Two Ozarks-area businesses have made Forbes’ list of top companies in the nation, with additional Springfield companies included in Missouri’s top 20 list.
Forbes published its 2026 America’s Best Companies list last month, ranking the top 500 companies across the nation.
This year, Springfield’s own O’Reilly Automotive, retailer of automotive parts, sits at 39th spot on the list. Of all businesses in Missouri that made the national list, O’Reilly took the highest rank, outperforming Kansas City’s Hallmark and Ameren in St. Louis. O’Reilly also had the highest rank in the 500-company list of companies in the retailing industry. Jack Henry & Associates, a financial technology company based in Monett, was listed as number 176 in the America’s Best Companies list.
According to Forbes, the list is compiled through analysis of more than 100 metrics across 11 categories, including financial performance, customer sentiment, employee ratings, sustainability and more. To be eligible, companies had to have a headquarters in the U.S. and employ more than 7,000 people in the U.S., though this excluded universities, government offices and charitable organizations.
This year, Forbes also published Best-in-State lists for each state. These rankings used a unique methodology to evaluate companies against only others based in that state. The Best-in-State ranking compared companies based on consumer ratings, employee ratings, size and more. The number of listees for each state varied based on its population. For Missouri, Forbes listed 20 companies.
O’Reilly again made the list, landing as the fourth best company in the Show Me State with Jack Henry at number six. Springfield trucking company Prime earned its spot at number 13 on the best-in-state list and Forvis Mazars, an accounting firm based in downtown Springfield, landed at number 16.
Marta Mieze covers local government at the News-Leader. Have feedback, tips or story ideas? Contact her at mmieze@news-leader.com.
