International corporate reputation monitor Merco, a reference in methodology and ethics, has been conducting business and leader rankings around the world for 25 years — and now it's expanding to the U.S., starting in Texas.

Why it's important: According to a recent study by KPMG, 76% of CEOs worldwide would make key business decisions based on reputational risk.

• And Texas has nationwide impact — data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows Texas is the ninth largest economy by GDP in the world.

How it's done: Merco's rankings are multi-stakeholder, multidimensional, based on a large sample size and verified by KPMG. The process includes:

• Interviews with 200 Texas leaders of companies with more than $50 million in revenue.
• Insights from more than 2,350 consumers across Texas.
• An analysis of more than 738,000 social media mentions of ranked companies.
• A survey of 250 experts across nine disciplines, including financial analysis, journalism, government, business education, consumer associations, corporate social responsibility, NGOs, communications and social media management.
• Benchmarks of more than 200 objective indicators.

The results: The top 10 companies (from first to tenth place) are:

• H-E-B
• Dell Technologies
• Toyota
• AT&T
• Southwest Airlines
• Apple
• Texas Instruments
• Microsoft Corporation
• The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Amazon

Technology and electronics dominated the reputation rankings in Texas, mirroring the state's rapid transformation into a global innovation hub.

• Dell, Apple, Texas Instruments, Microsoft, Google, Oracle, Samsung Electronics, HP and IBM, all take spots in the top 30.

Here's what else: Texas' rankings showcase a diverse ecosystem of businesses:

• The retail sector also shines in Texas, with household names like top-ranked company H-E-B, Amazon, Costco, Buc-ee's, Whole Foods Market and The Home Depot making the top 30 cut.
• Other sectors rounding out the top 30 include health care (The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor Scott & White Health), airlines (Southwest and American Airlines), restaurant chains (Whataburger and Chick-Fil-A), consumer goods (Keurig Dr Pepper and Pepsico), energy (ExxonMobil) and finance (JP Morgan Chase) — a representation of the state's ability to balance long-standing industrial strengths with new growth engines.

The top 10 business leaders in Texas reflect the dominance of tech and retail, and include:

• Dell's Michael Dell
• H-E-B's Charles Butt and Howard Butt III
• Tesla's Elon Musk
• Apple's Tim Cook
• Entrepreneur Mark Cuban
• Amazon's Jeff Bezos
• AT&T's John Stankey
• Southwest Airlines' Robert Jordan
• Jewelry designer Kendra Scott

The breakdown: Texas consumers were split on corporate reputation — 56% of respondents gave scores above seven out of 10, 30% gave a passing grade and nearly 14% think Texas companies have poor reputations.

• The companies score roughly a seven out of 10 on variables connected to business value and rank lowest on AI development and innovation, followed by environmental responsibility and other ethical elements.

What the business leaders are saying: Surveyed business leaders point to financial stability and brand value as their strongest assets, while facing challenges in AI innovation, followed by social and environmental responsibility and corporate pride.

The takeaway: Merco's new annual corporate reputation report gives businesses independent 360-degree insight into how they're perceived — and how they can strengthen trust across stakeholders.

See the full rankings list.