Special Report

Companies With the Best Reputations

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Some of the most favored companies offer high-quality and innovative products, prioritize customer service, operate ethically, and in some cases speak up on some political or social issues.

To identify the 20 companies with the best reputations, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2023 Axios Harris Poll. Axios and Harris Poll produce the survey to gauge the reputation of the most visible brands in America. This year’s rankings are based on a survey of 16,310 Americans from a nationally representative sample conducted March 13-28, 2023. Companies’ scores were aggregated from totals in nine categories: Character, trajectory, trust, culture, ethics, citizenship, vision, growth, and products and service.

The technology sector accounts for a large portion of the U.S. economy, and tech companies are among the businesses with the best reputations. HP, Microsoft, and Apple all rank in the top 20 companies for overall reputation and have scores at 80 or above in the Axios Harris Poll products and services category. Still, even at the best company not all products are a smashing success. Here are the 25 biggest product flops of the last 10 years.

Three other technology companies rank in the top 20 but are not American based, with Samsung, which ranks seventh overall and the highest among tech companies, topping 80 in seven categories. Similarly, the three automobile companies among the 20 with the best overall reputation are businesses headquartered in Asian nations. All three score higher than 80 in products and services.

Price club Costco is one of three retailers on the list, and ranks first among all companies in the trust, culture, and growth categories. Overall, it ranks second. Costco and heavy equipment manufacturer John Deere, which overall ranks third, exceeds 80 in eight of nine categories. It appears that no young company has yet to manage to build enough of a reputation to rank among the companies on this list. Here are the youngest companies in the Fortune 500.

Two companies have scores of 80 or better in all nine categories: USAA, a finance firm serving military members and their families, and Patagonia, an outdoor clothing retailer. While USAA ranks ninth overall despite its high scores in each category, Patagonia ranks first. 

Patagonia, which ranked third last year, tops all others in the products and services, trajectory, citizenship, and ethics categories. The Ventura, California-based business has been an outspoken supporter of environmental causes, condemned hate speech on social media, and has donated to voting rights groups.

Click here to see companies with the best reputations.

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20. HP, Inc.
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 78.7
> Change in rank from 2016: No change

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19. CVS (CVS Health)
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 78.7
> Change in rank from 2016: Up by 17

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18. LG Corporation
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 78.8
> Change in rank from 2016: Up by 9

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17. American Express
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 79.3
> Change in rank from 2016: Up by 29

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16. Subaru
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 79.4
> Change in rank from 2016: Up by 4

15. Microsoft
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 79.7
> Change in rank from 2016: No change

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14. UPS
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 79.8
> Change in rank from 2016: Up by 2

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13. Honda Motor Company
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 79.8
> Change in rank from 2016: down by 4

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12. Sony
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 79.8
> Change in rank from 2016: down by 2

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11. 3M
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 80.5
> Change in rank from 2016: Up by 13

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10. Apple
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 80.6
> Change in rank from 2016: Up by 11

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9. USAA
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 80.6
> Change in rank from 2016: Up by 8

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8. Amazon.com
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 80.7
> Change in rank from 2016: No change

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7. Samsung
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 81.0
> Change in rank from 2016: down by 1

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6. Toyota Motor Corporation
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 81.0
> Change in rank from 2016: Up by 1

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5. Chick-fil-A
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 81.4
> Change in rank from 2016: Up by 23

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4. Trader Joe’s
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 81.7
> Change in rank from 2016: down by 3

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3. John Deere
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 82.0
> Change in rank from 2016: No change

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2. Costco
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 82.1
> Change in rank from 2016: Up by 24

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1. Patagonia
> 2023 Harris Poll Reputations Score: 83.5
> Change in rank from 2016: Up by 2

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