Swedish corporate websites serve the capital market well, but neglect jobseekers
By Timmy Fredriksson & Chris Henson
På svenska
We've ranked the corporate websites of Sweden's 100 largest companies by market cap to see how closely they are meeting the needs of their stakeholders. This year's Webranking results show that while the capital market are being dealt a fairly good hand, more work is needed to service jobseekers.
When we compare the results of the 20 largest companies across 14 of the ranked countries, Sweden places 4th with an average score of 53 (out of 100). This represents a 5.8 point decrease since last year, and the average score is also down when we look at all 100 ranked Swedish companies. This isn't specific for Swedish companies, though, as this year has seen a drop-off across the continent as stakeholder demands rise ever higher and the criteria changes to reflect modern accessibility standards. Swedish websites are still performing highly in relation to European peers, and particularly excel for the level of shareholder information available to their analysts and investors.
Share information is a feather in the cap of Swedish websites
Listed Swedish companies have a history of providing their stakeholders with an abundance of share information, and this year is no different. On average, the websites include 52% of the content most important to stakeholders. While this may sound middling, it's actually 15% more than the average of the largest 500 European companies. Share information is one of the strongest areas of Swedish communication, along with their informative homepages and corporate reporting.
Sweden's major shareholders are no secret
A particularly strong area of Swedish shareholder communication is the presentation of those who own large blocks of the companies. As many as 87% of Swedish websites include an up-to-date breakdown of all major shareholders (those with a stake of 5% or greater). There's room for improvement when it comes to adding another layer of detail, as no Swedish company currently displays the percentage of socially responsible investors who own their share. But the foundations are generally in place for keeping most of the capital market happy.