Most Iconic U.S. Companies

The 120-year old beverage manufacturer produces 500 different brands of drinks and serves nearly 2 billion of their concoctions every day.

From its famous catalogs to the world-famous tower it built in the 1970s, Sears was once the dominant name in retail.

Henry Ford gave America the Model T and the assembly line, and Ford family members are still at the helm of this 110-year automobile manufacturer.

The third largest company in the Forbes Global 2000, General Electric was founded in 1892 by a group of men, led by famed inventor Thomas Edison. In 1896, it became one of the original 12 companies to form the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is the only original member still part of the index. GE is a major producer of appliances, aviation equipment, consumer electronics, lighting, weapons and a host of other products and services.

IBM is the second largest U.S. company in terms of number of employees. In its 100-year history, it has been responsible for inventing ATMs, floppy disks, UPCs, and magnetic strip cards. IBM employees have won 5 Nobel Prizes.