Special Report

The World Has a New Most Valuable Brand

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The 2019 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking, which looks at the brands that contribute the most value to their respective parent companies, revealed a big jump in valuation for Facebook-owned photo and video sharing platform Instagram and nine newcomers to the list, including Chanel, Xbox (owned by Microsoft) and Didi Chuxing, the Chinese ride-hailing company that bought Uber’s Chinese business in 2016.

But the biggest news came from online retailer and cloud services provider Amazon, which overtook Apple and Google to become the world’s most valuable brand this year, according to the report released Tuesday. All three tech giants are among America’s highest paying companies.

“Behind this headline growth figure lies the success coming from a new phenomenon of ecosystem brand building,” said David Roth, CEO of global retail at marketing services provider WPP, which co-released the report with brand equity research company Kantar. “We’re seeing a move from individual product and service brands to a new era of highly-disruptive ecosystems.”

Perhaps no company is more in tune with creating brand ecosystems than Seattle-based Amazon. Through its numerous business operations, the Seattle-based tech giant commands about half of all U.S. online retail in the United States, a third of the global cloud services, and continues to expand through rapid-fire acquisitions.

Since the start of 2018, Amazon has acquired several technology companies, including U.S. cybersecurity startup Sqrrl, Indian payment platform Tapzo, and Canadian cloud services consultant TSO Logic. Earlier this year Amazon shored up its robotics division by purchasing Canvas Technology, a Colorado-based warehouse robotics startup.

This year’s list includes some of the highest-paying U.S. companies and well-known consumer facing brands. More Asian brands are appearing on the list, rising from just one in 2006 to more than 20 this year. Overall, the research estimates that these 100 brands added $328 billion to their total value, to $4.7 trillion, compared to the previous year—perhaps justifying in some cases the sky-high compensation received by some CEOs.

