Tesla is world’s most innovative company, Unilever Indonesia makes it to Forbes Top 10 list

American automobile maker Tesla Motors has been named the world’s most innovative company by Forbes magazine while other American firms dominate the global corporate innovation ranking.

Globally known for manufacturing electric cars, Tesla Motors topped the Forbes’ list of the world’s most innovative companies after registering an 82.40 innovation premium, which is the basis of Forbes’ ranking.

“We use something called the Innovation Premium to compile our list,” Forbes said in explaining its methodology.

“It is calculated first by projecting the cash flows a company produces from its existing businesses without any growth and look at the net present value (NPV) of those cash flows.

“We compare this base value of the existing business with the company’s current total Enterprise Value (EV): Companies with an EV above their base value have an innovation premium built into their stock price.”

Another American firm, Salesforce.com, ranked second. The cloud computing company headquartered in San Francisco, California registered a 75.52 innovation premium based on Forbes’ analysis.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals led the pack of American biotechnology companies that dominate the Forbes list. Incyte and Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. followed at the fourth and fifth rank, respectively.

American apparel, accessories and luxury goods brand Under Armour landed on the sixth spot in the Forbes list with a 68.92 innovation premium. Under Armour are among the five stocks that performed well during the recent Rio 2016 Olympics.

Meanwhile, American soft drinks manufacturer Monster Beverage Corp. took the seventh spot on the Forbes list with a 68.8 innovation premium. It is followed by Unilever Indonesia with a 67.93 innovation premium. Unilever Indonesia is the lone non-American firm that made it to the top 10 most innovative companies named by Forbes magazine.

American biotechnology companies Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Biomarin Pharmaceuticals followed on the ninth and tenth rank.