Tesla, Lululemon, MasterCard, and Google topped the global rankings in their respective industries in the Future Readiness Indicator released this week.

The study found that the United States far outpaced other countries with 40 companies well positioned for the post-pandemic economy and in their likelihood of survival in a world of fast and frequent change. Next came China and Germany with seven each; France and Japan with six each; Switzerland and UK with four each; South Korea with three; Sweden with two; and Argentina, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, and Taiwan with one each.

The Future Readiness Indicator analyzes 86 highest-grossing companies in the four highest-revenue industries: Automotive, Fashion & Retail, Financial Services, and Technology.

Four traditional automakers -- Toyota, BMW, Ford, and Hyundai -- hold the second through fifth positions, but non-traditional automaker Tesla quickly captured the top spot. The research reveals that most traditional automakers, despite mechanical expertise, share conservative views and are relatively unsuited to address vehicle electrification, connectivity, and autonomous driving. During the chip shortage, they found themselves in uncharted territory. However, the second-ranking automaker, Toyota, had prepared itself by stockpiling chips, and Toyota avoided the worst of the disruption and reclaimed the title of world’s largest automaker. 

The Indicator ranks 19 top automakers based on $6.2 billion to $291.9 billion revenue and ranks against data from 2010 to 2020. It measures financial fundamentals, investors’ expectations of future growth, business diversity, cash and debt, employee diversity, research and development, and early results of innovation efforts for the automotive industry.