BrandZ has named Apple the most valuable brand in its Global Top 100 for the fourth year in a row: it’s now worth $1.3trillion, up 28% on last year.
Brands, like society, have got an inequality problem: the new report is the first in which the global top 10 holds as much value as the other 90 put together. The world’s five most valuable brands – Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and McDonald’s – all held on to their previous rankings. Nvidia, Visa, Facebook, Oracle and Tencent complete the top 10.
ChatGPT is the highest place newcomer at number 60; Amazon (4) has seen a 50% rise in value; Instagram (7) is up 101%, and TikTok up 25%.
US brands make up 82% of the total value of the top 100, while Chinese brands make up 6%. European brands contribute 7%, sliding down from 26% back in 2006 – although Sweden’s Spotify and Spanish retailer Zara are bucking the trend. The survey reflects brand values for 2024, before President Trump took office
Since 2006, brands that disrupt their category or reinvent themselves have accounted for almost three-quarters (71%) of the incremental $9.3 trillion of value across the top 100. In 2025 these includes payment platform Stripe (85), Chipotle (86), and Aldi (94) which has been in the top 100 for 15 of the past 20 years.
The value of retail brands has gained 48% year-on-year, driven by e-commerce and own-label. On the downside, apparel (0%), food & beverages (-1%) and personal care (-5%) are not faring so well – with the exception of some outliers like Uniqlo, Coca-Cola and Dove. Alcohol has been driven down 11% by increased abstinence among the young, while the market share of legacy booze brands has been diluted by the rise of artisan drinks.
Martin Guerrieria, head of Kantar BrandZ, said: “Innovators keeping up with consumer needs or redefining them entirely are the brands fundamentally reshaping the global top 100 over the past two decades – think Uber, Booking.com and now ChatGPT. The most successful – like Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft – have long moved away from their original product base. In a world of digital saturation and tough consumer expectations, brands need to be not just different, but meaningfully so.”
The brands making their debut for this list are tech companies ADP, ServiceNow, and VMware, and Lululemon. Returning brands are Dell, Aldi, HSBC, Corona beer and Chinese retailer Pinduoduo.
