Latest news with #AxiosHarrisPoll100
Axios
5 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Companies that kept DEI commitments saw higher reputation scores in 2025
Companies that maintained their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion saw reputation scores rise in this year's Axios Harris Poll 100 reputation rankings. Why it matters: Unclear corporate values or a lack of conviction — most recently seen through mass DEI walk-backs — can hinder reputation. By the numbers: Across all 100 companies, corporate reputation declined by an average of 2.34 points in 2025. However, those companies that held firm on their DEI commitments saw scores rise by an average of 1.5 points. The big picture: Several companies have scaled back their DEI benchmarking goals amid concerns of legal exposure after the Trump administration's calls to dismantle DEI programs within corporate America. Yes, but: According to a recent Pew Research study, a slim majority of U.S. workers say increasing DEI at work is mainly a good thing. Zoom in: Reputation scores are tabulated based on trust, culture, ethics, citizenship, vision, growth, and products and services. Patagonia and Costco rank within the top three in character, culture and citizenship. Microsoft, which saw one of the largest score increases since last year, ranked "excellent" across the categories of trust, culture and vision, among others. Meanwhile, most companies that saw a decline in reputation in the past year also rolled back or revised their DEI policies. AB InBev — which ranked "poor" across the reputation categories of ethics, citizenship and character — has seen its reputation decline more than 10 points since 2021. The Walt Disney Company has seen a 7-point slide since 2021, and Target's score declined by 5 points. Both fall in the bottom 25% in terms of ethics. Of note, Google revised its DEI policies but still saw a significant increase in score (+2.3 points) due to its "excellent" score for products and services and "very good" ranking for trajectory, vision and growth.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Elon Musk Admits Glaringly Obvious Truth About His Foray Into Politics
Elon Musk now says prioritizing politics over his business ventures may have been a minor blunder. 'I think I probably did spend a bit too much time on politics,' Musk admitted to Ars Technica editor Eric Berger in a new interview that aimed to focus on the future of SpaceX in the wake of two recent rocket launches gone awry. The tech billionaire also told Berger he thought criticism over his right-wing activism was a bit exaggerated. 'It's less than people would think, because the media is going to over-represent any political stuff,' Musk explained to the aerospace industry reporter and trained astronomer, who has written two books about SpaceX. 'It's not like I left the companies.' Claiming he's now striking a better balance between between being a businessman and a diplomatic dilettante, the CEO said, 'It was just relative time allocation that probably was a little too high on the government side, and I've reduced that significantly in recent weeks.' Musk's foray into politics seems to have damaged his companies' balance sheets and their reputations. Earlier this month, both Tesla and SpaceX saw sharp declines in the yearly Axios Harris Poll 100, a survey gauging public opinion on the U.S.'s most prominent brands. Musk's electric car company plunged from the No. 8 spot it held in 2021 down to No. 95. Meanwhile, SpaceX dropped from No. 5 to No. 86 in the same time span. Things didn't look good when it came to his businesses' bottom lines either. After Tesla revealed its total revenue had taken a 9.4% hit year-over-year in its first-quarter financial report last month, Musk told investors he would be curbing his time with the federal budget-slashing effort known as the Department of Government Efficiency. 'Starting next month, I will be allocating far more of my time to Tesla, and now that the major work of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency is done,' Musk said, adding that he'd still devote several days per week on government matters, 'as long as it is useful.' Elon Musk's Tesla Sales Utterly Collapse In Europe, Even As EV Market Surges Tesla And SpaceX Reputations Plummet Following Elon Musk's Right-Wing Activism Sheryl Crow Opens Up About Terrifying Backlash To Tesla Protest: I 'Felt Very Afraid' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Axios
7 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Axios Harris Poll 100: Prices over politics
