Take a bow, Yahoo. Step up to the podium, Cognizant Technology Solutions. Looking good, Ralph Lauren.

These and 20 other companies are on my roster of Balance Sheet Powerhouses for 2013 — compiled to honor companies with unusually strong balance sheets and to counter monomania about earnings. Many investors care only whether earnings are growing, and whether earnings beat expectations. Those things are important, but far from the whole ballgame. Many investors neglect balance-sheet strength. To make my list, a company must have: