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US firms with DEI policies thrive
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
US firms that kept DEI policies, including Costco, Apple and Delta Air Lines, performed as well.
The research counters 'go woke, go broke' threats, showing DEI retention did not hurt.
Background
In January 2025, President Donald Trump ended DEI within the federal government via executive orders and threatened companies that kept such policies. Many large firms like Google, Goldman Sachs, McDonald’s and Walmart scaled back their DEI initiatives. New research shared exclusively with the Guardian found that companies that resisted this pressure and maintained DEI practices performed just as well as those that cut them.
How it unfolded
- Jan 2025Trump issued executive orders ending DEI in the federal government and threatening companies that continued such policies.
- recentlySeveral major companies, including Google, Goldman Sachs, McDonald’s and Walmart, announced they would end or scale back their DEI policies.
- Fri, 14 Aug 2026New research published and shared exclusively with the Guardian found that companies that kept DEI policies, such as Costco, Apple and Delta Air Lines, performed as well as competitors that pulled back.
Who’s saying what
- Analysts
- The research suggests that resisting political pressure to drop DEI did not harm company performance.
- Expert
- Jacob Grumbach noted that companies that stood firm on DEI might have known they could weather a political storm, unlike others like Tractor Supply.