Duke Energy again named by Fortune one of World's Most Admired Companies™

• Duke Energy strengthens reputation across nearly every key attribute, rising to No. 3 in utility rankings

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy has been recognized by Fortune magazine as one of the World's Most Admired Companies for 2026.

The big picture: Fortune ranked Duke Energy No. 3 among electric and gas utilities on the magazine's World's Most Admired Companies list for 2026 – up from No. 4 last year and marking the company's ninth consecutive year on the list.

Why it matters: The recognition reflects growing confidence in Duke Energy's leadership as the company modernizes the grid, meets rising customer demand and navigates a historic period of transformation for the energy industry.

By the numbers

• No. 3 of 15 electric and gas utilities (up one spot year over year)
• Top four utilities for the fifth straight year
• Improved industry ranking across almost every reputation attribute

Our view: "This recognition reflects the trust we've earned from our customers by delivering reliable energy today, while forging into the future with innovative solutions, smarter grids, and next-generation technology, all while keeping costs as low as possible," said Harry Sideris, president and CEO of Duke Energy. "I'm incredibly proud of our employees, whose leadership and commitment continue to move our company and the communities we serve forward as we meet this moment of growing energy demand."

Fortune's methodology: The annual rankings are based on surveys of thousands of executives, directors and industry analysts measuring how companies perform – and lead – across nine reputation criteria, including innovation, financial soundness, quality of products and services and global competitiveness.

Where Duke Energy is focused

• Reliability: Smart, self-healing grid technology helped avoid 2.2 million customer outages in 2025, saving 5.2 million hours of total outage time across Duke Energy's six-state service area. Nearly 75% of customers now benefit from self-healing technology.
• Resilience: Duke Energy Foundation, together with Duke Energy and its employees, have invested more than $34.2 million to nonprofts since 2016 to support community resilience, emergency preparedness and disaster relief.
• Future-ready infrastructure: Over the next five years, Duke Energy plans to add more than 13 gigawatts of new generation capacity (enough to power nearly 10 million homes) and invest more than $35 billion in grid modernization, supporting reliability and customer value while also contributing to the decarbonization of our system.

Duke Energy
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. The company's electric utilities serve 8.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 55,100 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. 

Duke Energy is executing an ambitious energy transition, keeping customer reliability and value at the forefront as it builds a smarter energy future. The company is investing in major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including natural gas, nuclear, renewables and energy storage. 

More information is available at duke-energy.com and the Duke Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for stories about the people and innovations powering our energy transition. 

Contact: Madison McDonald
24-Hour: 800.559.3853

SOURCE Duke Energy