The article lists the 15 most hated brands in the US.
Why Consumers Hate on Brands
When we look at some of the worst companies in the world, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what made them the “worst” in the first place. Such strong sentiments usually emerge from brand hatred, allowing customers to express negative views and perceptions of a particular brand. Oftentimes, companies make their way on the list of most hated companies because of their impact on people’s lives, the environment, or even politics. As per the duplex theory, consumers often end up disliking a brand when their expectations remain unmet.
In this context, The Customer, an internet news company, reveals that Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) is one of the most hated brands in the US. Their study, relying exclusively on Twitter data, reports that Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) received 48.35% negative tweets back in 2021. A similar study by Merchant Machine revealed that the company received 69% negative tweets in 2023. Twitter users have been tweeting about expensive rates, driver cancellations, smelly cars, feeling unsafe, and even unprofessional behavior.
Another business that has been on these lists is Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA), largely because of how they impact society. Since at least the 2010s, the video game company Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) has been at the center of many problems. These issues include buying other companies and using unfair business practices in their own games. There have also been lawsuits alleging that Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) used unfair business practices when signing sports related contracts. Consumerist named the company the “Worst Company in America” in 2012 and 2013. In 2018, USA Today ranked it as the 5th most hated company in the US.
Car companies are often at the top of these lists too, with names like Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) joining the ranks of the most hated companies. The car company is notorious for “putting profits over people”. Every once in a while, they end up making a product that puts many lives at stake. Nevertheless, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) deliberately continues making them. One of the most prominent examples of Ford’s failures has got to be the Edsel. There were reports of mechanical flaws with the Edsel, largely due to a lack of quality control and confusion with other Ford parts. Industries like fashion, oil, social networks, computers, and pharmaceuticals are often on lists of the worst brands as well. Popular brand Balenciaga is on the list of the most hated brands in the US because of controversial ads and sales.
The bottom-line is that being successful in business does not always guarantee user satisfaction. Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), for instance, is a large-cap growth company in the Automotive & Truck Manufacturers industry. Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) has a market value of $583.75 billion, making it a mega-capitalization company (market capitalization above $200 billion). For many reasons, though, it looks like Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is most likely to be the most hated company in the world. There is a long list of problems with this company, from working conditions to the way the owner, Elon Musk, presents his political views to the public.
Others have said that Tesla’s marketing is dishonest, that it breaks promises, and that it is a scam. Critics have pointed out that Tesla downplays problems and is said to have punished several people who reported issues. People have even questioned if Tesla cars and services are safe and of good quality. Many reports from the past few years indicate that faulty car suspension can cause sudden, unintended acceleration, brake failure, and wheels collapsing. Users have complained about the sloppy implementation of some features, such as Autopilot, Full Self-Driving beta, and Passenger Play (which lets Tesla drivers play games while the car is moving).
There have been many claims that Musk and his company are guilty of fraud, including buying out SolarCity, selling faulty cars, making false claims, and sending out careless tweets. Musk agreed to pay a fine and step down as head of Tesla after one tweet. Five of the world’s biggest tech companies have been accused of supporting child labor in Africa, where children were made to mine cobalt, a metal used to make batteries for phones and computers. Elon Musk’s car company, Tesla, is one of these companies.
Photo by Heidi Fin on Unsplash
Methodology
To compile the list of most hated brands in the US, we have used information from the website Axios for our research. The Axios Harris Poll 100 is a reliable list of the companies that Americans care about the most when it comes to their image. Their method is based on talking to random Americans online. Along with this site’s list, we used lists from trustworthy sources such as 24/7 Wall Street, CNBC, Business Insider, and Reddit, to name a few. We kept the information from some of those lists that are more than 5 years old because we thought that the most hated names that had been on them for a long time should stay there. We also matched the lists with customer reviews and comments to get the most complete results. Some brands stay on these lists all the time, while others got there because of changes in customers’ experiences or concerns about politics or society.
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Based on our study, these are the most hated brands in the US.
15. BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)
Insider Monkey Score: 2
BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) is a United Kingdom-based integrated energy firm, founded in 1908. The company’s segments are gas and low-carbon energy and oil production, and is known to be one of the largest companies in the world by revenues and profits. In 2014, it produced 3.2 million barrels of oil equivalent a day and has proven oil reserves of 17,996 million barrels of oil equivalent, according to estimates from December 2013.
However, BP is on our list of the most hated brands in the United States because the company has drawn criticism for decreasing its climate commitments and boosting its investments in oil and gas. The energy behemoth has reduced its initial target of a 35%-40% reduction in carbon emissions to 20%-30%. Furthermore, it is known for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill incident.
14. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)
Insider Monkey Score: 2
Walt and his brother Roy O. Disney founded the corporation in 1923, and it has weathered various difficulties since then. Allegations of promoting damaging stereotypes, misogyny, and even plagiarism have plagued the organization for years. Three Disney employees were among more than 200 people arrested after a week-long undercover human trafficking investigation in Polk County. Moreover, the company’s former CEO, Bob Chapek, had sparked controversy with his actions in the case of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act.
In 2019, the corporation was ranked fourth among the most popular brands and one of the 25 Most Powerful Brands in the US. Since then, however, it has been on a continuous decline. The California media and entertainment behemoth’s appeal has dwindled, becoming a victim of the culture war that is ripping America apart, into which it has allowed itself to be sucked. Today, the right despises Disney’s so-called “woke” policies, while the left criticizes it for not doing enough.
13. OpenAI
Insider Monkey Score: 2
OpenAI, founded by Internet entrepreneur Sam Altman, is a California-based artificial intelligence research organization. It is the creator of Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) AI models, which power popular AI products such as ChatGPT and DALL-E. Believed to be a corporation that saves lives and eases people’s work, OpenAI is also on many lists of the most hated brands in the US and also on our list of 20 Most Hated Brands in the World.
There are several reasons why individuals regard OpenAI as a bad, despised, and perhaps dangerous corporation. A group of 11 current and former employees, as well as two from other firms, released a public letter stating that prominent AI companies are untrustworthy. AI may be dangerous, but tech companies are forsaking thorough safety standards for quick product launches; government regulation cannot keep up, and employees are reluctant to speak up. On the other hand, there are legitimate concerns that OpenAI will alter the way humans learn and even perceive things.
12. Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD)
Insider Monkey Score: 2
You will find Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD) on many lists of the most hated brands in the US. Individuals in the United States have been in a tizzy for months over a new Anheuser-Busch marketing campaign featuring transgender TikTok sensation Dylan Mulvaney, who partnered with Bud Light to promote the company’s “Easy Carry Contest” on social media.
In short, a corporation included a trans woman in a marketing campaign, and things quickly escalated to the point where singer Kid Rock destroyed cases of beer with an AR-15 and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, too, slammed the company. Overall, they criticize the firm for its market monopoly and the way it crushes its competitors by advocating for legislation that they believe benefits them while eliminating small businesses.
11. Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)
Insider Monkey Score: 2
Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is a global media and technology firm. It operates in five segments: Residential Connectivity & Platforms, Business Services Connectivity, Media, Studios, and Theme Parks. CMCSA’s Xfinity Communities collaborated with Yardi to provide residents with strong internet access at move-in, directly through Yardi’s RentCafe resident portal. This collaboration enabled homeowners to select Xfinity Internet, known for its high-speed connectivity and network dependability, as well as other Xfinity services, through RentCafe, Yardi’s innovative platform.
Common complaints about Comcast’s service include “stuffing” bills with extraneous services, hidden service costs, exorbitant cancellation fees, and inaccurate credit checks. In 2016, federal investigators fined the corporation $2.3 million for charging customers for superfluous services and hidden costs. According to the Consumer Reports National Research Center’s 2013 annual telecom poll, the company ranked 15th among 17 television service providers.
10. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Insider Monkey Score: 3
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is on the list of the most hated brands in the US for a good reason. The company has been facing thousands of lawsuits claiming that its talc-based products are contaminated with asbestos and cause cancer. This has led to a negative perception and hatred amongst the general public, even though the company still claims that its products are safe.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) said it agreed to pay $8.9 billion to settle all cancer lawsuits related to its talc-based powders and will make a new move to limit culpability within a bankruptcy petition by one of its units. The world’s largest manufacturer of healthcare products intends to resolve complaints from around 60,000 claimants and finance a trust established in US bankruptcy court in Trenton, New Jersey, to cover future claims, the firm said in a securities filing. J&J has already pulled its talc-based baby powder and other products, including Shower to Shower, from the market.
9. Silicon Valley Bank
Insider Monkey Score: 3
SVB, the 16th largest bank in the United States by asset size, plummeted rapidly. On March 8, 2023, the bank announced its anticipated equity and preferred stock offering, as well as the declaration of a USD 1.8 billion deficit. Just two days later, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named SVB’s receiver. SVB was the 16th largest bank in the United States, with tens of billions of dollars in assets still locked behind its disintegrating walls.
Vaporizing that much money may have had serious consequences for other sectors of the American financial system, as well as for thousands of innocent clients who trusted SVB to keep their money secure. For all those reasons clients describe it as one of the most hated brands in the US.
8. Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)
Insider Monkey Score: 3
Since its inception, Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) has faced several critiques, ranging from its business methods and working culture to problems with the service it delivers, such as content concerns, a lack of closed captioning, and pricing. According to customers, Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) wastes a lot of money with little to show for it. They prioritize quantity over quality and then raise their prices to compensate for their poor business judgments. They often cancel shows and are losing a lot of content to other sites. Additionally, Netflix chose to exert tighter control over users who shared accounts, which irritated those who shared accounts.
7. FTX
Insider Monkey Score: 4
It is not difficult to see why FTX is one of the most hated brands in the United States. FTX failed in November 2022 after running out of funding to handle customer withdrawals. Billions of dollars in consumer funds were lost. A year later, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted on multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy in connection with the exchange’s failure. In April, he received a 25-year sentence in federal prison.
Sam Bankman-Fried concluded in a rambling 250-page document he wrote while under house arrest: “I’m broke, wearing an ankle monitor, and one of the most hated people in the world.” The 15,000-word self-reflection is styled as a series of Twitter posts, though the site is now known as X.
6. Spirit Airlines, Inc. (NYSE:SAVE)
Insider Monkey Score: 5
People despise Spirit Airlines, Inc. (NYSE:SAVE) for the same reasons they hate low-cost companies in the first place. Typically, it is hated for its limited luggage weight, cancellations, no refunds, and bad customer service. Customers complain because they rarely fly routes with small regional planes and only fly between cities where they know they can frequently cram A320-family jets with passengers. This has the consequence of making a single delayed or canceled flight a major burden for many passengers, especially since their customer service will not help you by seating you on another airline.
Additionally, when it comes to cramming passengers on aircraft, the distance between seating rows is one of the shortest in the business. This makes seats more crowded compared to regular carriers, so travelers usually name the company as one of the most hated brands in the US. To minimize space and weight, they use very small tray tables, no reclining seats, and seats with limited padding.
5. Fox Corporation (NASDAQ:FOX)
Insider Monkey Score: 5
The News section of Fox Television has received the most criticism, as it contains a large amount of misinformation that influences public opinion. According to critics, Fox News does not always provide accurate information, often skirting the truth and favoring one side in US politics (the Republicans).
Furthermore, Fox News was sued for defamation in 2021 by two voting machine businesses that claimed the network’s hosts and guests willfully promoted falsehoods about voting machines being manipulated to deny Donald Trump reelection in the 2020 presidential election. People also despise them for their method of representing data through the manipulation of statistics. Fox News consistently displays a graph, table, or chart to back up the information they provide. However, this does not imply that it is real or correct.
