Markets
Ranked: America’s Best Places to Work in 2023
Ranking America’s Best Places to Work
What better way to know more about a company’s work culture than to hear from those who’ve already been on the inside?
In the above graphic, we dissect how America’s top employers have changed over the last five years based on employee reviews on Glassdoor, a website that allows current and former employees to anonymously review their employers on things like company culture, pay, benefits, diversity, and more.
Tech Fares Best
Despite widescale layoffs in 2022, technology companies made up more than 40% of Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work list in 2023. Gainsight, a customer success software company founded in 2009, entered the top 15 ranking for the first time in five years and took the number one spot as the year’s best employer.
The dominance of technology companies in Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work list is nothing new, though. Companies like HubSpot and NVIDIA are staples on the list, with consistent praise from their employees when it comes to pay, benefits, leadership, and career growth.
Rank | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | Bain & Company | HubSpot | Bain & Company | NVIDIA | Gainsight |
#2 | Zoom Video Communications | Bain & Company | NVIDIA | HubSpot | Box |
#3 | In-N-Out Burger | DocuSign | In-N-Out Burger | Bain & Company | Bain & Company |
#4 | Procore Technologies | In-N-Out Burger | HubSpot | eXp Realty | McKinsey & Company |
#5 | Boston Consulting Group | Sammons Financial Group Companies | McKinsey & Company | Box | NVIDIA |
While tech tends to be popular among employees, the industry isn’t the end-all-be-all when it comes to good employee reviews.
Take Bain & Company, a management consulting firm with over 10,000 employees, that’s been consistently ranking in the top three over the last five years. Or look at fast-food chain In-N-Out Burger, whose employees consistently rave about good pay and schedule flexibility in anonymous Glassdoor reviews, making the company one of America’s top 20 employers since 2015.
Analyzing Ranking by Company
Diving into the ranking by company can also give us a good understanding of how some of the giants compare to others in the field.
Looking at the above visual, you might notice that two regular winners, Apple and Meta, did not make the top 100 this year. Salesforce’s ranking also fell below the top 50 for the first time since 2015, coming in at #75. While tech fared relatively well in 2023, these companies tumbled down and off the list, making way for smaller tech companies like Gainsight, Box, and MathWorks.
As the global economy faces uncertainty in 2023, it’ll be interesting to observe how these companies fare in terms of employee satisfaction. Against the backdrop of layoffs and slower economic growth, how leadership navigates hard conversations and steps up for their employees may be very telling, potentially resulting in a completely different makeup of the list in 2024.
Markets
Beyond Big Names: The Case for Small- and Mid-Cap Stocks
Small- and mid-cap stocks have historically outperformed large caps. What are the opportunities and risks to consider?
Beyond Big Names: The Case for Small- and Mid-Cap Stocks
Over the last 35 years, small- and mid-cap stocks have outperformed large caps, making them an attractive choice for investors.
According to data from Yahoo Finance, from February 1989 to February 2024, large-cap stocks returned +1,664% versus +2,062% for small caps and +3,176% for mid caps.
This graphic, sponsored by New York Life Investments, explores their return potential along with the risks to consider.
Higher Historical Returns
If you made a $100 investment in baskets of small-, mid-, and large-cap stocks in February 1989, what would each grouping be worth today?
Small Caps | Mid Caps | Large Caps | |
---|---|---|---|
Starting value (February 1989) | $100 | $100 | $100 |
Ending value (February 2024) | $2,162 | $3,276 | $1,764 |
Source: Yahoo Finance (2024). Small caps, mid caps, and large caps are represented by the S&P 600, S&P 400, and S&P 500 respectively.
Mid caps delivered the strongest performance since 1989, generating 86% more than large caps.
This superior historical track record is likely the result of the unique position mid-cap companies find themselves in. Mid-cap firms have generally successfully navigated early stage growth and are typically well-funded relative to small caps. And yet they are more dynamic and nimble than large-cap companies, allowing them to respond quicker to the market cycle.
Small caps also outperformed over this timeframe. They earned 23% more than large caps.
Higher Volatility
However, higher historical returns of small- and mid-cap stocks came with increased risk. They both endured greater volatility than large caps.
Small Caps | Mid Caps | Large Caps | |
---|---|---|---|
Total Volatility | 18.9% | 17.4% | 14.8% |
Source: Yahoo Finance (2024). Small caps, mid caps, and large caps are represented by the S&P 600, S&P 400, and S&P 500 respectively.
Small-cap companies are typically earlier in their life cycle and tend to have thinner financial cushions to withstand periods of loss relative to large caps. As a result, they are usually the most volatile group followed by mid caps. Large-cap companies, as more mature and established players, exhibit the most stability in their stock prices.
Investing in small caps and mid caps requires a higher risk tolerance to withstand their price swings. For investors with longer time horizons who are capable of enduring higher risk, current market pricing strengthens the case for stocks of smaller companies.
Attractive Valuations
Large-cap stocks have historically high valuations, with their forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E ratio) trading above their 10-year average, according to analysis conducted by FactSet.
Conversely, the forward P/E ratios of small- and mid-cap stocks seem to be presenting a compelling entry point.
Small Caps/Large Caps | Mid Caps/Large Caps | |
---|---|---|
Relative Forward P/E Ratios | 0.71 | 0.75 |
Discount | 29% | 25% |
Source: Yardeni Research (2024). Small caps, mid caps, and large caps are represented by the S&P 600, S&P 400, and S&P 500 respectively.
Looking at both groups’ relative forward P/E ratios (small-cap P/E ratio divided by large-cap P/E ratio, and mid-cap P/E ratio divided by large-cap P/E ratio), small and mid caps are trading at their steepest discounts versus large caps since the early 2000s.
Discovering Small- and Mid-Cap Stocks
Growth-oriented investors looking to add equity exposure could consider incorporating small and mid caps into their portfolios.
With superior historical returns and relatively attractive valuations, small- and mid-cap stocks present a compelling opportunity for investors capable of tolerating greater volatility.
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