The latest reputation report from The Harris Poll shows Amazon topping the list with the highest rating ever given in the 18 years of the study.

The Harris Poll

Top ten 2017 reputation quotient ratings: #1 Amazon - 86.27; #2 Wegmans - 85.41; #3 Publix Super Markets - 82.78; #4 Johnson & Johnson - 82.57; #5 Apple - 82.07; #6 UPS - 82.05; #7 The Walt Disney Company - 82.04; #8 Google - 82.00; #9 Tesla Motors - 81.70; #10 3M Company - 81.50.

Not surprisingly, Wells Fargo had the largest reputation drop in Harris Poll history, coming in at #99 on the 100-company list.

Beleaguered Volkswagen Group, still reeling from the dieselgate disaster, came in at #91, but according to Harris, actually posted a slight gain in reputation this year.

Takata (#100), with its massive airbag scandal, and Mylan (#78) with its EpiPen price gouging controversy, made the list for the first time because of the visibility generated by their actions.

Others near the bottom are: #90 Comcast; #92 AIG; #95 Bank of America; #96 Halliburton; #97 Monsanto; and #98 Goldman Sachs.

Harris Poll’s research shows that Americans are increasingly viewing the reputations of some companies as aligned with their individual values.

For example, Republicans view Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby, which have vocally expressed their conservative beliefs, more favorably than Democrats.  And a more liberal-leaning company such as Target is favored by Democrats.

“Consumers are keenly interested in how companies engage with the world, and that includes corporate ideals. As the red versus blue duel of politics impacts corporate reputation, we expect to see more alignment along party beliefs,” said Mark J. Penn, managing partner and president of The Stagwell Group LLC, which owns The Harris Poll.

The Harris Poll Reputation Quotient (RQ) measures companies’ reputation strength based on the perceptions of more than 23,000 Americans across six corporate reputation dimensions: social responsibility, emotional appeal, products and services, vision and leadership, financial performance, and workplace environment.

The report can be found at www.theharrispoll.com/reputation-quotient/.