IBD Names the 100 Best ESG Companies of 2021

Investor’s Business Daily (IBD), a leading financial news and research organization, today announced the results of its third annual Best ESG Companies list. The list recognizes companies with superior Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings in addition to strong fundamental and technical stock performance. The 2021 list now highlights 100 outstanding companies, up from 50 last year.

IBD’s 100 Best ESG Companies honors overall leaders as well as the top three companies in nine categories. This year’s categories were: Consumer Goods, Financials, Health Care, Industrials, Mining & Minerals, Retail, Services (Commercial, Retail), Technology & Communications and Transportation. Microsoft was named the top company overall, closely followed by Linde, Accenture, J.B. Hunt, Xylem, Texas Instruments and Salesforce.com. Gildan Activewear, Metropolitan Bank and IHS Markit rounded out the top 10.

“ESG turned a corner this year, with a wide range of companies adapting their practices in positive ways,” said Susan Warfel, managing editor of IBD. “This has been key to market health, as investors care more deeply than ever about social, environmental and governance issues. Many simply will not invest in companies that don’t align with their belief systems. Yet, they still want to back strong performers. This year’s list of top companies shows they don’t have to choose between personal values and quality returns.”

All of IBD’s Best 100 ESG Companies of 2021 mix profitability with ethical and social responsibility. To come up with this list, IBD first screened Dow Jones’ ESG ratings, which included more than 6,000 companies. The research team looked for the top 15% of the 2,360 companies whose stock price was $10 or higher and are investable in the United States. Then they screened for companies with IBD Composite Ratings of 85 or better, reflecting broad strength in fundamental and technical areas linked to stock price performance. Finally, the team ranked them by Dow Jones’ ESG Ratings. To break the tie at 100 companies, the research team looked at Relative Strength Ratings and Earnings Per Share Ratings, an IBD measure of earnings growth compared with other publicly traded companies. All data from IBD and Dow Jones were as of 8/31/2021.

Top Award Winners in Each Category:

Consumer Goods:

• Gildan Activewear (GIL)
• Nike (NKE)
• Vista Outdoor (VSTO)

Financials:

• Metropolitan Bank (MCB)
• Moelis (MC)
• Artisan Partners (APAM)

Health Care

• Qiagen (QGEN)
• Thermo Fisher (TMO)
• Eli Lilly (LLY)

Industrials:

• Linde (LIN)
• Xylem (XYL)
• Sherwin-Williams (SHW)

Mining & Minerals:

• West Fraser Timber (WFG)
• Arcelor Mittal (MT)
• Steel Dynamics (STLD)

Retail:

• Five Below (FIVE)
• Yum! Brands (YUM)
• Asbury Automotive (ABG)

Services (Commercial, Retail):

• Accenture (ACN)
• IHS Markit (INFO)
• Motorola (MSI)

Technology:

• Microsoft (MSFT)
• Texas Instruments (TXN)
• Salesforce.com (CRM)

Transportation:

• J.B. Hunt (JBHT)
• Matson (MATX)
• Stellantis (STLA)

To view the complete list of IBD’s 100 Best ESG Companies, go to https://www.investors.com/esg-investing/.

Licensing of the Best ESG Companies award logo and accolades are available through IBD’s partner, The YGS Group. For information and ordering, please visit www.IBDlicensing.com or call 800-290-5460.

About IBD

Investor’s Business Daily is the leader in stock research and education. For over 35 years, IBD has helped countless investors around the world make more money in the market and reach their financial goals.

Founded by legendary investor William O’Neil with the goal of democratizing stock investing, IBD provides its customers access to the same type of research Wall Street uses to make big profits. All of IBD’s products and content are based on the CAN SLIM Investing System, which uses historical precedent to identify leading stocks before their big price increases.

IBD helps its customers succeed in the market with its unparalleled stock research and education. IBD’s customers have access to its proprietary research, including market-beating stock lists, exclusive stock ratings and powerful investing tools that help them make more profitable trading decisions. In addition, IBD provides customers with world-class investing education that includes complimentary coaching, interactive webinars, explanatory articles, live workshops and more.

IBD reaches investors around the world via its main website, Investors.com, its suite of digital products (IBD Digital, MarketSmith, Leaderboard, SwingTrader and IBD Live), mobile apps, a weekly print edition, social media and more. To learn more about all that IBD has available, please visit www.investors.com.

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