks. While analysts fret those moves could cut profits in the near term, Starbucks CEO

The companies that make up the BW50 represent BusinessWeek's picks as the top performers in each of the 10 sectors that make up the S&P 500. To select this year's overachievers, BusinessWeek ran the S&P 500 through a proprietary screen that ranks those companies within sectors by two key metrics: return on investment and sales growth over the past three years, and for financial-service firms, their returns on equity and growth in assets. To provide the analysis and perspective that computers can't, BusinessWeek's editors and reporters then reviewed each company on the list, making a limited number of changes and deletions where warranted.

The 12th annual BW50 if featured in the April 7th issue of BusinessWeek, on newsstands March 28th. Expanded content, including an interactive scoreboard, in-depth profiles, and full methodology, can be found online at www.businessweek.com/bw50.

                             The BusinessWeek 50
                                Class of 2008
                Rank       Company
                1          Coach
                2          Gilead Sciences
                3          Allegheny Technologies
                4          Verizon Communications
                5          Questar
                6          Apple
                7          Colgate-Palmolive
                8          BJ Services
                9          Abercrombie & Fitch
                10         MEMC Electronic Materials
                11         CB Richard Ellis Group
                12         C.H. Robinson Worldwide
                13         IntercontinentalExchange
                14         UnitedHealth Group
                15         CME Group
                16         Starbucks
                17         Robert Half International
                18         Avon Products
                19         Cognizant Technology Solutions
                20         Sunoco
                21         Goldman Sachs Group
                22         Exelon
                23         Amazon.com
                24         Rockwell Collins
                25         Nucor
                26         Varian Medical Systems
                27         AT&T
                28         Autodesk
                29         T. Rowe Price Group
                30         Bed Bath & Beyond
                31         Pepsico
                32         Expeditors Intl. of Washington
                33         Lehman Brothers Holdings
                34         Google
                35         Schlumberger
                36         Best Buy
                37         IMS Health
                38         PNC Financial Services Group
                39         Constellation Energy Group
                40         Sherwin-Williams
                41         Microsoft
                42         Precision Castparts
                43         Titanium Metals
                44         Moody's
                45         Coca-Cola
                46         Barr Pharmaceuticals
                47         TJX
                48         Centurytel
                49         Nvidia
                50         Exxon Mobil