Kone has been named Finland’s most reputable company in 2026, while Tesla has recorded a recovery in public perception across the Nordic countries, according to a new corporate reputation survey published by Reputation and Trust Analytics on October 20.
The Finnish lift manufacturer scored 4.01 out of five in the Reputation&Trust 2026 study, an increase of 0.12 points from the previous year. The result placed Kone at the top of Finland’s corporate reputation rankings and among the companies that made notable gains during the period.
The study assessed companies across eight areas, including leadership, financial performance, products and services, working conditions and corporate responsibility. Under the research firm’s methodology, a score of 4.00 or above qualifies as an excellent reputation.
Riku Ruokolahti, director of development at Reputation and Trust Analytics, said Kone received favourable assessments across all eight categories, helping it secure the leading position.
Forestry machinery manufacturer Ponsse came second with a score of 4.00, followed by food company Fazer at 3.97. The results put three established Finnish businesses at the top of the national rankings.
Retail group K Group ranked seventh with 3.78 points. Postal operator Posti scored 2.97, remaining well below the threshold for a moderate reputation. Both companies improved their scores by 0.12 points compared with 2025.
Despite Posti’s relatively low overall rating, Ruokolahti said the company had achieved one of the largest reputation recoveries recorded in the research organisation’s monitoring history. The improvement suggests that public perceptions can strengthen even when a company has further ground to cover before reaching a more favourable reputation category.
While Kone led the Finnish rankings, Tesla recorded gains in public perception across Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark following a period of declining trust in the electric vehicle manufacturer.
Tesla’s reputation score rose by 0.10 points in Finland, 0.41 in Sweden and 0.26 in Norway. Denmark recorded the strongest improvement, with the company’s score increasing by 0.51 points to 3.09.
However, the gains did not translate into a strong reputation across the region. Denmark was the only Nordic country where Tesla reached the moderate reputation category, meaning the company continued to face challenges in winning public confidence in the other three markets.
Ruokolahti linked the improvement partly to more positive assessments of Tesla’s financial performance, communication and leadership. He also suggested that the reduced political visibility of chief executive Elon Musk over the past year may have helped improve public perceptions of the company’s management.
The findings highlight how corporate reputation can be shaped by more than a company’s products. Leadership, public communication and financial confidence can also influence how consumers view a business, particularly when its public image has come under pressure.
The survey also found differences in the factors that matter most to consumers across the Nordic region. In Finland, the quality of products and services had the greatest influence on corporate trust. Swedish respondents placed greater emphasis on social responsibility, while environmental responsibility carried the most weight in Norway and Denmark.
These differences suggest that companies operating across the four countries may need to consider local expectations when building public trust. A business’s reputation in one Nordic market does not necessarily reflect how consumers perceive it in another.
At the other end of Finland’s rankings, Chinese online retailers Temu and Shein remained the two lowest-rated companies for the second consecutive year. Temu received 2.09 points, while Shein scored 1.85. Both recorded further declines compared with 2025.
Ruokolahti said Finnish consumers viewed the two retailers more critically than respondents in other Nordic countries. The pattern contrasts with Tesla’s recent improvement and shows that the companies included in the study experienced different reputational trends over the same period.
Temu’s reputation improved slightly in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, while Shein also made gains in Denmark. Nevertheless, Temu remained below 2.50 points in all four countries, indicating that its modest improvements elsewhere had not lifted it out of the lower end of the rankings.
The Reputation&Trust 2026 survey gathered responses between May 13 and June 24. Across Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, 21,625 people aged 15 to 65 took part. In Finland, 11,240 respondents submitted a total of 22,646 company assessments.
The results offer a snapshot of how consumers viewed major companies in 2026, with Kone securing Finland’s leading position, Posti making progress from a low base, Tesla recovering some lost ground across the Nordics, and Temu and Shein continuing to struggle with their reputations among Finnish consumers.
