World's Most Admired Companies

Top 50 rank: 15
Rank in Securities: 1 (Previous rank: 1*)
Overall score: 7.75
For years, Goldman's vaunted culture deftly mixed aggression with paranoia and individual ambition with teamwork to create the largest and most profitable U.S. investment bank. That shine is gone. Slammed by the credit crisis, Goldman was forced to become a (more regulated) bank holding company, take government bailout money, and cut thousands of positions in the past year. It posted its first quarterly loss since it went public in 1999.

But Goldman survived. It got a vote of confidence when financier Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bought $5 billion in preferred shares in September 2008. And while its stock fell 61% last year, it's gained 7.9% so far this year -. L.D.

Address: 85 Broad St.
New York, NY 10004
Phone: 212-902-1000
Website: www.gs.com