"Fortune" has revealed its annual list of the World’s 50 Most Admired Companies. Apple tops the list again, for the fourth year in a row.

Working with the Hay Group, "Fortune" surveys more than 4,100 executives, directors, and  analysts across industries, who select the companies they admire most. Apple tops the list, followed by Google (No. 2) and Berkshire Hathaway (No. 3)

Of the nine traits the Hay Group surveys, only Apple preserved its pre-recession (2007) status as the top company for “innovativeness.” Goldman Sachs triumphed over General Electric in the “ability to attract, develop, and keep talented people," Amazon.com is now number one over Anheuser-Busch for “quality of products and services,” and Google replaced Berkshire Hathaway as the company most “valued as a long-term investment.”

In another sign of the “great shakeout,” Hewlett-Packard, Nokia, L’Oreal and AT&T have dropped off this year’s list. The most heavily represented categories on this year’s list are:  transportation (10 companies), computers and communication (10) and stores and distributors.