50 Most Valuable Brands in the World

The United Parcel Service is one of just 50 brands across the world that is worth more than $30 billion, per Brand Finance’s ranking. UPS is the only logistics company to crack the top 50. Based in the U.S., UPS has operations on six continents. As of the fourth quarter of 2020, the brand grew its market share in the U.S. to nearly 45%, according to CSIMarket. The overall UPS brand value increased by more than half a billion dollars from 2020 to 2021.

Though Lowe’s is not the largest home improvement and home goods retailer in America, it still ranks as one of the most valuable brands in the world, at $30.4 billion. There are nearly 2,000 Lowe’s locations across the U.S. and Canada. The company has a market cap of $143 billion and reported nearly $90 billion in sales in fiscal 2020.

As COVID-19 boosted home improvement goods sales, the value of the Lowe’s brand received a significant bump — increasing by 22.7%, or $5.6 billion. This was the 14th largest increase among the world’s 100 most valuable brands.

China State Construction Engineering Corporation is one of 16 Chinese brands to rank among the world’s most valuable. It is also the only construction business worth $30 billion or more. CSCEC ranks as one of the fastest growing major brands in the world, with its value increasing by 22.4% — or $5.6 billion — over the past year. Though it is a state-run enterprise known for many of its buildings in China, CSCEC has taken on projects abroad, including in the U.S., the Bahamas, and more.

Nike is the only apparel brand to rank among the most valuable in the world, worth an estimated $30.4 billion, according to Brand Finance. The Beaverton, Oregon-based company controls 15.2% of the U.S. sports apparel market and over 36% of the footwear market, according to CSIMarket. Of the 50 most valuable brands in the world, the brand value of 25 declined from 2020 to 2021. Nike was among the 25, with one of the largest total and percentage brand value drops, at $4.3 billion, or 12.5% of its value.

Honda is one of four Japanese brands to rank among the world’s most valuable. The automaker holds a significant market share in the U.S., at 8.3%. Honda’s sales have also grown significantly in China in recent years, from 560,000 in 2012 to 1.6 million in 2020, accounting for an 8.3% market share in that country as well.

Like many other automakers, Honda’s brand value dipped from 2020 to 2021, as car sales declined due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Honda’s brand value fell by $1.7 billion to $31.4 billion.

Chinese state oil and gas company PetroChina ranks as the 45th most valuable brand in the world for 2021, with a value of $31.4 billion. Yet just a year earlier, the company was worth over $38 billion and ranked as the 32nd most valuable brand. PetroChina is not alone. The value of each of the world’s most valuable oil and gas brands dipped by well over 10% from 2020 to 2021. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for energy dropped as people traveled less — both commuting to work and flying domestically and internationally.

Wells Fargo’s brand value declined by 22.2% from 2020 to 2021. Just two of the other 100 most valuable brands in the world lost a higher share of their value over the past year. The bank’s brand value was worth nearly $40.9 billion in 2020 and ranked as the 28th, compared to 2021’s value of $31.8 billion and ranking 44th.

Wells Fargo has lost ground to its two main competitors — Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase. The bank’s total deposits in 2020 were nearly $1.5 trillion, up 14.2% from the year before, while Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase deposits increased by 28% and 30%, respectively, and the industry aggregate of 21.7% deposit growth.

Intel is one of 13 tech brands worth over $30 billion, by far the most commonly occurring sector on the list of the world’s 50 most valuable brands. Intel is the world’s largest microchip manufacturer and is involved in a number of other tech businesses, including AI, circuit boards, and more.

As many larger brands struggled in 2020, Intel continued to perform well. Its brand value increased by more than 15%, or $4.3 billion. This was among the top 20 brand value growth percentages of the world’s most valuable brands.

None of the world’s top brands saw their value skyrocket like Tesla. Tesla went from being worth less than $12.5 billion in 2020 to nearly $32 billion in 2021 — a 158% jump. It is one of eight automakers to rank among the 50 most valuable brands in the world.

Tesla is one of the newest companies on this list, having been founded in 2003. After many attempts at electric personal vehicles flopped, Tesla finally showed that “electric vehicles can be desirable, combining outstanding performance and high-tech interiors with usable driving range,” according to Car and Driver. Tesla’s products accounted for 79% of electric vehicle registrations in 2020, according to Experian data.

