Innovation is the lifeblood of any thriving economy, and Dallas-Fort Worth is no exception. The recently released Fortune’s 2024 Most Innovative Companies list highlights the region’s business prowess, with several North Texas-headquartered companies making their mark among the nation’s top innovators.

As Fortune notes, “Innovation isn’t just a nice-to-have—nearly every company on [the] list posted revenue growth in the last three years.”

This year, Fortune’s second annual ranking of America’s Most Innovative Companies honors 200 businesses that are “transforming industries from the inside out.” The list has been shortened from 300 companies to 200, with Alphabet, Apple, and Microsoft snagging the top three spots, respectively. Apple made a leap to the No.2 spot, overtaking Salesforce and IBM and up from its 2023 rank of No. 6.

[Graphic: Fortune]

AT&T Leads the innovation pack in North Texas

Dallas-based telecommunications giant AT&T ranks No. 20 overall on the list, making it the highest-ranking Fortune innovator in North Texas and No. 4 in the state. The company’s efficient operations have solidified its status as a leader in innovation, with a process rank of 9. AT&T also ranks No. 30 on the Fortune 500.

Other companies in the region prove that innovation is thriving across various fields in North Texas.

Charles Schwab (No. 85), a Westlake-based multinational financial services company, earned a spot on the Most Innovative Companies list with its balanced approach to culture, processes, and products, while Irving-based Kimberly-Clark (No. 87), the well-known consumer products company, also demonstrated a commitment to excellence, earning it a spot on both lists.

This year, the list has a notable increase in healthcare companies represented overall. In North Texas, they included Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health (No. 102) and Irving-based McKesson (No. 103). Meanwhile, Dallas-based CBRE Group (No. 162) represented the real estate services sector.

Dallas-based Jacobs Engineering (No. 184) stood out with its notable culture rank of No. 30, contributing to its overall innovation score.

North Texas-headquartered companies:

Looking beyond North Texas, the state’s business community continued to shine. Austin-based Oracle, with an overall rank at No. 6, reflected a commanding presence across all business metrics. Dell Technologies and Tesla, also based in Austin, were close behind, with the former demonstrating strong product and process performance and the latter disrupting the automotive industry with its innovative approach.

Other Texas-headquartered companies:

More recognized innovators

While North Texas and Texas-headquartered companies make a strong showing on the Most Innovative Companies list, Dallas-Fort Worth and the state as a whole also boast significant office locations for many other recognized innovators. These companies, representing a diverse range of industries, contribute to the region’s vibrant business ecosystem and further solidify Texas’ position as a hub for innovation.

Across various sectors, Texas companies are making their mark alongside national leaders. From business services to finance to the aforementioned Healthcare sector, innovators are driving setting new standards.

Let’s take a closer look at how companies in key sectors are performing on the Most Innovative Companies list and where North Texas and Texas-headquartered companies stack up.

Business services

Dallas-based Jacobs Engineering (No. 184)—the only ranking business service firm in Texas—is among nine others in the nation including PayPal (No. 69), Automatic Data Processing (No. 80), Republic Services (No. 111), Adtalem Global Education (No. 116), Paychex (No. 131), Fiserv (No. 156), University of Utah Health Care (No. 177), and Arcalea (No. 179).

Financial sector

In the financial arena, the tableau of companies is a mix of traditional banks, insurance companies, investment firms, and real estate companies. North Texas-based Charles Schwab (No. 85) and CBRE Group (No. 162) hold strong positions on the list, highlighting their employee-centric environments and consistent performance across culture, processes, and products. Keller Williams Realty (No. 176), headquartered in Austin, also ranked in this category.

Texas is also home to offices of many other influential financial giants and innovators on the list. Bank of America (No. 14), Capital One Financial (No. 15), JPMorgan Chase (No. 17), Citigroup (No. 19), American Express (No. 24), and Fidelity Investments all have a significant presence in the state, to name a few.  Other notable firms with Texas offices include State Farm Insurance, Allstate, Progressive, PNC Financial Services, Morgan Stanley, and Hartford Financial Services Group.

Energy Sector

ExxonMobil, which moved from Irving to the Houston area in 2023 and still has a presence in DFW, dominates the energy sector rankings nationwide at No. 75 and also stands as the sole Texas-headquartered representative in this category. With a culture rank of 185, process rank at 35, and product rank at 180, it is also No. 3 in the Fortune 500. This puts it ahead of other notable energy firms such as Consolidated Edison (No. 117), Exelon (No. 119), and Duke Energy (No. 154), all of which have a presence in Texas.

What makes a company innovative?

Fortune partnered with Statista to develop the ranking of America’s Most Innovative Companies 2024. The evaluation process includes three equally weighted dimensions: product innovation, process innovation, and innovation culture, according to the publication.

Product innovation is assessed through patent scores and opinions from experts and prospective customers. Process innovation examines company operations with input from employees, experts, and potential customers. Innovation culture evaluates employee opinions and external experts’ perspectives on how well a company fosters internal entrepreneurship and creativity.

Starting with a list of over 25,000 companies, eligible companies could participate in the ranking process through Fortune.com. Statista conducted online surveys for employees to score their own company’s innovation culture and internal process innovation. Industry experts, including recruiters, management consultants, and patent attorneys, were surveyed to evaluate external views on process and product innovation.

Fortune said that Statista also cooperated with LexisNexis PatentSight to analyze the quantity and value of each company’s patents. The 200 U.S. companies with the highest overall scores were awarded the title of America’s Most Innovative Companies 2024.

Find the full Fortune rankings here.

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