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 Florida.

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 Florida companies have nationwide impact — data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows Florida is the fourth largest state by GDP in the U.S.

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

• Interviews with 200 Florida leaders from companies with more than $50 million in revenue.
• Insights from nearly 2,500 consumers across Florida.
• An analysis of more than 640,000 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:

• Publix
• Disney
• Google
• Apple
• Costco
• Amazon
• Microsoft
• Chewy
• Toyota
• Aldi

Retail dominated the reputation rankings with eight of the top 30 slots going to the sector. Publix leads the way, joined by names like Costco, Amazon, Chewy, Aldi, Home Depot, Target, and Walmart.

Here's what else: Florida's tech hub status shines, with Google, Apple, Microsoft and Cisco in the top 30.

• The state's global role in hospitality is reflected too, with Marriott, Royal Caribbean and Ritz-Carlton all in the top 15.
• Other sectors rounding out the top 30 include automotive (Toyota, Ford), finance (Raymond James, JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, Bank of America), health care (AdventHealth, Orlando Health, Tampa General Hospital) and entertainment (Disney, NASCAR).

The top 10 leaders in Florida feature nationally prominent business leaders from the state's leading companies, including Publix's Kevin Murphy, Disney's Bob Iger and Apple's Tim Cook.

• State-level business elites from other strong Florida sectors, including law, real estate and finance, also make the cut, including John Morgan, Jorge Perez and Jorge Gonzalez.

The breakdown: 68% of the surveyed consumers have a positive take on Florida companies' reputations.

• The companies score 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 profitability, brand value and sustainability as their strongest assets.

• Business leaders say their main challenges focus on the need to drive innovation (especially AI), followed by social responsibility and international expansion.

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

See the full rankings list.