Pittsburgh is commanding national attention with two of its homegrown companies, Dick's Sporting Goods and Duolingo, securing spots on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential companies of 2025. Known as a standard for business trendsetters and market leaders, the list celebrates those shaping the future, and it includes a diverse variety of businesses and leaders worldwide.
In an era where many predict the downfall of physical retail spaces, Dick's Sporting Goods stands as a stark counterpoint, its financial health buoyed by its "best-ever for sales" quarter, which ended on February 1, according to a report by Alison Van Houten in Time. Simultaneously, in a move signaling the retailer's aggressive growth, Dick's Sporting Goods announced its acquisition of Foot Locker for a hefty $2.4 billion earlier in May, with an expectation to finalize the transaction in the latter half of 2025 – a detail sourced from a statement made by the company's CEO, Lauren Hobart, and substantiated by CBS News.
Meanwhile, Duolingo has been garnering accolades for reinventing language learning, morphing from a simple app into an educational powerhouse that has, as noted by Time's Joe Mullich, more than doubled its monthly active users between 2022 and 2024, as per Audacy. The company's innovative spirit and distinctive, bold branding have made a significant impact, resonating with users globally and earning it a spotlight among Time’s chosen few.
