This study aims to examine the development, structure, and research trends of the academic literature addressing the relationship between corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and financial performance through a bibliometric analysis approach. Within this scope, a total of 3,808 scientific publications published between 2010 and 2025 and indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection database were analyzed. The bibliometric analysis maps annual publication trends, author- and country-based contributions, citation and co-citation structures, inter-institutional interactions, and keyword co-occurrence networks using the VOSviewer software. The findings indicate that the ESG–financial performance literature has expanded rapidly, particularly after 2018, and has evolved into a multi-centered academic structure. Co-authorship and citation analyses reveal that scholarly collaboration is concentrated around specific clusters, with authors such as Khaldoon Albitar, Khaled Hussainey, John W. Goodell, Maria Giuseppina Bruna, and Stefano Pisera standing out due to both their publication output and strong positions within collaboration networks. Keyword co-occurrence analysis shows that terms such as “ESG,” “ESG performance,” “financial performance,” “sustainability,” “corporate governance,” and “corporate social responsibility” occupy central positions in the literature, indicating a predominant focus on sustainability, firm value, and governance-related themes. Institution- and country-level findings further demonstrate that the United States, China, and the United Kingdom hold central positions in the literature, while institutions such as Capital University of Economics and Business, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Université de Sfax, and the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) emerge as leading academic hubs with high citation and link strength.