Citi is one of seven banks to feature among the world’s most valuable brands. The New York-based bank reported having 200 million customers across 160 countries and roughly 210,000 full-time employees. Like every other bank on this list, the brand value of Citi declined from 2020 to 2021 — in this case, down by 2.8% or $900 million.

Bank of America accounted for about 6.5% of all banking revenue earned in America in 2019, according to CSIMarket. Like other large banks, the bank’s brand value dipped from 2020 to 2021, down $2.6 billion. Bank of America’s spot on the most valuable brands list has continued to drop consistently over the past decade, with the brand’s value increasing less than others over time. In 2012, it was the 15th most valuable brand in the world, with an estimated value of $22.9 billion.

Atlanta-based soft drinks maker Coca-Cola is the only brand in its sector to rank among the world’s most valuable, with a value of $33.2 billion in 2021. As of 2019, Coca-Cola had a 43.7% share of the U.S. soft drinks market, per Statista — well beyond its leading competitor, PepsiCo, which had a 24.1% market share.

Even though the soft drinks maker lost more than 12% of its brand value since 2019, it still ranks among the world’s most valuable and most trusted brands. Brand Finance’s Brand Strength Index evaluates three areas of the business — investment in the future, equity, based on perceptions gleaned from market research, and financial performance. Of the world’s 50 most valuable brands, Coca-Cola is one of just two with a perfect AAA+ brand rating.

Fast food giant McDonald’s is one of just two restaurants to rank among the 50 most valuable brands in the world. McDonald’s has over 38,000 locations in over 100 countries, making it one of the restaurant chains with the largest footprints in the world. The chain accounts for more than one-fifth of the total fast food market in the U.S., according to market data solutions company T4 Labs.

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Group, or NTT Group, is a Japanese telecom that was established in 1985. NTT Group is the dominant player in Japan’s mobile phone marketplace, providing about 43.5% of subscriptions in a nation of 126 million people, outpacing competitors like KDDI Corporation and SoftBank Corp. Though it is one of the 40 most valuable brands in the world, the brand ranked 12th in 2012. NTT Group’s brand value declined by nearly 6% from 2020 to 2021.

German luxury automaker Porsche ranks as one of the most valuable brands in the world, worth an estimated $34.3 billion as of 2021, according to Brand Finance. Though 2020 was a difficult year for automakers, with demand declining sharply due to COVID-19 and the subsequent economic fallout, the value of the Porsche brand ticked up slightly from 2020 to 2021.

Marlboro is the best known brand of major tobacco company Philip Morris International. PMI touts Marlboro as “the world’s best-selling international cigarette,” available in more than 180 markets.

In spite of the declining smoking rates in most countries in recent decades, Marlboro’s brand value has continued to increase in recent years — up 8.9% from 2020 to 2021 and 134.5% from 2012 to 2021, both among the largest percentage increases among major brands during those times.

Like many other auto brands, the brand value of Japanese car manufacturer Mitsubishi dipped from 2020 to 2021 after demand for vehicles declined. The brand’s value declined to $36.3 billion in 2021 from $37.7 billion in 2020.

Brand Finance’s Brand Strength Index evaluates three areas of the business — investment in the future, equity, based on perceptions gleaned from market research, and financial performance — and assigns grades accordingly with AAA+ being the top grade. Mitsubishi scored an AA-, the lowest of any brand on this list.

Saudi Arabia’s partially state-owned oil and gas company Saudi Aramco is the only Middle Eastern company to rank among the world’s most valuable brands. In 2019, Saudi Aramco had one of the world’s largest IPOs, when the company sold shares amounting to 1.5%, or $26 billion, of the company’s value.

Like other major energy providers, Saudi Aramco’s brand experienced a sharp decline in value from 2020 to 2021. The company’s brand value dipped by $9.3 billion, or nearly one-fifth of its total value. Just before COVID-19 shut down much of the world economy, Russia and Saudi Arabia engaged in a price war by dramatically increasing their oil output, driving prices sharply down.

China Mobile is a state-run telecom with more than 900 million customers. It is the nation’s most valuable telecom brand, worth an estimated $37.6 billion.

