Your Most Undervalued Asset just got a number

We dive into the landmark research that has finally put a financial value on reputation—$7 trillion globally, with an average 4.78% upside for companies that get it right. We also make the argument that the real insight is not the number itself, but the finding that 60% of companies are in "Reputation Stagnation," neglecting their most valuable asset.

For years, the value of a company’s reputation has been the subject of a long, frustrating conversation. Leaders intuitively know it matters, but when it comes to the hard language of the boardroom—the language of assets, liabilities, and returns—reputation has always been relegated to the realm of the intangible.

That conversation is now over.

A landmark report from Burson, one of the world’s largest communications firms, has finally put a number on it. After analysing 66 publicly listed companies globally, they found that reputation now accounts for an average of 4.78% in added shareholder value for companies that actively manage it. Globally, that’s more than $7 trillion in value.

While the research certainly gives communications leaders a credible, financial-grade metric to bring to the C-suite, the most important number in the report from our view is not the $7 trillion, but the 60% of companies surveyed that are in a state of what Burson calls “Reputation Stagnation.” They are treading water, leaving immense value on the table, and are dangerously vulnerable to the shocks of a volatile market. They are, in essence, neglecting their most valuable asset.

Shareholder Value or Survival?

For a Fortune 500 company, a 4.78% return is a compelling number to present to shareholders. But for the founders and leaders of startups, scale-ups, and mid-market companies we work with, the conversation isn’t about incremental returns, but in fact, survival.

For a founder navigating a cautious venture capital landscape in 2026, reputation capital cannot be understood as an abstract percentage. Instead, we urge them to think about all the implications of that number in terms of the pillars that will make them succeed in this business environment.

• The valuation multiplier that convinces a VC to lead your round when capital is cautious.

• The talent magnet that attracts the best engineers, product managers, and marketers who have their pick of employers.

• The trust capital that allows you to survive a product misstep or a negative news cycle without losing your customer base.

• The market entry visa that earns you the benefit of the doubt with new partners and regulators in an unfamiliar market.

Thought about this way, reputation capital is not a financial instrument to be optimised. Rather, it is the essential non-financial infrastructure that enables growth in an increasingly challenging business environment. And for 60% of companies, it is being left to chance.

The Workplace as a Wellspring

So, how do you move from stagnation to cultivation? The Burson report identifies eight levers of reputation, from financial performance to governance, but the most critical insight is the identification of the “workplace” lever as the hidden engine of reputation—the most under-invested yet highest-ROI opportunity.

This mirrors a truth we have built our consultancy on: reputation starts from within.

You cannot message your way to a good reputation, because it is the external manifestation of your internal health. Your employees are your most reliable and credible storytellers at the end of the day, while your culture is perhaps the most authentic marketing campaign you’ll ever invest in.

Thus, we believe that your commitment to your people is the ultimate test of your company’s character. In a world where 78% of brands could disappear and no one would care, the companies that thrive will be the ones that have built a culture worth believing in.

The rest is simply the work of telling that story effectively across touch points.

AI is a Mirror

Unsurprisingly, current industry conversations show an obsession with AI as a tool for efficiency, but as a recent RepTrak report highlights, AI should be seen as a stakeholder and not just a tool anymore. Why? Because it can shape how your brand is understood at an unprecedented scale today.

Founders and decision makers should consider that for the 60% of companies Burson claims are in reputation stagnation, AI is increasingly becoming an existential threat.

AI is a mirror that reflects and amplifies the coherence and authenticity of your narrative. For companies with a strong, consistent story, AI will make it ubiquitous. But for the stagnant majority, AI will mercilessly expose their vulnerabilities, and in ways that can be particularly painful for startups and mid-market companies.

A founder can talk about a flat, transparent culture in a podcast interview, but AI can now analyse years of employee reviews, exit interviews, and internal communications to reveal a different reality in five seconds with a Google search.

Similar, CEOs might tell one story to investors about a pivot to enterprise, another to customers about a commitment to the core product, and a third to new hires about a long-term vision. In the past, these narratives could exist in separate silos. Today, AI can instantly surface these contradictions, creating a perception of dishonesty that can kill a funding round or a key partnership.

For a mid-market company, a single product flaw or customer service failure can now be amplified exponentially because AI can aggregate thousands of customer complaints from social media, forums, and support tickets into a single, damning response to a simple search. What was once an easily manageable issue can today become a reputational crisis.

For the 60% of companies treading water, AI is the storm on the horizon. It raises the stakes of neglecting reputation capital, from a missed opportunity to a critical business risk to manage.

How to Build Reputation Capital now

The Burson report focuses on the Fortune 500. But founders of startups and SMEs have a distinct advantage. They are not trying to turn a battleship. They can build their reputation infrastructure correctly from day one. Here’s how we think they should start.

1. Obsess Over the “Protect” Levers

Large corporations focus on the report’s “Promote” levers: Products, Innovation, Financial Performance. Founders should obsess over the “Protect” levers: Leadership, Governance, Workplace, and Citizenship.

Why? Because in the early stages, trust is your most valuable currency. A single charismatic leader, a transparent governance structure, a magnetic workplace culture—these are the foundations of a reputation that can withstand the inevitable storms of growth.

2. Weaponise Your Size

Large companies struggle with authenticity. As a founder, you are the story. Your proximity to the product, the customers, and the mission is one of your greatest reputational assets. Use it. Be visible. Communicate directly.

Don’t hide behind layers of corporate messaging. Your humanity is your competitive advantage.

3. Make Reputation a Boardroom Metric

Don’t wait until you have a crisis on your hands to contemplate reputation. Make it a standing agenda item in your leadership and board meetings, and start to ask different questions.

Instead of simply looking at revenue growth, get your team to think about how the company’s credibility with key stakeholders has improved or changed. Instead of merely tracking customer acquisition costs, ask your marketing leads and middle managers if they believe they are building a brand that people want to be a part of.

Assign ownership, demand rigour, and treat your reputation with the same seriousness you apply to your product roadmap and revenue targets.

For the 60% of companies treading water, the question is simple. Will you continue to neglect your most valuable asset, or will you start the deliberate work of cultivating it?