From 24/7 Wall St.: Many American companies have done incredibly well this year. A number posted extraordinary financial results in 2011. Others have launched products that revolutionized markets.
Of course, many big public corporations also did very poorly. Several nearly destroyed their business and dragged down shareholder value with it. 24/7 Wall St. combed through the S&P 500 to find the best and worst managed companies in America for 2011.
To make a list of semifinalists, 24/7 Wall St. considered stock price, changes in earnings per share, major shifts in market share and changes in management, among other data. Once the initial screen was complete, we reviewed product launch success, financial results, success of new management and the performance of each company within its industry. The editors then sifted through the finalist to identify those that rewarded both customers and shareholders and those that caused these two groups the most harm.
Neither the best-run companies list nor the worst-run companies list includes a large number of corporations from any single industry. This indicates our methodology identifies well- and worst-managed companies regardless of the industry. Based on our criteria, the management of Starbucks did as good a job as the management of Oracle — two of the best-run companies. Similarly, Eastman Kodak management did as poorly as the management of American Airline parent AMR — two of the worst-run companies.
This is 24/7 Wall St.'s Best and Worst Run Companies of 2011, from the worst of the worst, to the best of the best:
