•The CSR strategy brings efficiency and benefits for the company and its stakeholders.•CSR has a tangible economic value connected to the reputation of a company.•CSR measures, as measured by a reputation ranking, makes the prices of stocks grow.•The impact of CSR loses impact on the share price when the GDP variable is considered.•The CSR progress translates into a contribution to the companýs sustainable growth. The aim of this work is to show whether a continuous strategy in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) over time brings efficiency and profitability to the company’s operations. The methodology used in this paper is based on two sets of variables: the scoring for 27 listed companies present in the Spanish MERCO Corporate Responsibility and Governance Ranking (MERCO CR&G Ranking), and their share price in the Spanish open stock market for said companies from 2011 to 2019. These variables are compared with regressive, autoregressive and moving average econometrical methods over time. Results reveal that: (i) there is a directly proportional relationship between CSR, measured by the MERCO CR&G Ranking, and the share price; (ii) such relationship loses relevance when considering the economic context; (iii) the great progress of CSR in terms of management, transparency, measurement, environment and governance translates into a crucial contribution to the efficiency and sustainable growth of the company.