Prices — not politics — are driving most brands' reputations in this year's Axios Harris Poll 100 rankings, with the election in the rear-view mirror and tariffs and inflation top of mind. The big picture: The average polarization score — the gap between how Republicans and Democrats view a brand's reputation — dropped to 2.55 points among the 10 highest-rated companies in this year's survey, down from 3.4 a year ago. No. 1 ranked Trader Joe's, a grocery chain known for affordable specialty foods, registers a reputation score of 82.1 (82.9 from Democrats and 81.1 from Republicans, or a polarization measure of +1.8 D). No. 10 ranked Apple registers at 80.0, with a +1.1 R polarization. Arizona Beverage Co., known for its giant 99-cent cans of tea, is the one brand in the top 10 for consumers of both parties (No. 3 for Republicans, No. 7 for Democrats). "Are we now entering an era of post-polarization?" said John Gerzema, CEO of The Harris Poll. "We used to get so upset by the culture wars, and now the absolute dominant priority and attention has been focused by the consumer on value." Brand politics "was a thing we could pay attention to when the economy was doing better, but this is really tough times for people right now." Yes, but: Political neutrality doesn't ensure higher rankings, and, Gerzema said, "being polarizing today isn't necessarily a strong indication that you're going to be at the bottom." The two companies with no polarization gap, Delta Air Lines and Spirit Airlines, have reputational ratings of 48 and 100, respectively. What we're watching: 8 in 10 consumers tell The Harris Poll that they care more about how brands can keep prices down than their politics. 2 in 3 say they aren't interested in supporting companies that have become too political. But two-thirds also say political polarization in business is inevitable. Most trusted companies by party Zoom in: Chick-fil-A, John Deere and Arizona Beverage are seen by Republicans as the most reputable companies, while Democrats give Costco, Unilever (which includes Ben & Jerry's ice cream) and Patagonia top billing. Several companies that made the Top 100 list skew blue or red. Ben & Jerry's (+16.4 D), Pfizer (+13.3 D) and the Walt Disney Company (+12.3 D) skew the most toward Democratic consumers in terms of reputational perceptions. Views about the war in Gaza, vaccines and LGBTQ+ rights help explain the disparities. Even bigger gaps are seen for the companies that most skew toward Republicans: Elon Musk-brands Tesla (+32.3 R), X (+29.5 R) and Space X (+28.7 R); and the Trump Organization (+45.3 R). The common thread is alignment with President Trump. The most polarizing brands that lean Republican are near the bottom for overall reputation (Nos. 86, 95, 98 and 99). The most polarizing brands that lean Democrat fare better (Nos. 24, 61 and 76).
Axios
27-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Microsoft and Costco named among most trusted brands
Some Seattle-area companies rank among the world's most trusted big brands, according to the latest Axios Harris Poll 100 reputation rankings. How it works: The survey is the result of a partnership between Axios and Harris Poll to gauge the reputation of the most visible brands in America, based on 20 years of Harris Poll research. Zoom in: Redmond-based Microsoft ranked as the No. 3 most trusted company among this year's top 100 brands, jumping 15 spots from last year. Costco — headquartered in Issaquah — ranked fifth, up from No. 11 last year. Nintendo and Amazon both ranked in the top 20, placing them in the "very good" reputation category. T-Mobile and Starbucks were 54th and 71st, respectively. Yes, but: Boeing ranked 88th, in the "very poor" category. The aerospace giant, which was founded in Seattle and has factories in Renton and Everett, has struggled in recent years to rebound from a series of quality and safety problems. Those incidents included a door plug blowout that caused an airplane panel to fly off mid-flight in January 2024, and two 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.
Axios
24-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Manosphere's reputation bump
Brands tied to masculinity or ' the manosphere ' — like UFC, DraftKings and John Deere — are on Americans' minds, per this year's Axios Harris Poll 100, which assigns brands scores based on factors like trust, products and services, vision and culture. Why it matters: Some brands are breaking into the list for the first time, driven in part by the rising influence of the manosphere across social media. Zoom in: John Deere earned an exceptionally high reputation score at No. 11, and wasn't on the list last year. DraftKings (64) and UFC (82) appeared on the Axios Harris Poll 100 list for the first time this year since we started tracking brands' reputations in 2019. Zoom out: Our online worlds are splintering, and many young men are immersed in the manosphere, which is dominated by chart-topping podcasters and President Trump himself pushing traditional ideas of masculinity. Some of the brands aligned with manosphere influencers — like UFC, a Trump favorite, and sports betting giant DraftKings, which frequently advertises on podcasts — are getting a boost. UFC CEO Dana White is also a prominent Trump supporter and gave a speech last year at the Republican National Convention. The money quote: "Putting aside the social concerns of some of its darker meanings, masculinity is a pretty good business model right now," says John Gerzema, CEO of The Harris Poll. "It's counter-cultural. ... It's a modern-day Marlboro Man."
