The Future 120—How vital firms stay forever young

Capital markets and corporate leaders are constantly on the lookout for sustainable growth, which remains the top priority for companies in 2026. Identifying firms with long-term growth potential has become increasingly challenging due to geopolitical uncertainty and rapid technological change. To address this, Boston Consulting Group and Fortune collaborate to create an annual list of companies with growth potential, known as the Fortune Future List.

This year, the list has been expanded from 50 to 120 companies to better represent vitality beyond the dominant software sector. The list is based on a data-driven ranking system that analyzes over 10 million data points and focuses on 15 key metrics to produce a Vitality Score. Since the list's inception in 2017, companies on the Fortune Future List have outperformed the MSCI World Index by 0.6 percentage points annually.

Currently, 69 out of the 120 companies are in software and technology, with 70% of the companies located in the United States, 9% in China, and 8% in Europe. While AI adoption is a key driver of vitality, not all companies rely on AI for success. For example, Tempus AI, ranked No. 2, is a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company that harnesses AI for clinical and molecular data analysis.

The typical profile of a Fortune Future company is small, young, and privately held, with the majority of companies on the list earning less than $1 billion in 2025 revenue. However, nine large companies have managed to maintain their vitality by consistently reinventing themselves, setting bold growth agendas, building high-performance teams, and fostering an AI-adoption culture.