America’s Top 100 Brands: Cheap Beats Politics
A recent Axios survey ranks the 100 most visible companies in America by reputation. This year, low prices were more important than political stances.
Since 2019, Axios and the Harris Poll have conducted an annual survey on corporate reputation. Respondents identify the two companies with the best reputations and the two companies with the worst reputations. These responses are aggregated to rank the 100 most visible brands in America.
Here is a look at the top 10 brands in 2025. As usual, grocery stores and tech companies dominate the list. These are companies that many consumers interact with on a daily or weekly basis.
This year, the partisan divide in shopping preferences has actually narrowed. Among the top-10 rated brands, the average polarization score, the gap in views between Democrats and Republicans, fell from 3.40 in 2024 to 2.55. What explains the decline? Inflation.
According to the survey, 8 in 10 shoppers say low prices are more important than politics. For example, Trader Joe’s, known for its affordable groceries, scored an 82.9 among Democrats and an 81.1 among Republicans—a gap of just +1.8 D. Similarly, Arizona Beverage Company, famous for its 99¢ iced tea, scored an 81.9 among Democrats and an 83.3 among Republicans—a gap of only +2.4 R.
Of course, many brands are still strongly sorted by political affiliation. Democrats favor Nike (+8.50 D), Disney (+12.3 D), and Ben & Jerry’s (+16.4 D). Meanwhile, Republicans highly rank SpaceX (+28.7 R), X (+29.5 R), and the Trump Organization (+45.3 R). In 2025, Elon Musk’s Tesla (+32.3 R) also ranks at the extreme end of Republican support, after losing most of its Democratic customers. On the overall spectrum of best brands, Tesla fell from #63 to #95. (See “Shopping Along the Partisan Divide.”)