15 Most Hated American Companies of 2010

New York - 7 January 2011

This is one list corporations do not want to be on. 24/7 Wall St.'s "The Fifteen Most Hated American Companies Of 2010". Companies on the list were chosen based on six criteria - employee opinions, total return to shareholders, consumer data and indices, negative press coverage and views of taxpayers and Congress, where applicable.

Here are 24/7 Wall St.’s Fifteen Most Hated Companies for 2010, in no particular order:

1. Nokia - The world's largest cellphone company made the list because of the quality of its smartphones. According to a recent Brandwatch study, Nokia received the third greatest amount of bad press on Twitter. Shares of Nokia dropped 20% in 2010.

2. Toyota - Defect-related accidents, lawsuits and the recall of 10 million vehicles for safety reasons put Toyota on the list after being known for 30 years in the US for reliability. The bad press caused Toyota’s U.S. market share dropped from 18% in 2009 to 15.5% in 2010.

3. McDonald’s - As more people move towards healthier eating, McDonald's has been among those criticized for unhealthy food. McDonald’s is in the bottom 10% of the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Negative press may not have hurt the company's share price, but has earned it a place in the list.

4. British Petroleum - an obvious choice due to the Gulf oil spill, which will be remembered as one of the worst man-made environmental disasters in history. Its shares dropped more than 20% in 2010.

5. American Airlines - one of the 15 most hated because of dreadful customer service ratings and its poor on-time departure track record. According to Glassdoor, only 36% of surveyed employees approve of CEO Gerard ArpeyGerard Arpey. Was named the worst large national carrier in the 2010 Travel and Leisure survey of best and worst airlines for delays.

6. AT&T - Consumer Reports recently reported that AT&T was the nation’s worst cellphone service provider, and the company has received a great deal of negative press for its poor 3G service.

7. Dell - for their shabby online store performance and poor laptop reliability. Recently, The New York TimesThe New York Times reported that Dell sold defective PCs even though a number of its employees were aware of their problems.

8. Johnson & Johnson - the recalls of a number of its generic and over-the-counter products including Tylenol, Motrin and Rolaids have damaged their reputation. The company has also been accused by the FDA for delaying the recalls.

9. Best Buy - surveys rates it low for its online and its bricks and mortar stores. BestBuy.com was designated as the worst online store. Its shares are down more than 10% during the last year.

10. Citigroup - rated low in a number of customer satisfaction surveys and its reputation damaged by employee discrimination suits. Citi’s image was also tarnished by the large amount of money that it received as part of the bailout, which was the most given to any other bank.

11. Charter Communications - customer complaints regarding improper billing practices and poor customer service, put it on the list. In late 2009, the company's stock value was destroyed when they filed for bankruptcy.

12. Bank of America - in a recent Zogby/MSN customer satisfaction poll, the bank was rated the worst bank. Bank of America’s stock has significantly underperformed its rivals, certainly disappointing its investors.

13.Dish Network - research shows that the company has a terrible reputation among employees. Company CEO, CharlieCharlie Ergen, has a poor 22% approval rating among surveyed employees.

14. United Airlines - The company has a Glassdoor employee satisfaction rating of 2.1 out of 5, which is the worst of all the companies considered for the list. Former CEO Glenn TiltonGlenn Tilton had an approval rating of just 11%.

15. DirecTV - poor score on the American Customer Satisfaction Index for a number of reasons. Automatic extension of customers’ contracts for 24 months when new equipment is added, unexpected fees, such as a $480 cancellation fee, are among the complaints received.