The Walt Disney Firm has seen its status fall additional, with a drop to solely “truthful” for the primary time ever on the influential Axios Harris Ballot for 2025. This put up takes a have a look at what modified, how Disney carried out relative to the competitors, together with our commentary about what this does–and doesn’t–imply.
It’s been a tough few years for Disney’s status. This can be a matter we’ve mentioned at size, with Is Disney Ruining Its Popularity? and Disney’s Popularity Falls Additional masking the corporate’s self-inflicted model injury, lack of goodwill, and pricing notion issues. These posts centered particularly on prior years of this Axios Harris status ballot.
As of 2025, the main target has shifted. Fan considerations about Disney’s tarnished status are nonetheless entrance of thoughts, however we’ve seen the tone and tenor of these change. Look no additional than Is Walt Disney World Pricing Out the Center Class? That was one put up in an ongoing sequence (see Walt Disney World is Apprehensive About Its Excessive Costs). Suffice to say, pricing could be very a lot a hot-button concern with Disney followers, and for good purpose.
Issues about pricing are very a lot mirrored within the Axios Harris Ballot 100 and 2025 Company Popularity Rankings. This 12 months, Dealer Joe’s ranked #1, adopted by many different value-prioritizing firms. This included Costco and Arizona Beverage Firm, each of which have gained on-line fame and dependable fan-followings for his or her dedication to low costs.
Jim Sinegal, Costco’s co-founder, as soon as advised the corporate’s then-CEO Craig Jelinek, “If you happen to elevate the effing scorching canine, I’ll kill you. Determine it out.” And so, Costco’s scorching canine deal remains to be priced at $1.50. That’s precisely what it value in 1985, earlier than the Nice Recession, housing disaster, pandemic, and the most recent bout of decades-high inflation.
Equally, the 23-ounce can of AriZona Iced Tea has bought for 99 cents since 1992. Even amidst inflation and shrinkflation, AriZona has held sturdy. When requested on the At this time present whether or not they’d elevate costs, the corporate’s founder mentioned: “Not within the foreseeable future. We’re gonna battle as arduous as we will for shoppers.” He added that AriZona is profitable, debt free, so why do they should elevate costs? He continued: “Why have people who find themselves having a tough time paying their hire need to pay extra for our drink? Possibly it’s my little strategy to give again.”
I’d even be remiss if I didn’t point out that one among my private favourite manufacturers, In-N-Out Burger, made the record for the primary time ever at #20. Its exclusion up to now probably has extra to do with methodology and consciousness since In-N-Out Burger is a regional model. It’s however a hit story of value-for-money, prime quality, and concern for patrons.
Sadly, there are not any enjoyable anecdotes about In-N-Out’s founders threatening to homicide anybody in the event that they elevate costs, which is probably going as a result of the family-run enterprise tries to keep away from the highlight. And maybe as a result of they’re anti-murder. Exhausting to say. Right here’s hoping that Buc-ee’s breaks via on the 2026 record!
Because it seems, pricing is the principal theme of the 2025 Axios Harris Rankings. In response to the pollsters, shoppers criticized companies for passing alongside greater prices, delivering poorer perceived high quality for his or her stretched {dollars}, and even capitalizing on tariffs to pad revenue margins:
- 77% of Individuals say firms usually promote lower-quality merchandise & providers whereas charging greater costs.
- 70% consider firms are taking additional benefit of inflation to extend revenue margins.
- 60% really feel firms will use tariffs as a possibility to boost costs greater than wanted to spice up income.
In response to Axios, it’s costs versus politics which might be driving most manufacturers’ reputations within the 2025 Axios Harris Ballot 100 rankings, with the election within the rear-view mirror and tariffs and inflation high of thoughts. None of those priorities are in the slightest degree stunning, and it’s additionally unsurprising that Disney may’ve fared negatively on a ballot the place shoppers are fixated on prices.
In opposition to that backdrop, right here’s a have a look at Disney’s 2025 efficiency:
In 2025, the Walt Disney Firm ranked #76 with a rating of 69.6. It’s down 9 spots, which is much from the primary time it’s been one of many firms that has taken the most important tumbles within the rankings. That is the primary time we’ve ever seen the rating dip beneath 70, and places Disney into the “truthful” tier for the primary time ever. Whereas we’ll elaborate on this additional in a bit, have a look at the little gray graphic to the left of the 69.6 rating.
