The search engine giant has beaten Apple (up to second place from fourth last year), as well as Microsoft. Overall, tech sector companies remain the highest regarded, though the report claims that their reputations have plateaued and the healthcare sector is catching up.

The list of companies featured in the index was taken from the PwC Global Top 100 Companies by Market Capitalisation report. Around 3,000 ‘informed’ members of the public (defined as knowing about the companies in question and are in professional jobs) across 17 markets were then asked to indicate to what extent they agreed that certain attributes applied to each company. These attributes — 18 in total — include personality, trust, consistency, seamlessness, pleasure, purpose, authenticity and respect.

The top 10 is as follows:

1. Google
2. Apple
3. Microsoft
4. Walt Disney
5. AbbVie
6. Gilead Sciences
7. Samsung
8. MasterCard
9. Celgene
10. SABMiller

Overall, Global Top 100 Company perceptions were not more positive overall compared with last year.

“As a pure measure of perception the Index contradicts other recent verdicts about Apple’s supremacy over Google that also factor in sales,” the report said. “Apple does move up to second from fourth place, perhaps as a result of the successful launch of the iPhone 6 and to a lesser extent Apple Watch. But the breadth of ways in which Google touches our lives and delivers positive experiences when it does, shown for example by its high score for indispensability ( 50%), ensures that it stays ahead.

“One note of caution however: Google’s largest fall was in the sense of purpose, or vision that it offers people. The flip side of the coin is that proliferating interests in everything from cars to home heating is diluting its original, simple and understandable promise: to organise the world’s information.”

The full report can be accessed here.