Axios released the Axios Harris Poll 100 for 2025 and it’s got news that will have them cheering in Redmond.
Since 2019, Axios and Harris have released this annual poll “to gauge the reputation of the most visible brands in America,” providing insight into how Americans perceive major companies. It covers the full scope of the American economy from beverage makers like Anheuser-Bush to social media companies like Elon Musk’s X.
This comprehensive ranking shows which companies Americans admire most — and least.
Axios and Harris compile the standings by asking questions regarding nine different qualities about the companies: Character, Citizenship, Culture, Ethics, Growth, Products & Services, Trajectory, Trust, Vision.
This year, Microsoft broke through the top three for the first time, clocking in at No. 3 behind Trader Joe’s and Patagonia. Microsoft is the top-rated technology company this year, putting it ahead of Samsung (No. 6), and Nvidia (No. 8). Microsoft comes in well ahead of fellow Seattle-area tech companies Nintendo (No. 12) and Amazon (No. 19). Amazon was No. 2 in 2019 and No. 3 in 2020.
Trust in the driver’s seat
Most notably for Microsoft’s security team, the No. 3 ranking stems directly from significant improvements in security, privacy, and trust metrics.
Microsoft saw huge gains in its rankings from 2024 to 2025 in the areas of Trust (+35), Character (+32) and Citizenship (+27).
That contrasted with notable declines in those categories in 2024, when Microsoft ranked No. 18 overall in the poll.
A look at Microsoft’s history around security and privacy that year may help explain the dip and recovery.
From March 2022 through January 2024, Microsoft experienced three major breaches by different major threat actor groups (Lapsu$, Storm-0558, Midnight Blizzard) affecting both corporate and cloud systems — after having no such incidents previously. These security incidents and their public fallout align perfectly with Microsoft’s reputation decline in the poll numbers.
In November 2023 Microsoft announced its Secure Future Initiative, a Trustworthy Computing-like initiative reasserting the importance and priority of security for Microsoft. Coming after the 2022-2023 major security events, this announcement, an ongoing series of engineering moves and initiatives meant to make products and services more secure, and regular communication about that work and process coincides nearly perfectly with the recovery shown in the Axios Harris numbers.
It’s about recovery, too
While these security breaches clearly damaged Microsoft’s reputation, their strategic response demonstrates how effective recovery initiatives can rebuild public trust.
We’ve seen the positive results of the engineering initiatives: there hasn’t been another major security event like those in 2023-2024 since the Secure Future Initiative announcement. And you can argue that the Axios Harris poll shows the positive results of the communications part of the Secure Future Initiative plan: Microsoft’s reputation is back.
Microsoft’s journey into reputational jail and back again because of its security issues contains important lessons for all technology companies of all sizes in these developments.
First is that trust issues can be a drag on an otherwise good views on product and direction. The gravitational pull of the trust issues in 2022-2023 is clear in the numbers. You can see them weighing down otherwise positive developments like Microsoft’s jump into AI and work with OpenAI. During the period in question those product and direction category numbers are generally positive.
The second is the reminder that trust isn’t only about having trust — it’s about what you do when you’ve lost it. These numbers show that with the right engineering and communications actions, trust can be regained. A good process for addressing broken trust can be almost as good as not losing it at all.
One of the biggest challenges in security and privacy is getting leaders to understand the business case for investment. “How does this help me to sell more?” is the reasonable question business leaders ask. These numbers show both the cost of problems in trust categories and also the benefit that good work around trust can have. Remember that Microsoft’s standing now in the Axios Harris Poll 100 is better than it was in 2022.
The benefits of a restored reputation will likely translate to increased customer trust, which can translate into greater sales and ultimately a stronger market position in the coming year and beyond.
Even companies not large enough to appear on the Axios Harris 100 can apply these lessons to their own security strategies. Deliberate security investments can transform not just a company’s security posture, but its entire market perception.
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