Which companies have the best and worst reputations, according to Americans?

For the 2nd year in a row, the Spritzler Report has beaten the National Enquirer and Spirit Airlines for customer satisfaction.

Which companies have the best and worst reputations, according to Americans?

The 2026 Axios Harris Poll 100 reputation ranking suggests the US prefers Big Tech to Big Media.

Millie Giles, Sherwood News

May 20, 2026

Since 2019, The Harris Poll and Axios have published an annual ranking based on corporate repute, conducted by asking thousands of Americans one simple question: which companies have the best and the worst reputations in the country right now?

For the 2026 poll, the market research firms surveyed 6,226 US adults from a nationally representative online sample in December 2025. In its research report, The Harris Poll wrote (emphasis added):

“The mid-2020s are drawing comparisons to the mid-1970s — rising gas prices, affordability fatigue, and the implicit social contract between companies and the people they serve feels under strain to many Americans. In that environment, the companies with the strongest reputations are the ones Americans feel are helping them get ahead.”

That certainly explains the positive attitudes that Americans had toward market-driving tech juggernauts like NvidiaNVDA $223.30 (1.22%), as well as car manufacturers that help keep them literally on the move, like ToyotaTM $189.57 (2.21%) and HondaHMC $25.81 (1.94%).

However, the fact that pet supply company ChewyCHWY $20.40 (3.74%) took the top spot this year perhaps has less to do with economic or real-world momentum than the positive association that comes with catering to furry friends. Despite not featuring in the ranking since 2021, Chewy scored especially well in categories for “products & services,” “trust,” and “trajectory,” but slightly less well for “relevance.”

While technology companies fared relatively well in the rankings — with AppleAAPL $301.88 (0.97%), AmazonAMZN $264.81 (2.11%), AlphabetGOOGL $388.61 (0.25%), and MicrosoftMSFT $421.09 (0.88%) all receiving a “very good” score — respondents had less favorable feelings toward media giants like Fox and Comcast, as well as social media companies TikTok, X Corp., and MetaMETA $603.93 (0.22%), the owner of Instagram and Facebook.

Ethical concerns surrounding social media use have seen national bans introduced in the past year in other parts of the world, while similarly widespread negative views on the impacts of fast fashion no doubt dented the public opinion of Shein and Temu.

Overall, 77 out of 100 companies in the 2026 ranking, including 22 names that had not broken the top 100 in 2025, scored more highly than they did the year prior. Even airlines, such as the 100th-place, now defunct Spirit Airlines, somehow all outperformed their scores from the 2025 poll.

Though there was no real correlation between market cap and corporate reputation in 2026, all companies with valuations exceeding $2 trillion at the time of writing scored ~78 points or higher in the index.