On Jan. 21, Fortune and Korn Ferry unveiled the 28th annual “World’s Most Admired Companies” List for 2026 — the publication’s survey-based reputation ranking of large companies — and it included more than a handful of companies that appeared near the top of MDM’s 2025 Top Distributors Lists.

MDM’s 1Q26 Forecast Report (Premium access) 

As expected, technology leaders Apple, Microsoft and Amazon claimed the top three positions for the sixth year in a row, with Apple securing the number one spot for the 19th consecutive year.

The full top 10 were as follows:

1. Apple
2. Microsoft
3. Amazon
4. Nividia
5. JPMorgan Chase
6. Berkshire Hathaway
7. Costco Wholesale
8. Alphabet
9. Walmart
10. American Express

Before diving into which wholesale distributors made the list, let’s share Fortune’s methodology for the list:

“As we have in the past, Fortune collaborated with our partner Korn Ferry on this survey of corporate reputations. We began with a universe of about 1,500 candidates: the 1,000 largest U.S. companies ranked by revenue, along with non-U.S. companies in Fortune’s Global 500 database that have revenues of $10 billion or more. We winnowed the assortment to the highest-revenue companies in each industry, a total of 685 in 29 countries. The top-rated companies were picked from that pool of 685; the executives who voted work at the companies in that group.

“To determine the best-regarded companies in 51 industries, Korn Ferry asked executives, directors and analysts to rate enterprises in their own industry on nine criteria, from investment value and quality of management and products to social responsibility and ability to attract talent.”

See Fortune’s full methodology here.

Now, here is the list of distributors featured in Fortune’s “World’s Most Admired Companies,” organized alphabetically, along with their rankings within their respective industries:

• • Arrow Electronics – No. 3 in Wholesalers: Electronics and Officer Equipment (ranked for a 26th year)

• • Avnet – No. 2 in Wholesalers: Electronics and Office Equipment

• • Global Partners – No. 6 in Wholesalers: Diversified

• • Graybar Electric – No. 3 in Wholesalers: Diversified

• • Fastenal – No. 4 in Wholesalers: Diversified

• • Ferguson Enterprises – No. 5 in Wholesalers: Diversified

• • Ingram Micro — No. 5 in Wholesalers: Electronics and Office Equipment

• • ScanSource – No. 4 in Wholesalers: Electronics and Office Equipment

• • TD Synnex – No. 1 in Wholesalers: Electronics and Office Equipment

• • W.W Grainger – No. 1 in Wholesalers: Diversified (No. 1 in this category for a 13th straight year)

• Wesco International – No. 2 in Wholesaler: Diversified

It is also worth noting that The Home Depot was ranked No. 4 in Specialty Retailers and No. 21 overall. MDM considers The Home Depot as a distributor for Pro side of its business — substantially bolstered over the past two years by acquisitions of SRS Distribution and GMS.

See Fortune’s full 2026 World’s Most Admired Companies List here (paywalled)

Submissions for MDM’s 2026 Top Distributors Open Soon

Alongside Fortune’s various accolades lists, including the Fortune 500, we’ve about to kick off the research for MDM’s 2026 Top Distributors Lists — our who’s-who of distribution that ranks North American-based wholesale distributors by their revenue within 20 different product categories. It’s always a massive undertaking, we ask these Top Distributors to lend us a hand by providing the revenue information we need — which we’re happy to keep confidential — via our easy Top Distributors Survey that will go live on Jan. 29. The deadline for submitting is March 31!

We’ll unveil our 2026 Top Distributors feature with a webcast this spring, followed by the full PDF report and web listings.