Anheuser-Busch Ranks No. 1 in Beverage Industry in FORTUNE Magazine 'America's Most Admired Companies' American Brewer Leads Industry in Quality of Products and Services; Among all Industries, Anheuser-Busch Scores among Top 10 in Six Categories ST. LOUIS, Feb. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Anheuser-Busch ranked first among its peers in the beverage industry in FORTUNE magazine's 2005 "America's Most Admired Companies" and first in all eight categories measured, including quality of products and services and employee talent. "This accomplishment two years in a row is gratifying," said Patrick Stokes, Anheuser-Busch president and chief executive officer. "It's a testament to the dedication to quality that our employees uphold every day. It's the basis of our company's success." Each year, FORTUNE surveys 10,000 executives, board members and financial analysts and asks them to evaluate the largest companies in their industries according to eight criteria: Quality of products and services, employee talent, quality of management, innovation, social responsibility, financial soundness, long-term investment and use of corporate assets. Among the nearly 600 American companies from all industries evaluated by FORTUNE, Anheuser-Busch scored in the top 10 in six categories, including quality of products and services and employee talent. The nine companies evaluated in the beverage sector include many global players. However, SABMiller was excluded because FORTUNE considers it a foreign company. Anheuser-Busch is nearly 100 percent American-owned, which makes it unique among the largest brewers competing in the U.S. beer market. In the ranking that considered foreign companies, FORTUNE's 2005 "Global Most Admired Companies" list, Anheuser-Busch once again ranked in the top 50 companies world-wide (No. 28); no other brewer, foreign or domestic, made the list. Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. is the leading American brewer holding 50 percent of the U.S. beer market. The company is American- owned and brews the world's largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. also holds a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading brewer. The company also is one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and is the world's largest recycler of aluminum beverage containers. For more information, visit http://www.anheuser-busch.com/ . DATASOURCE: Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. CONTACT: Loren Wassell of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., +1-314-765-6195 Web site: http://www.anheuser-busch.com/

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