To compile the list, Investor’s Business Daily identified companies with ESG ratings of AAA or AA from MSCI ESG Research as of Sept. 11, 2019. The 50 companies that made the list had the highest IBD Composite Ratings, reflecting broad strength in fundamental and technical areas linked to price performance. Nearly all have a Composite Rating of 80 or higher, putting them in the top 20% of stocks. These ESG leaders span a wide range of businesses, from retail, software and medical products to building products and geothermal energy. Besides recognizing the Best 50 ESG Companies overall, IBD also highlighted the top three in seven broad business categories.

“We are very pleased by the recognition from Investor’s Business Daily for our extensive efforts to provide products that advance the development of sustainable technologies and our work on improving the environmental footprint of our global facilities,” said Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Cadence. “ESG is an important initiative for us, and we’re honored to be named the #1 company in the technology category and to be #5 overall.”

“Cadence earned the #1 position in the technology category, which was one of the largest categories in IBD's Best ESG Companies list,” said Susan Warfel, managing editor, Investor’s Business Daily. “Cadence held an IBD Composite Rating of 98 at the time of our analysis, putting it in the top 2% of all stocks in the measure, which reflects broad-based strength in fundamental and technical characteristics linked to stock performance. The company’s solid earnings growth record, margins and return on equity were factors in the Composite Rating.”