# 5 International Business Machines

Rank: 19

Previous rank: 18

CEO: Virginia M. Rometty

IBM’s top job went from Sam Palmisano to Ginni Rometty. It is marked as one of the most watched transfers of corporate leadership in modern history and it of course paved way for the company to have a high ranking in Fortune's list. The transition brought out one of the company's best years ever, as it had a sales topping $100 billion in 2011.

# 4 Apple

Rank: 17

Previous rank: 35

CEO: Timothy D. Cook

The most tragic vacuum caused by the demise of Steve Jobs, anyway didn’t weaken the gadget maker, Apple, it seems, as it has given a sudden leap from the 35^th position to make it 17 this time. Under the lead of Tim Cook, the company continued to come up with new products. When compared to 2010, it has nearly doubled its earnings per share in 2011. Apple also has plans to launch its long-rumored television set.