America’s most trusted company is in California, Forbes says. See which one
California is home to 16 of the United States’ most trusted companies — including the No. 1 most trusted business in the nation.
That’s according to Forbes, which released its 2026 ranking of the Most Trusted Companies in America on Nov. 13.
A total of 300 companies made Forbes’ list. They represent a wide range of industries, from entertainment and technology to banking and groceries.
Forbes said it set out to highlight “the firms that do it right: creating trust among their employees, their customers, investors and the media” by analyzing more than 1,500 public and private companies with at least 10,000 employees.
Employees who trust the companies where they work are “1.9 times more likely to recommend their organization to others, 2.1 times more motivated to work for their employer and 1.7 times more likely to build new skills,” according to global professional networking services network Deloitte.
Here’s which California-based company topped Forbes’ list:
What’s the No. 1 most trusted company in the US?
NVIDIA, headquartered in Santa Clara, ranked No. 1 on Forbes’ list of the most trusted companies in the nation.
The semiconductor manufacturer, which was founded in 1993, employs more than 500 people and made $130.5 billion in revenue in 2025, according to Forbes.
NVIDIA CEO and president Jensen Huang Huang ranks among the world’s wealthiest billionaires, Forbes said, with a net worth of $155.3 billion as of Tuesday, Jan. 20.
In a Nov. 13 article showcasing the list’s top performers, Forbes called NVIDIA a “juggernaut.”
“Employees’ trust in their companies boils down to a simple concept: keeping promises.” Glassdoor chief economist Daniel Zhao told Forbes. “It comes from employees having their expectations met.”
NIVIDA came in sixth place on Forbes’ list of America’s Best Companies in 2026.
It took the No. 1 spot on Forbes’ America’s Best-In-State Companies and America’s Dream Employers lists.
Most trusted companies in California? Netflix, Trader Joe’s
NVIDIA was the highest ranking California company on Forbes’ list of the nation’s most trusted businesses.
Media giant Netflix, which is headquartered in Los Gatos, came in third place thanks to its focus on innovation, financial performance and clear communication with employees, according to Forbes.
“It’s a highly collaborative culture, but you have to earn your spot,” Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters told Forbes. “If we aren’t honest about that, we set people up with the wrong expectations.”
Supermarket chain Trader Joe’s, based in Monrovia, also made the top 20 — landing at No. 18.
The following California-based companies ranked lower on Forbes’ list:
- No. 27: Oracle in Redwood Shores
- No. 41: Apple in Cupertino
- No. 48: Wells Fargo in San Francisco
- No. 53: ServiceNow in Santa Clara
- No. 54: The Walt Disney Company in Burbank
- No. 69: Intuit in Mountain View
- No. 76: Hewlett Packard in San Jose
- No. 82: State Compensation Insurance Fund in San Francisco
- No. 83: Trimble in Sunnyvale
- No. 85: Advanced Micro Devices in Santa Clara
- No. 86: Alphabet in Mountain View
- No. 94: Chevron in San Ramon
- No. 95: Broadcom in San Jose
How did Forbes come up with its list?
To come up with its second annual list of the most trusted companies in America, Forbes “analyzed dozens of metrics across six categories:
- Employee sentiment: Career opportunities, compensation, benefits, trust in senior leadership, work-life balance, company culture and more.
- Customer sentiment: Customers rated products they purchased in customer services, value and other factors.
- Financial performance: Stock price and revenue growth.
- Business trajectory: Funding, market share, company growth and more.
- Media sentiment: Positive and negative coverage of companies’ executive leadership, innovation, diversity issues and financial performance.
- Workforce stability: Workforce growth rate, churn rate and average C-suite tenure.
Companies headquartered in the United States with more than 10,000 employees were eligible. Forbes excluded colleges and school districts, government offices and charitable organizations.
Forbes then gave the company one score for each category across more than 50 metrics, normalized it and “when appropriate” adjusted to reflect how it compared to its competitors in the same sector. Forbes combined these scores to create a final score that was ranked from No. 1 on down.
Data came from sources including Crunchbase, Glassdoor, HundredX, People Data Labs and SignalAI.
