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Since 2019, Axios and The Harris Poll have partnered on a survey to gauge the reputation of the most visible brands in America, based on 20 years of Harris Poll research.
This year, Trader Joe’s ranked first, followed by many other value-prioritizing companies.
2025 Corporate Reputation Rankings
Value is the story this year: Nearly half (46%) of all corporate reputations declined than improved (37%), as consumers criticized businesses for passing along higher costs, delivering poorer perceived quality for their stretched dollars, and even capitalizing on tariffs to pad profit margins:
- 77% of Americans say companies often sell lower-quality products and services while charging higher prices.
- 70% believe companies are taking further advantage of inflation to increase their profit margins.
- 60% feel companies will use tariffs as an opportunity to raise prices more than needed to boost profits.
This comes as Americans are split over whether the economy is improving and whom to blame for their personal financial situation. Among those who feel stuck (39%) and falling behind (28%) – a quarter (26%) fault business for their predicament. And among those with a declining opinion of business, their number one reason cited was “companies not doing enough to keep prices fair from inflation”. And over half of all Americans said they had recently stopped doing business with a company due to unreasonably high prices (63%) and quality falling below expectations (54%).
Themes of value, quality and allyship emerge across the best ranked companies.
Inflation fighters come out on top: Prioritizing the consumer paid off for some companies with Trader Joe’s experience the sixth largest increase in score (+3.5) to take the top spot. New-comer Arizona Beverage Co. (99 cent price policy) emerges at #7.
Perceived quality is falling: Consumers are twice as likely to say the quality of goods and services is falling behind their current prices than exceeding them (48% v. 22%). Especially as two-thirds (69%) report a noticeable decline in the quality of their everyday items.
Quality products/quality culture: American consumers point to quality as the most important consideration when considering company reputations today, followed by customer service, employee treatment and prices. As over three-quarters (79%) say brands with the best reputation are the ones prioritizing consumer wallets.
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