Johnson & Johnson

Known far and wide for its Band-Aid adhesive bandage products, Johnson & Johnson still dominates the market it entered in 1886 when founder Robert Wood Johnson and his brothers produced their first products, ready-to-apply surgical dressings. Besides Band-Aids (1921), other early products were first-aid kits for consumer use (a first), and the first mass-produced sanitary napkins. Today these represent only a small piece of J&J's Consumer Products division, which itself represents just 21% of corporate revenue. Medical devices (41%) and Pharmaceuticals (39%) account for the lion's share. With nearly 250 subsidiary companies and operations in 57 countries, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE JNJ) is among the largest companies in the Fortune 500.

Known far and wide for its Band-Aid adhesive bandage products, Johnson & Johnson still dominates the market it entered in 1886 when founder Robert Wood Johnson and his brothers produced their first products, ready-to-apply surgical dressings. Besides Band-Aids (1921), other early products were first-aid kits for consumer use (a first), and the first mass-produced sanitary napkins.

Today these represent only a small piece of J&J's Consumer Products division, which itself represents just 21% of corporate revenue. Medical devices (41%) and Pharmaceuticals (39%) account for the lion's share. With nearly 250 subsidiary companies and operations in 57 countries, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE JNJ) is among the largest companies in the Fortune 500.

Largely through its baby care line "Johnson & Johnson" is a household name, but the company owns other famous brands. Among them are Acuvue, Benadryl, Bengay, Cortaid, Lactaid, Listerine, Motrin, Mylanta, Neosporin, Neutragena, Pepcid, Rolaids, Sudafed, Tylenol, and Visine. ("Johnson's Wax," sometimes assumed to be a J&J brand, is not. It belongs to the SC Johnson company, makers of a variety of well-known household products.)

Also, by way of an 1887 design registered in 1905, the company retains sole rights to commercial use of the symbol and name "Red Cross," otherwise reserved by the Geneva Conventions for military and relief organizations.

The Johnson & Johnson Credo, written in 1943 by Robert Wood Johnson II, is legendary for establishing a corporate culture that put the customer first. Credo values were so ingrained that it's been credited with enabling the company's overnight response to news in 1982 of Tylenol-related deaths, with J&J managers instinctively starting the process of removing product from retail shelves before specific recall instructions were received.