That exhibits Disney’s rankings development since 2019, as the corporate has fallen from the highest of the record to outdoors the highest 75. If you happen to have a look at the complete record, you’ll see nearly no different firms have seen this identical kind of slide. There are solely two others–Boeing and Tesla–which have declined in the identical means during the last 5+ years.
Right here’s a have a look at simply how a lot Disney has dropped since 2019, alongside different poor performers:
In 2024, Disney ranked #67 with a rating of 71.8 and was within the “good” tier of the record. This might’ve been considered as a comeback story, with the corporate gaining 10 spots and exhibiting optimistic trajectory for the primary time in a number of years.
That got here off the corporate’s worst efficiency ever in 2023, when the Walt Disney Firm had a rating of 70.9 and ranked 77th, which was nonetheless within the “good” tier of the record. It’s within the “truthful” greater with a better rating as a result of most firms noticed their scores lower this 12 months.
In 2022, Disney scored 73.4 and ranked sixty fifth on the record, which was a drop of 28 spots as in comparison with 2021–which means that the corporate was down 40 spots in the middle of only a couple years.
During Bob Iger’s first tenure as CEO, Disney had scored above 80, at all times close to the highest of the record within the “Wonderful” tier. Right here’s a have a look at the consecutive years when Disney ranked as excessive as #5 on the record:
Earlier than going additional, it’s price noting that there’s inconsistency within the rankings. Southwest Airways dropped, however nonetheless ranks fairly excessive given the 12 months it has had. Then there are firms like Walmart and McDonald’s, each of which have made a concerted effort to revive decrease costs in some regards and nonetheless underperformed.
I’ll additionally admit to being shocked by a number of oil, pharmaceutical, and playing firms outperform Disney (in addition to different extra consumer-oriented manufacturers). If you happen to requested the query in a different way–which model do you respect extra, BP or Disney?–I’d think about extra Individuals would favor Disney. Ditto ExxonMobil vs. Taco Bell.
It’s attainable that the Harris Ballot is a flawed strategy to rank sure excessive profile firms and a great way to rank others. There are plenty of manufacturers we’re typically conscious of, however don’t hear about with regularity. The typical American most likely doesn’t know a lot about these companies, which might clarify why many of those firms yo-yo across the rankings.
In contrast, there are firms like Disney the place the status is an element and parcel of the model itself. There are a number of way of life manufacturers like this, which have precise fanatics and a wider diploma of consciousness among the many basic public. Apart from Disney, firms that come to thoughts right here embrace Apple, Starbucks, Nike, Tesla, SpaceX, Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, Nintendo, and Dealer Joe’s. There are undoubtedly others, as properly.
Beneath is Disney’s 2025 breakdown within the particular person class scores of Character, Trajectory, Belief, Tradition, Ethics, Citizenship, Imaginative and prescient, Progress, and Merchandise & Companies. On the plus aspect, not less than the ‘trajectory’ is excessive–suggesting there is optimism for the place issues are headed:
The plot twist right here is that, regardless of the pollsters indicating that the 2025 Axios Harris status survey had extra to do with costs than politics, the Walt Disney Firm is definitely one of many few exceptions to this.
In response to Axios, Ben & Jerry’s (+16.4 D), Pfizer (+13.3 D) and the Walt Disney Firm (+12.3 D) are probably the most polarizing firms that skew probably the most in direction of Democratic shoppers by way of reputational perceptions. Conversely, there are even larger gaps for the businesses that the majority skew towards Republicans: Elon Musk-brands Tesla (+32.3 R), X (+29.5 R) and House X (+28.7 R); and the Trump Group (+45.3 R).
With these notable exceptions, polarization scores have largely decreased throughout the rankings as a complete (therefore costs mattering greater than politics). “Are we now coming into an period of post-polarization?” questioned John Gerzema, CEO of The Harris Ballot. “We used to get so upset by the tradition wars, and now absolutely the dominant precedence and a focus has been centered by the buyer on worth.”
