America This Week: May 28, 2026

One interesting number: $400k. Small businesses using AI report earning nearly 5x as much revenue as their non-adopter peers ($500k vs. $90k).

Corporate Reputations Rebound in 2026

Some of the companies that were in hot water over scandals and the culture wars are quickly rebounding, according to our reporting with Sara Fischer,  in The Axios The Harris Poll 100 corporate reputation rankings.In fact, more than half of the companies that appeared both last and this year saw their reputations improve YoY.

• Why this matters: The trend reflects positive consumer sentiment for recognizable brands in the era of AI-slop. Suddenly, heritage and longevity are differentiating.
• Diving in: UnitedHealth Grouphad one of the biggest improvements (+7.6 pts) in our Axios Harris Poll 100 rankings this year. Political backlash against Elon Musk didn’t hold back or slow down large reputation improvements (+5.9% and +5.3%, respectively). Even Shein saw an increase (+4.5).
• What to consider: Reputational elasticity is improving as a chaotic news cycle and fragmented micro-media consumption habits make it easier for consumers to forget and move on from scandals quickly. Major companies and their brands are showing greater resilience, even after recent high-profile controversies.

Prediction Markets More Trusted Than Many Blue-Chip Companies

Crisis recovery may be shortening; however, our Axios Harris Poll 100 reporting with Nathan Bomey shows that Americans trust certain prediction markets, trading platforms, and sportsbooks more than some of the country’s blue-chip corporations.

• What we found: Polymarket had a higher reputation ranking than companies like Bank of America, The Walt Disney Company , Ford Motor Company and Verizon. It also earned a “good” trust score.
• Zoom in: Robinhood came in at No. 42 with a “very good” trust score, while No. 66 DraftKings Inc. beat out AT&T , McDonald’s and Wells Fargo.
• The intrigue: More women are likely to trust these platforms than men: Polymarket (79.7) and DraftKings (74.5) vs. men (73.8 and 71.9). Perhaps more men have experienced the ups and downs of PMs and gambling sites?

What this means: When the system feels rigged, people begin making bets. Two-thirds (64%) of Gen Z/Millennials believe “the only realistic way to build significant wealth is ‘alternative methods’ such as crypto, gambling, or retail stocks.”

The Modern Traveler’s New Itinerary

AI, crypto, and a medical/wellness itinerary are just three of the new forces in our new Mastercard-Harris Poll survey of the modern international traveler.

• What we found: Over 15k consumers across eleven countries would use Agentic AI as their travel agent. A third (33%) would allow AI to spend up to $1k without approval.
• The stat you can’t ignore: Nearly two in five (36%) are comfortable using crypto for travel and stays, with a similar number amenable to stablecoins (39%).
• What to consider: Health has become a destination itself. Over a fifth (23%) of international leisure travelers have traveled for medical treatments or procedures.

What this means: International travelers aren’t simply booking a trip – they’re optimizing them. They’re planning trips using AI, chasing favorable exchange rates, and extending business trips into mini getaways. “Travel is no longer simply about where people go, but why they go and what those journeys enable,” says Cheryl Guerin, Mastercard’s executive vice president for Global Brand Strategy and Innovation. “For brands, understanding the new rules of travel in this evolving landscape is essential.”