The Wall Street Journal has released its 2022 list of “The Best-Managed Companies.” Here is how they describe their criteria:
The Management Top 250 ranking is aimed at highlighting companies that have done a commendable job across a range of what can sometimes be competing management priorities… This year, more than 900 companies were graded in five categories: customer satisfaction, employee engagement and development, innovation, social responsibility and financial strength.
Microsoft Tops the Best-Managed Companies of 2022, Megan Brobowski, Wall Street Journal, December 11, 2022
The #1 company on the list was Microsoft, followed by Apple, and I.B.M. Good for them, but I was interested in which toy companies were included. So, I reviewed the list and picked out toy companies, toy-related retailers, and i.p. providers. See below for how they ranked.
8 Amazon
23 Walmart
43 Target
67 Costco
106 CVS
133 Best Buy
136 Walt Disney
160 Walgreens
166 Hasbro
184 Tractor Supply
200 Nordstrom
203 Kroger
222 Macy’s
The list also provides star rankings (up to 5 stars) for each category. Here is how Amazon, Hasbro, The Walt Disney Company, and Walmart fared:
- Amazon received five stars for Innovation and financial strength but only two stars for Customer Satisfaction. (Not good for a company in the customer satisfaction business).
- Hasbro received five stars for Social Responsibility but only for two Financial Strength. (Good for Hasbro for engaging in Social Responsibility at a time when the world really needs it. I was, however, taken aback by their low rating on Financial Strength.
- The Walt Disney Company received five stars for Innovation and Social Responsibility but only two stars for Customer Satisfaction. (That low Customer Satisfaction number may explain a lot of Disney’s current problems.
- Walmart received five stars for Innovation and Financial Strength but only two stars for Employee Engagement. (Employee Engagement used to be a Walmart strength.)
If you want to see all the companies fared you can do so by clicking here.
What became clear as I aggregated these names was that the quality of company management team does not necessarily relate to its stock market value. For example, Amazon’s stock price is down 47%, Hasbro is down 41%, and the Walt Disney Company is down 38% year-to-year. On the other hand, two companies that did not make the list, JAKKS (+81%) and Build a Bear (+29%) saw their stock rise rise.
(For additional information on stock prices, see the Global Toy Experts Composite Toy Stock Index.)
Kudos to the ten companies that made the 2022 Best Managed Companies list.
