Annual Sales $61.1 billion

Average Five-Year Score Improvement 11th (up 7.7%)

EADS's Airbus unit is benefiting from three years of record orders for commercial aircraft. The bad news: The multinational European aerospace company is being kept from running at anywhere near peak efficiency by management turmoil, a shareholder structure that limits maneuverability, and interference from politicians who put jobs over profit. A soaring euro will bite into EADS's bottom line as its dollar hedges run down, and its U.S. defense ambitions will be hurt if it loses the Air Force tanker award.