To that time, 8 in 10 shoppers advised the pollsters that they care extra about how manufacturers can preserve costs down than their politics. Nonetheless, 2 in 3 say they aren’t excited about supporting firms which have change into too political. However two-thirds additionally say political polarization in enterprise is inevitable.
It’s additionally price noting that firms like Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, and Chick-fil-A all ranked very extremely regardless of politics. This might vindicate a “high quality will win out” perspective, the place shoppers are keen to miss variations of opinion if manufacturers ship high quality merchandise folks love. Or maybe that sincerely-held however quiet beliefs are extra accepted? I do know in regards to the politics of all three manufacturers, however their CEOs aren’t making fixed headlines trumpeting their values.
With regard to Disney, what’s fascinating is that the corporate has discovered itself mired in varied political controversies–there’s no denying that. However these appeared to peak a few years in the past and have died down during the last ~18 months. The final 12 months specifically has been largely controversy-free for the corporate, not less than by way of protection you’d see on the nightly information. Disney vs. DeSantis is long-settled, the final proxy battle has been over for some time, and it’s been over a 12 months because the dust-up between Bob Iger and Elon Musk.
Since late 2023, CEO Bob Iger more and more has confused the significance of steering the corporate away from political messaging. “Our major mission must be to entertain after which via our leisure to proceed to have a optimistic influence on the world. And I’m very severe about that. It shouldn’t be agenda-driven,” Iger mentioned through the firm’s 2023 investor assembly.
He has made related statements on CNBC repeatedly, noting that he would “quiet the noise” in tradition wars and make extra of an effort to succeed in the viewers that “might be turned off by sure issues…We simply need to be extra delicate to the pursuits of a broad viewers. It’s not straightforward.” Throughout the 2024 investor assembly, Iger mentioned Disney’s job was to “entertain, initially” and reiterated that “we all know our job is to not advance any type of agenda.”
It doesn’t finish there, both. In “‘Politics is dangerous for enterprise.’ Why Disney’s Bob Iger is attempting to keep away from scorching buttons,” the Los Angeles Instances supplied a rundown of how and why the Walt Disney Firm has backed away from the tradition wars and tried to take away itself from controversies.
The Walt Disney Firm has largely repaired its relationships with main U.S. political figures. Though it hasn’t garnered a lot media consideration, Governor DeSantis has touted Disney’s investments in Florida and hasn’t had any negatives–solely positives–to say about Disney during the last 12 months.
Disney CEO Bob Iger and President Donald Trump have seemingly resolved their variations. Throughout a press convention in Abu Dhabi to debate investments between the UAE and US, Trump revealed that Iger paid a go to to the White Home to point out him Disneyland Abu Dhabi.
Right here’s what Trump needed to say in regards to the assembly with Iger: “We’ve American firms [like] Disney [investing in the Middle East]. The brand new [Disneyland Abu Dhabi] theme park goes to be unbelievable. Bob Iger was in my workplace the opposite day and he was exhibiting it to me. It’s going to be unbelievable.” Iger assembly with Trump is probably the most notable instance, nevertheless it’s just one occasion of many suggesting that the 2 have repaired their previously-strained relationship.
It’s fascinating that this Disney’s politically polarized status has been so “sticky” and hasn’t actually mirrored the controversy-free 12 months that Disney has loved. When attempting to recall vital backlash throughout the final 6 months, one of the best I can provide you with is the Snow White. That will’ve been launched proper as this polling was carried out, so maybe that’s the massive driver?
There are actually assorted “controversies” throughout the fan neighborhood, however so far as the broader Disney-consuming public goes, I can’t actually consider anything from the final ~twelve months. It’s been a principally optimistic 12 months for Disney on steadiness, with sturdy field workplace outcomes, greater visitor satisfaction scores for the parks, and an growing Disney+ home subscriber depend.
Maybe most notably for broader public perceptions, Disney dominated the field workplace final 12 months. Inside Out 2, Moana 2, and Deadpool & Wolverine have been all large hits. Different movies carried out rather well and added to Disney’s field workplace haul, however I’m skeptical these films (e.g. Alien Romulus) would register with the general public as being “Disney,” and that’s what issues for the aim of the survey.
