Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential elections was taken by many as another nail in the coffin of liberalism, and could also have an impact on the 10 most liberal companies in the US. The upcoming elections in a number of European states like Germany, France, and the Netherlands, which are being preceded by strong results for right-wing parties in polls, isn’t likely to make things better. In this way, it looks like the liberal story is coming to an end, or is already dead, as many headlines stated in the last couple of years.
And even though conservatives can rejoice over their victories in political and social spheres, one segment where liberalism isn’t dead yet and is unlikely to ever be eradicated completely is in business. For better or worse, there will always be companies which follow the ideas of liberty and equality, will support projects aimed towards improving such ideals, and will stand up against governments’ attempts to alienate certain rights. However, there will also be companies that will be more conservative and each group will appeal more to people that are closer to their respective ideologies.
Political divisions often dominate Americans’ lives, but are particularly noticeable during an election year. Last year, after having published the Fortune 500 list, Fortune contracted SurveyMonkey to conduct a poll in order to identify which companies Americans like and dislike and whether they identify themselves as liberals, conservatives, or moderate. The results showed some interesting differences. For example, conservatives were more likely to shop at Wal-Mart, while liberals considered it to be one of the worst companies for America. On the other hand, liberals like Target, while conservatives would like to see it shut down. Liberals named Alphabet as the company they would most like to work for, while conservatives, unsurprisingly, like ExxonMobil. However, there were also a number of similarities, with both liberals and conservatives naming Amazon, Walt Disney, Apple, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, and Alphabet among companies they like, which is also expected since these companies generally score well in consumer confidence polls.
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With the White House being ruled by an egotistical narcissist who attacks everything and everyone that doesn’t align with his positions, and the consequent increase of conservatives’ confidence that things will go their way, it is likely that the political and cultural division in the U.S will dominate its society for years. Trump’s recent attacks on individual companies and businesses’ responses to his actions will put in the spotlight the idea of “liberal” and “conservative” companies, which is likely to affect their performance. In the end, companies will try to accommodate both camps and try to keep everyone happy.
With this in mind, we have compiled a list of the 10 Most Liberal Companies In The US, based partially on the results of SurveyMonkey’s poll conducted for Fortune and partially on the segments that these companies are engaged in, their actions, their corporate social responsibility (don’t miss our list of the 10 Most Socially Responsible Companies in The US), and the views of their top management.
10. Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)
Market Cap: $35.49 billion
Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) is a company that is not so much loved by liberals as it is hated by conservatives. The retailer implemented a number of policies to show that it embraces the liberal ideology, such as allowing transgender employees and customers to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. However, the company still has to depend on customers, many of which were outraged by the decision and began boycotting the company. To accommodate the whiny conservative crybabies, Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) spent $20 million to add a private bathroom in each of its stores (talk about money down the toilet).
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9. Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)
Market Cap: $40.08 billion
It’s really not that surprising that Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is in this list of most liberal companies in the US. With its electric vehicles and focus on clean energy, Tesla is as appealing to liberals as a company can be. Elon Musk himself also seems to lean more towards liberalism personally. His recent appointment to Trump’s economic advisory team might win him and Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) some points among conservatives, but it will be interesting to see a guy who’s all about clean energy working with (or for?) someone who sued a company building a wind farm in Scotland because it spoiled the views from his golf course.
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8. Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)
Market Cap: $77 billion
Aside from many sustainability projects that the company supports and its own commitments to reduce its environmental footprint, Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)’s CEO Howard Schultz managed to anger conservatives on several occasions over the years. In March 2013, Schultz suggested to a shareholder that he could sell his shares and go somewhere else, when the shareholder told him that Starbucks’ support of gay marriage led to a decline in customers after the National Organization for Marriage called for boycotting the chain. Schultz also said that the company is performing well and the decision to support same-sex marriage was not an economic one and that Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) wants to “embrace diversity.” Later that year, Schultz released a letter in which the company requested customers not to bring their guns to Starbucks’ stores.
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7. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)
Market Cap: $171.42 billion
Next in line on our list of most liberal companies in the US is the Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) that doesn’t work directly with consumers, but liberals rated it positively in the SurveyMonkey poll. The company has many innovative projects and programs with a global impact, such as the Intel Learn Program aimed at providing technology skills to children in developing countries.
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6. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Market Cap: $307.34 billion
Both liberal and conservative SurveyMonkey responders rated Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) among the top 10 companies they like. However, the company’s open support for same-sex marriage, partnership with the World Wildlife Fund, and donations to planned parenthood push it more towards the liberal side of the ideology ledger, earning it sixth-place on our list of the 10 Most Liberal Companies In The US.
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5. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)
Market Cap: $372.82 billion
The largest social media company was accused of liberal bias last year after reports emerged that it was suppressing conservative news from its trending page, although the company’s investigation found no evidence of bias. The news attracted a lot of noise from the conservative side. Following the outcome of the elections, many suggested that fake news posted on Facebook aided the results, which led to Facebook, Google and others addressing the issue of fake news. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) also has a number of initiatives with a global impact, such as the Internet.org project aimed at providing affordable Internet access to people around the world, and is also committed to using more renewable energy, with several data centers relying solely on clean power.
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4. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Market Cap: $477.97 billion
Recently, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and almost a hundred other large tech companies expressed their support for Bob Ferguson, Washington state’s attorney general, in a lawsuit against Trump’s executive order to ban citizens and refugees from seven Muslim countries. These companies also planned to release a joint letter to Donald Trump opposing his recent immigration order.
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3. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Market Cap: $402.98 billion
Jeff Bezos and Donald Trump don’t see eye-to-eye. The CEO of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), that is one of the most liberal companies in the US, offered to shoot Donald Trump into space after the then Republican candidate trashed him, his company and The Washington Post, which is owned by Bezos, saying that the newspaper is what allows Amazon to avoid paying taxes. Trump also called Amazon a “no profit company”. The Washington Post answered Trump’s “kind” words by breaking the story about how he likes to grab women by their genitals. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) also supports Bob Ferguson’s lawsuit and has also reached out to members of Congress to identify legislative ways to counter the order.
2. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Market Cap: $553.33 billion
As a multinational corporation with offices around the world, and one which has embraced diversity, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is one of the most liberal companies in the US that needs to be a liberal company to remain one of the world’s greatest. Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google and the current executive chairman of Alphabet, was a major donor to both Obama campaigns and even campaigned for him in 2008. According to Buzzfeed, at a recent employee meeting, Schmidt said that Trump and his administration are “going to do these evil things as they’ve done in the immigration area.” Also, earlier this week, around 2,000 Alphabet employees around the world protested against Trump’s immigration ban order.
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1. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Market Cap: $713.87 billion
According to SurveyMonkey’s survey of Fortune 100 companies, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) ranked on the third spot among companies most favored by liberals. However, conservatives don’t hate Apple, or to put it better, they like Apple’s products (and why wouldn’t they). Last year, Trump called for boycotting Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), which was feuding with the FBI over the encryption of the phone of one of the San Bernardino shooters.
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That wraps up the list of the 10 Most Liberal Companies In The US. Were there any surprises? Any omissions? Let us know in the comments.
Disclosure: None
