Disney & ESPN Make TIME America’s Most Iconic Companies for US 250th Celebration. The Walt Disney Company came in at #11, while ESPN (Now owned by The Walt Disney Company) was #29 on the new TIME America’s Most Iconic Companies.
According to TIME, the list is “a comprehensive analysis that seeks to identify entities that have not only achieved commercial success but have also become deeply ingrained in the American identity, shaping perceptions, habits, and aspirations.”
The Walt Disney Company #11 is the first company on TIME’s “America’s Most Iconic Companies” list to be founded exclusively for entertainment. While older companies on the list, like Ford (#1), Coca-Cola (#3), or Levi Strauss (#24)—eventually became entertainment icons through marketing and pop culture, Disney (founded in 1923 as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio) is the first on the list whose original business model was to produce creative content for public amusement.
Want to go back to the creation of Disneyland in 1955? Disneyland: Handcrafted by Leslie Iweks is coming to Disney+ on January 22nd, 2026.
“For over a century, Disney has been woven into the American story, with beloved characters and timeless tales that have brought magic, joy, and wonder to generations,” Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, said. “Walt Disney’s enduring vision for this great company remains our inspiration, shaping the creativity, curiosity, and innovation that fuel our storytelling today. The dreams Walt envisioned for Disney continue to grow, taking us into the future and pushing the boundaries of what is possible for generations to come.”
- Ford Motor Company (1903)
- Apple (1976)
- The Coca-Cola Company (1892)
- Walmart (1962)
- Amazon (1994)
- McDonald’s (1940) – McDonald’s Corporation
- General Motors (GM) (1908) – General Motors Company
- Microsoft (1975)
- Google (1998) – Alphabet Inc.
- Nike (1964)
- The Walt Disney Company (1923)
- PepsiCo (1965)
- Oracle (1977)
- The Hershey Company (1894)
- OpenAI (2015) – OpenAI Nonprofit (OpenAI, Inc.)
- Cisco (1984)
- Dairy Queen (1940) – Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
- Costco (1983)
- Chick-fil-A (1967) – CFA Properties, Inc.
- Etsy (2005)
- The Children’s Place (1969)
- Target (1962) – Target Corporation
- Starbucks (1971)
- Levi Strauss & Co. (1853)
- MyFitnessPal (2005) – Francisco Partners
- Harley-Davidson (1903) – Harley-Davidson, Inc.
- JetBlue (2000)
- ESPN (1979) – The Walt Disney Company
- Riot Games (2006) – Tencent Holdings Ltd.
- Kraft Heinz (2015)
