Ranked: The Most Valuable Brands in the World

Ranking The World’s Most Valuable Brands

Due to its intangible nature, the power of a brand can be difficult to translate to a balance sheet. That said, a brand that truly connects with consumers and stands the test of time can deliver immense financial value.

Today’s graphic pulls data from the 2020 edition of Brand Finance’s annual Global 500 report, which ranks the world’s top brands by value using a multi-dimensional formula.

By quantifying the true value of a brand, investors and key decision makers can identify value that extends beyond quarterly earnings reports.

How much are brands really worth?

A Closer Look at the Leaderboard

With 18% growth in the last year resulting in an eye-watering brand value of $220 billion, Amazon is a clear winner as the world’s most valuable brand—towering over Google and Apple’s brand valuations. As the largest online marketplace on the planet, Amazon relies on innovative technologies and investments in fast-growing sectors, such as healthcare, to create a diverse retail ecosystem.

Although tech companies command five of the top 10 spots in the ranking, brands from more traditional industries are hot on their tails.

Here are the top 100 most valuable brands according to the report:

Ranking	Brand	2020 Brand Value	YoY % Change	Country	Sector
#1	Amazon	$220B	17.5%	United States	Retail
#2	Google	$160B	11.9%	United States	Tech
#3	Apple	$140B	-8.5%	United States	Tech
#4	Microsoft	$117B	-2.1%	United States	Tech
#5	Samsung	$94B	3.5%	South Korea	Tech
#6	ICBC	$80B	1.2%	China	Banking
#7	Facebook	$79B	-4.1%	United States	Media
#8	Walmart	$77B	14.2%	United States	Retail
#9	Ping An	$69B	19.8%	China	Insurance
#10	Huawei	$65B	4.5%	China	Tech
#11	Mercedes-Benz	$65B	7.8%	Germany	Automobiles
#12	Verizon	$63B	-10.5%	United States	Telecoms
#13	China Construction Bank	$62B	-10.2%	China	Banking
#14	AT&T	$59B	-32%	United States	Telecoms
#15	Toyota	$58B	11.1%	Japan	Automobiles
#16	State Grid	$57B	11.1%	China	Utilities
#17	Disney	$56B	22.7%	United States	Media
#18	Agricultural Bank of China	$55B	-0.7%	China	Banking
#19	WeChat	$54B	6.8%	China	Media
#20	Bank of China	$51B	-0.7%	China	Banking
#21	The Home Depot	$50B	7.3%	United States	Retail
#22	China Mobile	$49B	-11.9%	China	Telecoms
#23	Shell	$47B	12.4%	Netherlands	Oil & Gas
#24	Saudi Aramco	$47B	N/A	Saudi Arabia	Oil & Gas
#25	Volkswagen	$45B	7.6%	Germany	Automobiles
#26	YouTube	$44B	17.5%	United States	Media
#27	Tencent QQ	$44B	-11.3%	China	Media
#28	Starbucks	$41B	4.5%	United States	Restaurants
#29	Wells Fargo	$41B	2.3%	United States	Banking
#30	BMW	$40B	0.0%	Germany	Automobiles
#31	Deutsche Telekom	$40B	-13.6%	Germany	Telecoms
#32	Moutai	$39B	29.1%	Germany	Spirits
#33	PetroChina	$38B	3.3%	China	Oil & Gas
#34	Coca-Cola	$38B	4.8%	United States	Soft Drinks
#35	Mitsubishi Group	$38B	42.8%	Japan	Automobiles
#36	McDonald’s	$37B	18.9%	United States	Restaurants
#37	Taobao	$37B	-20.7	China	Retail
#38	NTT Group	$36B	-12.8%	Japan	Telecoms
#39	Bank of America	$35B	-3.6%	United States	Banking
#40	Nike	$35B	7.3%	United States	Apparel
#41	Porsche	$33B	15.6%	Germany	Automobiles
#42	Sinopec	$33B	14.7%	China	Oil & Gas
#43	IBM	$33B	1.5%	United States	Tech
#44	CITI	$33B	-9%	United States	Banking
#45	Honda	$33B	28.6%	Japan	Automobiles
#46	Marlboro	$33B	-2.7%	United States	Tobacco
#47	Deloitte	$32B	9.6%	United States	Commercial Services
#48	Chase	$31B	-13.8%	United States	Banking
#49	Tmall	$31B	-15.9%	China	Retail
#50	UPS	$29B	0.6%	United States	Logistics
#51	American Express	$29B	6.2%	United States	Commercial Services
#52	Xfinity	$29B	6.4%	United States	Telecoms
#53	United Healthcare	$28B	-7.4%	United States	Healthcare
#54	Sumitomo Group	$28B	4.5%	Japan	Mining, Iron & Steel
#55	Intel	$27B	-5.5%	United States	Tech
#56	VISA	$27B	-3%	United States	Commercial Services
#57	Instagram	$27B	58%	United States	Media
#58	China Life	$25B	-4.4%	China	Insurance
#59	Accenture	$25B	-3.8%	United States	IT Services
#60	Allianz	$25B	7.5%	Germany	Insurance
#61	CSCEC	$25B	-3.3%	China	Engineering & Construction
#62	PWC	$25B	-0.3%	United States	Commercial Services
#63	Lowe’s	$25B	3.4%	United States	Retail
#64	Mitsui	$24B	15.8%	Japan	Mining, Iron & Steel
#65	General Electric	$24B	-14.4%	United States	Engineering & Construction
#66	EY	$24B	2.1%	United Kingdom	Commercial Services
#67	Oracle	$24B	-6.7%	United States	Tech
#68	Cisco	$24B	7.1%	United States	Tech
#69	BP	$23B	2.6%	United Kingdom	Oil & Gas
#70	CVS	$23B	9.1%	United Kingdom	Retail
#71	Total	$23B	8.1%	France	Oil & Gas
#72	FedEx	$23B	-5.1%	United States	Logistics
#73	Netflix	$23B	8.4%	United States	Media
#74	China Merchants Bank	$23B	1.8%	China	Banking
#75	JP Morgan	$23B	15.3%	United States	Banking
#76	Boeing	$23B	-29%	United States	Aerospace & Defence
#77	Costco	$23B	32.1%	United States	Retail
#78	SK Group	$22B	-17.5%	South Korea	Telecoms
#79	Wuliangye	$21B	30.1%	China	Spirits
#80	Evergrande	$21B	0.5%	China	Real Estate
#81	Nestle	$21B	3.4%	Switzerland	Food
#82	Hyundai Group	$21B	-2.8%	South Korea	Automobiles
#83	China Telecom	$21B	-2.8%	China	Telecoms
#84	Siemens	$21B	-7.2%	Germany	Engineering & Construction
#85	TATA Group	$21B	2.3%	India	Engineering & Construction
#86	Mastercard	$21B	8.4%	United States	Commercial Services
#87	Bosch	$20B	-14.6%	Germany	Engineering & Construction
#88	IKEA	$19B	-9.4%	Sweden	Retail
#89	HSBC	$19B	-3.6%	United Kingdom	Banking
#90	Spectrum	$19B	25%	United States	Telecoms
#91	Vodafone	$19B	-10.3%	United Kingdom	Telecoms
#92	Pepsi	$19B	2.2%	United States	Soft Drinks
#93	Alibaba	$19B	28.8%	China	Retail
#94	Ford	$18B	-1.4%	United States	Automobiles
#95	AIA	$18B	17.3%	China	Insurance
#96	Orange	$18B	-13.7%	France	Telecoms
#97	Nissan	$18B	-4.5%	Japan	Automobiles
#98	Chevron	$18B	4.7%	United States	Oil & Gas
#99	GUCCI	$18B	20.2%	Italy	Apparel
#100	Dell Technologies	$18B	-22.9%	United States	Tech

