Warren Buffett is quoted as saying, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and only five minutes to ruin it." When I was a graduating college student in 2000, there were three companies with great reputations, where the competition for jobs was fierce: General Electric (NYSE: GE) , ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) , and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) .
Exxon would top the Fortune 500 list the following year as the largest company in America, GE was named the most admired for a fourth consecutive year, and Johnson & Johnson was about to start an 18-year run of being named on the most admired list. While GE and Exxon have fallen precipitously in both market cap and admiration, Johnson & Johnson remains one of the most respected companies in America. But does it deserve to be?
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For Investors, Is Owning Johnson & Johnson Stock a Vice or a Virtue?