Many of us would be happy to benefit from a quiet retirement without facing concerns of losing all of our hard earned money. Fortune 40 gives us a helping hand by suggesting some big names to invest in that could offer us the results that we are looking for.

One such company is Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT), whose earnings surged 35% during its last quarter, helped by its famous anti-inflammatory drug Humira and HIV treatment Kaletra. Looking ahead to the company's performance, CEO Miles White is planing to keep his main attention on its medical devices unit which is seen as a key element against strong competition.

Fortune 40 also looks at beverage maker The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), which benefits from strong international gains able to beat recent weakness in U.S. In addition, it looks like the company's acquisition of Glacéau and its VitaminWater brand offer it a good support to outperform on the market.

Consumer products maker Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL) made it on Fortune 40's list as remarkable for its ability to fight against competitor The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG). Another company that makes its presence felt is pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), cited for its impressive dividend growth rate of 14% over the past five years.

There are also some tech giants on the list, such as Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), which benefits from the strong popularity of video streaming, and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), which expanded its presence into the Web-based software market by launching its Xbox 360 game console.

But those are only a few big names that Fortune 40 recommends to us. To get a clearer and more comprehensive image of these strong companies and their profitability chances just take a look at the Fortune slide show.

Eliza Popescu is a financial writer for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.