More than 300 companies have stopped doing business in Russia following President Vladimir Putin's unprovoked attack on Ukraine.
McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Starbucks on Tuesday joined the businesses who had cut ties with Russia – something 75% of Americans support, according to a Morning Consult poll.
However, many companies still had not severed business dealings with Putin's country.
Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Caterpillar, Deere, Citi, Papa John's, and Whirlpool were among the companies continuing to operate in Russia, according to Jeffrey Sonnenfeld from The Yale School of Management.
In a Monday column for Forbes, Sonnenfeld explained why pausing or ending business in Russia made sense for U.S. companies.
"Despite the cost of abandoning major investments and the loss of business, there is a strong reputational incentive to withdraw," he wrote. "Companies that fail to withdraw face a wave of U.S. public resentment far greater than what they face on climate change, voting rights, gun safety, immigration reform, or border security."
The number of companies leaving Russia has grown since Sonnenfeld first released his list. Those businesses now include Apple, Amazon, FedEx, Kellogg, Mastercard, Nike, and Sony.
Through Tuesday, companies remaining in Russia also included Bridgestone Tire, Citrix, Dow, Intercontinental Hotels, Nestle, Philip Morris, and Whirlpool.
Sonnenfeld appeared on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Monday and was asked to address the notion that the pullout by U.S. companies would hurt Russian workers.
"The idea of these sanctions is to put pain onto the economy. We're not trying to figure out how to advance the Russian economy," Sonnenfeld told CNBC. "It is for the general population to feel enough distress that the economy fails and the government fails. That's the point of these sanctions."
McDonald's did say said it would go on paying salaries to its 62,000 employees in Russia.
Yum Brands Inc, parent company of fried chicken chain KFC, said Tuesday it was suspending operations of its 70 KFC company-owned restaurants in the country and finalizing an agreement to suspend all Pizza Hut restaurant operations in Russia, in partnership with its master franchisee.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.