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- A recent analysis reveals that Apple’s brand valuation has topped $1 trillion.
The Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Global Brands is the gold standard for brand valuation. This year, the analysis showed that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) topped the list, with a value of $1.015 trillion, up 15% from last year. It is the first time the list has a $1 trillion brand.
The methodology determining the value is complex and has a “black box” aspect, which may be a way to get brands not on the list to be valued by Kantar. Although this is a bit cynical, it would be a perfectly rational way to get revenue.
The company that owns the brand must be huge to reach its figure. Its primary goal is determining how people “feel” about a brand. A rotating polling effort covers 4.3 million people and over 21,000 brands. The brand must appeal to “relevant and potential” customers. It also must come “spontaneous to mind” in its category. Finally, how much does the brand alone contribute to “corporate value”? Anyone who does not see the black box aspect must not be paying attention.
Perhaps one way to look at a brand is that it is a fraction of its owner’s value. Apple is worth $1 trillion as a brand, but its market cap is about $3 trillion, and its annual revenue is about $400 billion.
Kantar points out that Samsung passed Apple in smartphone sales in 2023. However, Apple’s yield per phone is higher, and Apple is entering the market with new products. Samsung’s brand ranked only 51st on the list of 100 with a valuation of $40 billion. It would seem that, based on smartphone unit sales, it might be higher.
Google followed the Apple brand at $753 billion, which was up 30% from a year earlier. Microsoft ranked third, 42% higher to $713 billion. Amazon was in fourth place with a brand value of $577 billion, a 23% gain. McDonald’s was in fifth place at $222 billion, up 16%. Nvidia rocketed up the list by 178% to $202 billion, which put it in sixth place.
These Are the Fastest-Growing Brands in Each State This Year
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