50 Most Valuable Brands in the World

By John Harrington Updated Jan 12, 11:18AM EST · Published Jun 6, 1:28PM EDT

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50 Most Valuable Brands in the World — © Thinkstock

[cnxvideo id=”507733″ placement=”ros”]Google is the most valuable brand in the world, with a value of $245.6 billion, based on BrandZ’s annual listing of the most valuable brands in the world, according to a report published today by WPP and Kantar Millward Brown.

Technology companies dominated the top of the ranking, with four in the top five. Apple was second at $234.7 billion in brand value, followed by Microsoft ($139.3 billion). Facebook was ranked fifth with a value of $129.8 billion.

Amazon, which went public 20 years ago, ascended three ranks to the No. 4 spot. The retailer has a brand value of $139 billion.

Click here to see the 50 most valuable brands in the world.

Tencent, the Chinese internet portal, rose three ranks to jump into the top 10 at No. 8.

Adidas is the fastest-rising brand, increasing 58% in value, according to the BrandZ ranking, as consumers snapped up its retro sneakers and the brand made operational and marketing changes to bolster its U.S. business.

The top brands — Google and Apple — are worth more than the top 10 combined 12 years ago — $480 billion versus $409 billion.

Retail, the category most susceptible to business disruption, led the ranking in category value growth, climbing 14%, driven by e-commerce, with Amazon and Alibaba up 41% and 20%, respectively, in value.

Nine of the top companies are based in the U.S., and American brands now comprise 71% of the global top 100 value, partly because of the growth in the technology sector. Thirteen of the global top 100 brands are based in China, up from one brand 12 years ago.

The overall value of the BrandZ global top 100 rose 8% to $3.6 trillion, after increasing 3% from a year earlier.

BrandZ uses worldwide quantitative consumer research to rank global brands based on estimated value of the brand, rather than corporate operations. BrandZ’s valuation estimates cover 3 million consumers and 120,000 brands in 51 countries. Annual profit figures were obtained from each company’s most recent financial report. When a brand was part of a subsidiary, the net income and headquarters listed apply to that brand’s parent company. For non-U.S.-based companies, financial figures were converted to U.S. dollars.

50. NTT
> Brand value 2017: $20.2 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 3.0%
> Category: Telecom providers
> Annual profit: $9.0 billion
> Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan

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49. Huawei
> Brand value 2017: $20.4 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 9.0%
> Category: Technology
> Annual profit: $5.3 billion
> Headquarters: Shenzhen, China

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48. HSBC
> Brand value 2017: $20.5 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 1.0%
> Category: Global banks
> Annual profit: $3.4 billion
> Headquarters: London, United Kingdom

47. RBC
> Brand value 2017: $21.1 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 8.0%
> Category: Regional banks
> Annual profit: $7.8 billion
> Headquarters: Toronto, Canada

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46. Oracle
> Brand value 2017: $21.4 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 10.0%
> Category: Technology
> Annual profit: $8.9 billion
> Headquarters: Redwood City, California

45. Subway
> Brand value 2017: $21.7 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 1.0%
> Category: Fast food
> Annual profit: N/A
> Headquarters: Milford, Connecticut

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44. Intel
> Brand value 2017: $21.9 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 18.0%
> Category: Technology
> Annual profit: $10.3 billion
> Headquarters: Santa Clara, California

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43. Movistar
> Brand value 2017: $22.0 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 0.0%
> Category: Telecom providers
> Annual profit (Telefonica): $4.6 billion
> Headquarters: Madrid, Spain

42. Pampers
> Brand value 2017: $22.3 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: -3.0%
> Category: Baby care
> Annual profit: $10.5 billion (Procter and Gamble)
> Headquarters: Cincinnati, Ohio

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41. Hermes Paris
> Brand value 2017: $23.4 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 18.0%
> Category: Luxury
> Annual profit: $1.2 billion
> Headquarters: Paris, France

40. Mercedes-Benz
> Brand value 2017: $23.5 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 4.0%
> Category: Cars
> Annual profit: $9.9 billion
> Headquarters: Stuttgart, Germany

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39. Baidu
> Brand value 2017: $23.6 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: -19.0%
> Category: Technology
> Annual profit: $1.7 billion
> Headquarters: Beijing, China

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38. L’Oréal
> Brand value 2017: $23.9 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 2.0%
> Category: Personal care
> Annual profit: $3.5 billion
> Headquarters: Clichy, France

37. Samsung
> Brand value 2017: $24.0 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 23.0%
> Category: Technology
> Annual profit: $26.1 billion
> Headquarters: Seoul, South Korea

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36. American Express
> Brand value 2017: $24.2 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: -9.0%
> Category: Payments
> Annual profit: $5.4 billion
> Headquarters: New York, New York

35. BMW
> Brand value 2017: $24.6 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: -8.0%
> Category: Cars
> Annual profit: $7.8 billion
> Headquarters: Munich, Germany

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34. Zara
> Brand value 2017: $25.1 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 0.0%
> Category: Apparel
> Annual profit: $3.3 billion (Inditex)
> Headquarters: Arteixo, Spain

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33. Budweiser
> Brand value 2017: $27.0 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: -3.0%
> Category: Beer
> Annual profit (AB Inbev): $3.8 billion
> Headquarters: Leuven, Belgium

32. Accenture
> Brand value 2017: $27.2 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 19.0%
> Category: Technology
> Annual profit: $4.4 billion
> Headquarters: Dublin, Ireland

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31. Walmart
> Brand value 2017: $27.9 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 2.0%
> Category: Retail
> Annual profit: $13.6 billion
> Headquarters: Bentonville, Ark.