American retail giant Walmart enters 2020’s top 10 ranking with an impressive brand value increase of 14% to $77.5 billion. The retailer’s recent success could be partially attributed to its growing strategic partnership with Microsoft—which currently sits in sixth place. By tapping into Microsoft’s cloud services, Walmart can now provide a digital first retail experience for its customers.

Another brand that has experienced remarkable growth is China’s leading insurance company, Ping An. With 19.8% growth, resulting in a brand value of $69 billion, the financial conglomerate’s aggressive focus on fintech R&D has garnered the company 200 million retail customers and 500 million internet users—making it one of the largest financial services companies in the world.

While the majority of the world’s most valuable brands hail from the U.S. or China, which brands lead by region?

Most Valuable Brands by Region

Not surprisingly, Amazon leads as the most valuable B2C brand across the Americas, with the exception of Latin America. Beer brand Corona, was crowned as the leader in this region, boasting a brand value of $8.1 billion.

In Europe, German companies outperformed other countries, with automotive brand Mercedes-Benz holding the title for the most valuable B2C brand for that continent—despite China being its biggest market.

On the other side of the world, Samsung reigns as Asia’s most valuable B2C brand. The company owns 54% of the nascent 5G market globally, having shipped 6.7 million 5G phones in the last year alone.

A Brand Eat Brand World

Whether brands are regional or global leaders, they still face the threat of being knocked of their perch by brands experiencing significant growth.

Climbing to the Top

With an increase of 65% to $12.4 billion, Tesla is officially the fastest-growing brand in the world. Despite concerns over not being able to keep up with demand, the electric car company is expected to exceed 500,000 vehicle deliveries in 2020. Having recently posted over $7 billion of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2019, the success of Tesla’s innovative models is sure to rattle the automotive brands in the ranking.

However, not everything comes down to innovation. European retailers Lidl and Aldi have seen growth of 40% and 37% respectively, and are only getting started.

After disrupting Europe’s entire supermarket industry by offering quality products at significantly lower prices, the chains now have their sights set on the U.S. market, with Aldi expected to surpass Kroger in sales.

Despite the unprecedented disruption caused by e-commerce, the popular assertion that entering digital operations brings instant success while bricks and mortar stores are doomed for extinction is being proved wrong

—David Haigh, CEO Brand Finance

In contrast, there are also well established brands that have struggled to retain brand value.

Racing to the Bottom

Chinese search engine Baidu—also known as the Google of China—recorded the largest drop in brand value, decreasing by 54% to $8.9 billion. The brand has struggled with a poor reputation and intensifying market competition. As a result, the brand’s revenues and subsequently its brand value were heavily impacted.

Boeing is a prime example of the unpredictability of brand value. As a company that once imbued trust and excellent safety standards, the brand’s value has dropped by 29% due to the recent reports of accidents that have tarnished its reputation.

The True Power of Brand

Boeing’s recent hardships reflect the volatile nature of brand value. While 244 brands in the entire ranking have increased their brand value year-over-year, another 212 have taken a hit.

Part of a brand’s purpose is to manage reputation, retain loyal customers, and generate awareness. Given that a brand is the sum of its parts, the ranking proves that an issue with any of these things could trigger a chain reaction, negatively impacting a brand’s bottom line.

So is it worth companies investing in their brand? All signs point to yes, for now.

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