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

Howard Schultz is willing to absorb that hit to "reignite the emotional connection we have with our customers." Will it work? Starbucks isn't going to wait until things get worse before it tries to find a solution.

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