Announcing the 2026 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For
Oakland, Calif., April 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today Great Place To Work, a UKG company, announces the 2026 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® List, in partnership with Fortune.
Produced annually, the list represents the best companies in the country, according to anonymous surveys collected in 2025, representing the experiences of more than 7.3 million workers in the U.S.
Great Place To Work’s model has a long track record of measuring the value employees bring to the workplace. Companies on the list have seen an annualized stock return of 13.4% over the past 28 years, compared to 9.2% for the Russell 3000® Index.
Compounded over time, that means investors in publicly traded companies on the 100 Best list would have tripled their investment compared to the broader U.S. equity market benchmark.
What stands out most is the consistency of nearly three decades of results across changing markets.
“This dramatic past outperformance is particularly notable because the pattern was not driven by any single period,” says Catherine Yoshimoto, director, product management at FTSE Russell, which performed the stock market analysis in partnership with Great Place To Work. “It reflects long-term compounding that continued through a variety of market conditions.”
In 2025, market gains were concentrated in a small number of technology companies with significant exposure to AI investment. However, only one of the “Magnificent Seven” — NVIDIA — is on the 2026 100 Best list, limiting the influence of those high-growth stocks.
“The 100 Best group shows broader representation across industries such as financials, consumer discretionary, industrials, health care, and telecommunications, underscoring that the long-term results come from a diversified set of companies rather than concentration in mega-cap names,” Yoshimoto says.
2026 winners show higher levels of trust, driving AI adoption
Companies on this year’s list report significantly higher levels of psychological and emotional health (81%) compared to a typical U.S. workplace (56%). When people feel psychologically safe, they are 44% more likely to feel confident in their leaders and more than twice as likely to stay with the company.
These outcomes are critical to AI adoption and transformation, and part of The Great Place To Work Effect.
Additionally, Great Place To Work’s AI research found employees are:
- 2.5x more likely to adopt AI when leaders openly discuss and encourage its use
- 2.1x more likely to adopt AI when leaders explain how it helps employees’ careers
Put into practice, at Synchrony, No. 1 on this year’s list, employees are:
- 9x more likely to embrace AI when leaders connect it to growth conversations
- 4x more likely to embrace AI when they understand how AI creates growth opportunities
“When leaders create that environment for every working person, resistance fades,” says Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place To Work. “People believe AI will improve their work, their jobs, and their careers. Trust grows, and business performance follows.”
Yoshimoto agrees: “The data suggests that organizations characterized by high trust and high engagement often show patterns of faster innovation, stronger execution, and better talent retention — all factors that can influence their long-term financial performance,” she says.
At the 100 Best, the differentiator comes down to leadership and a commitment to care for people.
“In business, the workforce grows, and the workforce shrinks,” Bush says. “What your people really want to know is whether you are doing everything you can to help them grow at your organization, or the next one.”
Here are the top 10 on this year’s list:
- Synchrony
- Hilton
- Cisco
- American Express
- Wegmans Food Markets
- NVIDIA
- Marriott International
- Accenture
- Delta Air Lines
- World Wide Technology
See the full list of 100 Best winners here.
“Fortune is proud to collaborate with Great Place To Work for the 29th year to recognize the 100 Best Companies to Work For. Amid a fast-evolving workplace landscape, employees said these organizations continue to set the standard for cultures built on trust, innovation, and care for their people. Congratulations to all who earned a place on this year’s list,” says Alyson Shontell, Fortune editor-in-chief and chief content officer.
Think you have what it takes to make a Best Workplaces list? Find out.
Learn more about how employee trust is fueling AI progress at the 100 Best.
About the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For
Great Place To Work selected the 100 Best list by gathering and analyzing more than 1.3 million confidential survey responses in 2025, representing the experiences of more than 7.3 million U.S. employees. Of those, nearly 640,000 responses were received from employees at eligible companies, and this list is based on that feedback. Organizations are assessed on their efforts to create generous, supportive, high-performance work experiences for every employee in the organization. Companies must be Great Place To Work Certified™ with 1,000 or more employees in the U.S. and cannot be a government agency. Read the full methodology.
To be considered, all companies use the Great Place to Work Trust Index™ Survey. To get on this list next year, start here.
About Great Place To Work
As the global authority on workplace culture, Great Place To Work, a UKG company, brings 30 years of groundbreaking research and data to help every place become a great place to work for all. Its proprietary platform and Great Place To Work Model help companies evaluate the experience of every employee, with exemplary workplaces becoming Great Place To Work Certified and receiving recognition on a coveted Best Workplaces list.
Follow Great Place To Work on LinkedIn, X, and Instagram, and sign up for the Great Place To Work LinkedIn newsletter, Culture Edge, to get the latest research on what drives business success.
About Fortune Media
Fortune is a global multi-platform media company built on a legacy of trusted, award-winning reporting and information for those who want to make business better. Independently owned, Fortune tells the stories of the world’s biggest companies and their leaders, as well as a new generation of innovators who are moving business forward. Digitally and in print, Fortune measures corporate performance through rigorous benchmarks and holds companies accountable in regions around the world. Its iconic rankings include Fortune 500, Fortune Global 500, Most Powerful Women, and World's Most Admired Companies. Fortune builds world-class communities by convening industry thought leaders for exclusive summits and conferences, including the Fortune Global Forum, Fortune Brainstorm Tech, and Fortune Most Powerful Women. For more information, visit fortune.com.
Attachments
- The 100 Best Companies beat the market by a factor of 3
- The 100 Best Companies cut turnover by two-thirds
Kim Peters Great Place To Work (415) 844-2574 kpeters@greatplacetowork.com
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