TIME, in collaboration with Statista, a prominent global supplier of market and consumer data and rankings, has unveiled its third annual compilation of the world’s top companies. This in-depth quantitative research identified 1,000 companies leading the way into tomorrow. The following details the selection process for these honorees.
Research Framework
The “World’s Best Companies 2025” research initiative involved a thorough global analysis aimed at pinpointing the highest-achieving companies. This study relied on three core criteria: employee satisfaction, revenue expansion, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) transparency.
For the initial criterion, Employee Satisfaction, data was gathered from a global survey involving more than 200,000 employees. This assessment considered employees’ endorsements of companies and their ratings of employers across several aspects: public image, work environment, employment terms, compensation, physical workplace, and equity, all provided by authenticated staff.
The second criterion, Revenue Growth, was determined utilizing Statista’s comprehensive revenue database, which compiles three years of company growth figures. To qualify for consideration, companies needed to fulfill specific requirements, such as achieving at least US $100 million in revenue during either 2023 or 2024, contingent on the latest data availability during the study. Furthermore, companies were required to show positive revenue expansion over the preceding three years. Both proportional and absolute growth figures were factored into this assessment.
The third criterion, Sustainability Transparency, was gauged using ESG data, including standardized Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from Statista’s ESG Database and dedicated data collection. To develop a thorough ESG index, various KPIs were compiled. For the environmental assessment, this involved the 2023 carbon emissions intensity and its reduction rate relative to 2021, along with the company’s Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) score. The social aspect examined the proportion of women on the board of directors and the presence of a human rights policy. The governance evaluation focused on whether a company provided a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report that aligned with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, and if it maintained a compliance or anti-corruption policy.
After data collection and assessment, all information was consolidated and assigned weightings within a proprietary scoring model. Scores from each of the three dimensions were combined on an equal percentage basis, culminating in a final ranking score out of a possible 100 points. The top 1,000 companies, based on these highest scores, were subsequently recognized by TIME and Statista as the World’s Best Companies 2025.