30. Toyota
> Brand value 2017: $28.7 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: -3.0%
> Category: Cars
> Annual profit: $16.7 billion
> Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan

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29. Louis Vuitton
> Brand value 2017: $29.2 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 3.0%
> Category: Luxury
> Annual profit: $7.9 billion
> Headquarters: Paris, France

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28. ICBC
> Brand value 2017: $31.6 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: -6.0%
> Category: Regional banks
> Annual profit: $41.1 billion
> Headquarters: Beijing, China

27. Vodafone
> Brand value 2017: $31.6 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: -14.0%
> Category: Telecom providers
> Annual profit: -$2.2 billion
> Headquarters: Newbury, United Kingdom

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26. Nike
> Brand value 2017: $34.2 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: -9.0%
> Category: Apparel
> Annual profit: $3.8 billion
> Headquarters: Beaverton, Oregon

25. T-Mobile
> Brand value 2017: $38.5 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 2.0%
> Category: Telecom providers
> Annual profit: $1.5 billion
> Headquarters: Bellevue, Washington

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24. The Home Depot
> Brand value 2017: $40.3 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 11.0%
> Category: Retail
> Annual profit: $8.0 billion
> Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia

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23. Xfinity
> Brand value 2017: $41.8 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 0.0%
> Category: Telecom providers
> Annual profit (Comcast): $9.0 billion
> Headquarters: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

22. Starbucks
> Brand value 2017: $44.2 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 2.0%
> Category: Fast Food
> Annual profit: $2.8 billion
> Headquarters: Seattle, Washington

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21. SAP
> Brand value 2017: $45.2 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 16.0%
> Category: Technology
> Annual profit: $7.4 billion
> Headquarters: Walldorf, Germany

20. MasterCard
> Brand value 2017: $49.9 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 8.0%
> Category: Payments
> Annual profit: $4.1 billion
> Headquarters: Purchase, New York

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19. General Electric
> Brand value 2017: $50.2 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: -7.0%
> Category: Conglomerate
> Annual profit: $8.5 billion
> Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts

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18. Disney
> Brand value 2017: $52.0 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 6.0%
> Category: Entertainment
> Annual profit: $9.8 billion
> Headquarters: Burbank, California

17. China Mobile
> Brand value 2017: $56.5 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 1.0%
> Category: Telecom providers
> Annual profit: $17.0 billion
> Headquarters: Beijing, China

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16. UPS
> Brand value 2017: $58.3 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 17.0%
> Category: Logistics
> Annual profit: $3.4 billion
> Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia

15. Wells Fargo
> Brand value 2017: $58.4 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 0.0%
> Category: Regional banks
> Annual profit: $21.9 billion
> Headquarters: San Francisco, California

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14. Alibaba Group
> Brand value 2017: $59.1 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 20.0%
> Category: Retail
> Annual profit: $11.1 billion
> Headquarters: Hong Kong, China

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13. Coca-Cola
> Brand value 2017: $78.1 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: -3.0%
> Category: Soft Drinks
> Annual profit: $6.6 billion
> Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia

12. Marlboro
> Brand value 2017: $87.5 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 4.0%
> Category: Tobacco
> Annual profit (Philip Morris): $7.3 billion
> Headquarters: New York, New York

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11. Verizon
> Brand value 2017: $89.3 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: -4.0%
> Category: Telecom providers
> Annual profit: $13.6 billion
> Headquarters: New York, New York

10. McDonald’s
> Brand value 2017: $97.7 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 10.0%
> Category: Fast Food
> Annual profit: $4.7 billion
> Headquarters: Oak Brook, Illinois

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9. IBM
> Brand value 2017: $102.1 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 18.0%
> Category: Technology
> Annual profit: $11.9 billion
> Headquarters: Armonk, New York

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8. Tencent
> Brand value 2017: $108.3 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 27.0%
> Category: Technology
> Annual profit: $6.1 billion
> Headquarters: Shenzhen, China

7. VISA
> Brand value 2017: $111.0 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 10.0%
> Category: Payments
> Annual profit: $6.0 billion
> Headquarters: San Francisco, California

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6. AT&T
> Brand value 2017: $115.1 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 7.0%
> Category: Telecom providers
> Annual profit: $13.3 billion
> Headquarters: Dallas, Texas

5. Facebook
> Brand value 2017: $129.8 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 27.0%
> Category: Technology
> Annual profit: $10.2 billion
> Headquarters: Menlo Park, California

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4. Amazon
> Brand value 2017: $139.3 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 41.0%
> Category: Retail
> Annual profit: $2.4 billion
> Headquarters: Seattle, Washington

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3. Microsoft
> Brand value 2017: $143.2 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 18.0%
> Category: Technology
> Annual profit: $16.8 billion
> Headquarters: Redmond, Washington

2. Apple
> Brand value 2017: $234.7 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 3.0%
> Category: Technology
> Annual profit: $45.7 billion
> Headquarters: Cupertino, California

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1. Google
> Brand value 2017: $245.6 billion
> Brand value % chg. 2016-2017: 7.0%
> Category: Technology
> Annual profit (Alphabet): $19.5 billion
> Headquarters: Mountain View, California

About the Author John Harrington →

I'm a journalist who started my career as a sportswriter, covering professional, college, and high school sports. I pivoted into business news, working for the biggest newspapers in New Jersey, including The Record, Star-Ledger and Asbury Park Press. I was an editor at the weekly publication Crain’s New York Business and served on several editorial teams at Bloomberg News. I’ve been a part of 24/7 Wall St. since 2017, writing about politics, history, sports, health, the environment, finance, culture, breaking news, and current events. I'm a graduate of Rutgers University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History.