Rank Company Category Brand Value 2019 ($M) 2018-2019 Brand Value Change Country of Origin
1 Amazon retail $315,505 52% United States
2 Apple technology $309,527 3% United States
3 Google technology $309,000 2% United States
4 Microsoft technology $251,244 25% United States
5 Visa payments $177,918 22% United States
6 Facebook technology $158,968 -2% United States
7 Alibaba Group retail $131,246 16% China
8 Tencent technology $130,862 -27% China
9 McDonald’s fast food $130,368 3% United States
10 AT&T telecom provider $108,375 2% United States
11 Verizon telecom provider $94,598 11% United States
12 Mastercard payments $91,929 30% United States
13 IBM technology $86,005 -11% United States
14 Coca Cola beverages $80,825 1% United States
15 Marlboro tobacco $71,958 -12% United States
16 SAP technology $57,528 4% Germany
17 Disney entertainment $57,007 6% United States
18 UPS logistics $54,899 -9% United States
19 Home Depot retail $53,507 13% United States
20 Xfinity telecom provider $48,889 14% United States
21 Nike apparel $47,360 23% United States
22 Louis Vuitton luxury $47,214 15% France
23 Wells Fargo regional bank $46,468 -15% United States
24 Starbucks fast food $45,884 3% United States
25 T-Mobile telecom provider $44,219 7% Germany
26 PayPal payments $44,166 25% United States
27 China Mobile telecom provider $39,322 -15% China
28 Accenture technology $39,184 16% Ireland
29 ICBC regional bank $38,432 -16% China
30 Spectrum telecom provider $38,423 -2% United States
31 Chanel luxury $37,006 . France
32 Walmart retail $36,801 8% United States
33 American Express payments $35,071 17% United States
34 Netflix entertainment $34,290 65% United States
35 Kweichow Moutai alcohol $33,924 6% China
36 Intel technology $31,880 13% United States
37 Hermes luxury $30,966 10% France
38 Samsung technology $30,369 -6% South Korea
39 Youtube entertainment $29,613 29% United States
40 Ping An insurance $29,470 13% China
41 Toyota cars $29,151 -3% Japan
42 Cisco technology $28,861 35% United States
43 L’Oreal personal care $28,376 9% France
44 Instagram technology $28,205 95% United States
45 Adobe technology $27,930 57% United States
46 Salesforce technology $26,917 58% United States
47 Huawei technology $26,908 8% China
48 General Electric conglomerate $26,700 -32% United States
49 Vodafone telecom provider $26,499 -8% United Kingdom
50 Oracle technology $26,488 3% United States
51 Budweiser beer $26,317 -3% United States
52 Gucci luxury $25,274 13% Italy
53 Uber transport $24,206 51% United States
54 Mercedes-Benz cars $23,355 -9% Germany
55 BMW cars $23,326 -9% Germany
56 HSBC global banks $23,169 -2% United Kingdom
57 Royal Bank of Canada regional bank $22,845 0% Canada
58 LinkedIn technology $22,816 46% United States
59 China Construction Bank regional bank $22,709 -4% China
60 HDFC Bank regional bank $22,705 9% India
61 Zara apparel $22,581 -16% Spain
62 Costco retail $21,282 17% United States
63 Baidu technology $20,879 -22% China
64 Orange S.A. telecom provider $20,728 6% France
65 Royal Dutch Shell energy $20,669 2% United Kingdom
66 JD retail $20,609 -2% China
67 Chase regional bank $20,514 6% United States
68 Life Insurance Corporation insurance $20,314 . India
69 FedEx logistics $20,176 -9% United States
70 NTT telecom provider $20,070 -10% Japan
71 DiDi transport $20,041 . China
72 TD Ameritrade regional bank $19,958 2% Canada
73 JP Morgan global bank $19,827 9% United States
74 Xiaomi technology $19,805 . China
75 Movistar telecom provider $19,361 -15% Spain
76 IKEA retail $18,949 8% Sweden
77 Citi global banks $18,878 -11% United States
78 Meituan lifestyle platform $18,760 . China
79 Pampers baby care $18,664 -8% United States
80 ExxonMobil energy $18,604 2% United States
81 Dell Technologies technology $18,486 . United States
82 Agricultural Bank of China regional bank $18,199 -5% China
83 Bank of America regional bank $17,983 3% United States
84 Colgate personal care $17,567 -5% United States
85 KFC fast food $17,205 14% United States
86 Subway fast food $17,124 -9% United States
87 Xbox technology $16,690 . United States
88 DHL logistics $16,644 -19% Germany
89 Haier iot ecosystem $16,272 . China
90 AIA Group insurance $16,145 7% Hong Kong
91 Commonwealth Bank regional bank $15,795 -18% Australia
92 Siemens conglomerate $15,308 -4% Germany
93 Hewlett-Packard technology $15,202 3% United States
94 Lowe’s retail $14,964 14% United States
95 US Bank regional bank $14,851 -9% United States
96 Aldi retail $14,692 7% Germany
97 TATA Consultancy Services technology $14,282 . India
98 Gillette personal care $14,150 -8% United States
99 Bank Central Asia regional bank $13,437 6% Indonesia
100 Adidas apparel $13,355 7% Germany

Consumer technology companies feature prominently among the top most valuable brands, but nestled among Google, Microsoft and Alibaba are non-tech stalwarts like McDonald’s and Coca-Cola.

While Instagram’s value nearly doubled compared to last year, making it the fastest-rising brand on this year’s list, the luxury category was the fastest-rising category, gaining 29 percent in value compared to the previous year’s data, followed by the retail category, which jumped 25 percent.

The rapid pivot to cloud computing, which underpins services like Facebook and Netflix and is increasingly part of day-to-day company operations and customer services, has boosted the value of the other leaders in the technology, namely Salesforce and Adobe, whose brand values jumped by nearly 60 percent.

Strategic acquisitions and changing strategies are helping Coca-Cola and PepsiCo adapt to declining demand for carbonated soft drinks, while Shell has been a leader in the oil and gas industry in alternative energy acquisitions, according to the report. Consumer product giants Procter & Gamble and Unilever, are working toward a more sustainable, recyclable packaging in response to consumer awareness of the issue.

The report said overall brand value growth was 7 percent for 2019, well below the “exceptional performance” of 21 percent in 2018 and below the annual average 9.5 percent growth rate measured since 2007. Part of the reason for the lower-than-average growth in brand value for the 100 companies on the list is attributable to heightened trade tensions between the U.S. and China that pulled down the brand value of automakers and banks.

But despite the lackluster growth in brand value for 2019, total brand value on this top 100 list is at an all-time high.

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