Financial results

Independent financial analysts have studied the financial performance of "100 Best" companies beginning with the publication of the book, The 100 Best Companies to Work For in America (by Robert Levering and Milton Moskowitz, 1984 and 1993), and on an ongoing basis to accompany each of the "100 Best Companies" lists with Fortune since their inception in 1998. Using various profitability indicators, this data illustrates the extent to which the publicly traded 100 Best Companies consistently outperform major stock indices over various periods of time preceding or following the publication of the 100 Best lists!

Fortune "100 Best" vs. Stock Market 1998-2006

Source:Russell Investment Group ^© Great Place to Work^® Institute, Inc. The Reset Annually portfolio invests equal dollar amounts (at the beginning of 1998) in the stock of each of the 1998 100 Best publicly traded companies. The portfolio is liquidated at the end of 1998 and the proceeds invested in the 1999 list by buying equal dollar amounts of each publicly traded firm on the 1999 list. This process of liquidating the portfolio at the end of the year and using the proceeds to invest in the new list of 100 Best is repeated for all years covered in the charts. The Buy and Hold portfolio invests equal dollar amounts (at the beginning of 1998) in the stock of each of the 1998 100 Best publicly traded companies and holds these stocks for all years covered in the charts.

Fortune 100 Best Vs Stock Market - Historical Annualised Returns 1998 - 2006

Source:Russell Investment Group 2002-2007 ^©Great Place to Work^® Institute, Inc. This Graph compares the Average Annual Investment Returns achieved by the Fortune '100 Best Companies to Work for in USA' with those of the S&P500, over a range of years since 1998 - the first year in which the 'Fortune 100 Best' list was published. The S&P 500 is one of the most commonly used benchmarks of the overall stock market. The Reset Annually portfolio invests equal dollar amounts (at the beginning of 1998) in the stock of each of the 1998 100 Best publicly traded companies. The portfolio is liquidated at the end of 1998 and the proceeds invested in the 1999 list by buying equal dollar amounts of each publicly traded firm on the 1999 list. This process of liquidating the portfolio at the end of the year and using the proceeds to invest in the new list of 100 Best is repeated for all years covered in the chart.