Star Wars and Marvel have continued to underperform expectations, and there’s undeniably plenty of breathless protection about this on-line. It’s troublesome to discern the extent to which that is natural and mainstream, and the extent to which is manufactured outrage on-line. As somebody with a passing curiosity in each, my notion is simply that the standard is low as a result of an excessive amount of of it has been churned out. I’m inclined to consider “fatigue” and dangerous opinions/phrase of mouth are a much bigger driver of this than politicized content material.
Personally, I’m skeptical that any bulletins the corporate has made for the theme parks would materially influence their status. Disgruntled theme park followers might not need to hear this, and level to unpopular selections like changing MuppetVision, razing the Rivers of America, poorly-received journey reimaginings, DAS adjustments, Lightning Lane Premier Cross, and so forth.
A lot of that is unpopular with hardcore followers, however not most people. If it’s on their radar in any respect (and it principally isn’t), the notion might be very totally different. After I’ve defined to normie mates what’s taking place, they’re extra centered on the Monsters, Inc. Doorways Coaster and Vehicles Land elements of the information.
A few of this has ‘damaged containment’ from our sphere, however actually, each time I see protection of the Rivers of America in mainstream retailers, the broader response principally appears to be that Disney Adults are bizarre. Which, positive, we’re…however we’re additionally proper about this being a mistake!
All of that is exactly why, after I first learn the Axios Harris press launch about costs mattering greater than politics, all of it made sense that Disney would’ve seen its status fall additional to “truthful.”
Disney has garnered plenty of damaging media scrutiny about pricing. There was that bombshell article within the Wall Road Journal again in February (shortly earlier than this polling), and that led to large fallout and broader dialog about Disney’s excessive costs and affordability amongst common center class Individuals. That garnering a lot consideration is probably going what led to “Cool Child Summer time” and an inflow of reductions. Whereas the theme parks aren’t all the things for shoppers, streaming service costs have additionally elevated.
So if pricing is seemingly the extra logical rationalization for Disney’s decline, why does its polarization stay so excessive? My greatest guess is that political protection and perceptions of Disney haven’t improved all that a lot. The corporate turned a poster baby for cultural polarization, and that injury isn’t undone simply or in a single day. It most likely additionally doesn’t assist that the standard of content material has nonetheless been hit and miss. Principally, there have been sufficient damaging headlines to take care of baked-in perceptions and never sufficient optimistic information to undo earlier injury. Actually, I’ve no clue–simply spitballing.
What I do know is that this issues rather a lot to Disney. Each public perceptions–which is exactly why Bob Iger has labored to consciously uncouple from tradition wars–and the model’s rating on this specific ballot by Axios Harris. This record is very as influential throughout the business, together with with Bob Iger, who in response to the Wall Road Journal, primarily based a few of his fears that his successor/predecessor Bob Chapek was killing the soul of the corporate on this identical ballot.
Iger feared then that followers have been “falling out of affection” with the Disney model. And people outcomes have been higher than 2025! Suffice to say, the Axios Harris Ballot is essential to the corporate and its CEO (Disney touted being one of many highest-ranking firms on the ballot as not too long ago as 2019). There’s no strategy to spin this or paint it in a optimistic mild: the outcomes are dangerous (once more) for Disney.
Whereas I’ve no clue tips on how to reconcile the politics vs. pricing perceptions, my recommendation to Disney could be to comply with the lead of the businesses which have seen their rankings rise over the previous few years. Though the companies are very totally different, classes might be realized from Dealer Joe’s, Patagonia, Costco, Arizona Drinks, Nintendo, and sure, even In-N-Out Burger. A few these cost premium costs, however in addition they ship commensurately premium merchandise. The ethical of the story: “high quality will win out…it’s confirmed it’s a great enterprise coverage. Give the general public all the things you can provide them, preserve the place as clear as you may preserve it, preserve it pleasant.” ~Walt Disney.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What’s your tackle Disney’s spot on the 2025 Axios Harris Ballot 100? Suppose the corporate can bounce again with focusing extra on high quality, and fewer on politics? Suppose pricing or worth for cash really does play a job within the rank, even when the pollsters disagree? Will one other 12 months faraway from controversies assist? Hope Disney will get its groove again quickly? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we may also help you reply? Listening to your suggestions—even once you disagree with us—is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