China Mobile’s brand value took a significant hit from 2020 to 2021, losing nearly a quarter of its worth — a larger share than any other brand on this list. It was one of more than 30 businesses that were affected by a November 2020 executive order from then-President Donald Trump barring Americans from owning companies with ties to China’s army. China Mobile was subsequently delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.

Seattle-based coffee giant Starbucks is the world’s most valuable restaurant brand, worth $38.4 billion. Starbucks is far and away the leader in the U.S. marketplace for coffee and snacks, controlling a 36.7% market share, according to an analysis of the business from Harvard University. Its next closest competitor, Dunkin’ Brands, has a market share of less than 25%. There are over 32,000 Starbucks locations across the world in 83 different markets.

Starbucks, like many other brands on this list, faced significant challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many American workers stayed home instead of going into the office and skipped their daily Starbucks order. In June 2020, Starbucks announced it would be closing hundreds of stores.

Alibaba.com, the first of three Alibaba Group brands on this list, is a massive China-based online retailer, sometimes referred to as “the Amazon of China” because it is in the same sector and has similar market dominance.

Like Amazon, Alibaba.com thrived in 2020 as consumers frequently opted to order goods online because of COVID-19. Alibaba is one of just two brands that more than doubled in value from 2020 to 2021 — up to $39.2 billion from $18.8 billion.

BMW’s brand value declined just slightly, around $36 million, from 2020 to 2021,, or 0.1%. The German luxury automaker’s sales fell by about 7.2% worldwide to just over 2 million cars in 2020 as demand for vehicles was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some analysts had projected sales drops as steep as 20%. This lower than expected drop allowed BMW to maintain a brand value north of $40 billion.

Shell is a large multinational corporation, headquartered in The Netherlands, with 92,000 employees in over 70 different countries. The company operates gas stations, refineries, and drills for oil and natural gas, among its many other energy businesses.

Though the Shell brand lost over 11% of its worth from 2020 to 2021, the energy giant still ranked as the 28th most valuable brand in the world, valued at $42.2 billion — higher than any other oil and gas company in the world. Like other companies in the sector, Shell’s bottom line took a big hit because of to the reduced demand for oil and gas

China-based Moutai is the only spirits brand to rank among the world’s most valuable, with a 2021 brand value over $45 billion. This represented a sizable increase of 15.3%, or $6 billion, from the brand value in 2020.

The company, which is partially state-owned, makes a particular type of liquor known as baijiu, which is sometimes called “firewater” because of its strong taste and high alcohol content. Moutai’s version is more than 50% alcohol. Though it is relatively unknown outside of China, baijiu is the world’s most popular liquor, with 97% of the company’s product selling domestically.

With its emissions scandal seemingly in its rearview mirror, Volkswagen’s brand value grew more quickly from 2020 to 2021 than any other large vehicle brand in the world. The German automaker’s brand value grew 4.7%, or $2.1 billion, up to $47 billion. This makes Volkswagen the third most valuable auto brand in the world.

Even though Volkswagen’s sales worldwide declined over 15% in 2020, down to 9.3 million cars, its global passenger car market share actually expanded somewhat as other automakers struggled even more.

Bank of China is one of the 25 most valuable brands in the world, worth $48.7 billion in 2021. The bank was worth over $50 billion the year before, but like every other large bank, it suffered from the economic contraction brought on by COVID-19. Even as China’s economy has recovered, the Bank of China reported its profits fell by nearly 3% year over year, the first decline in decades.

In spite of the brand’s dip in value, Brand Finance actually upgraded the Bank of China’s brand rating. When factoring in investment in the future, perceptions, and financial performance, Bank of China’s Brand Strength Index score improved from AAA- in 2020 to a nearly-perfect AAA score in 2021.

Tmall is a large business-to-consumer e-commerce platform operated by another online shopping giant, Alibaba. The company has over 500 million registered users and accounts for more than half of China’s B2C e-commerce business.

As many people turned to online shopping amid the pandemic, Tmall’s brand value soared, growing by over 60% — the fifth largest increase among the world’s 100 most valuable brands.

Deutsche Telekom (sometimes stylized as T) is the second most valuable brand in Europe and one of just 23 brands worth over $50 billion, according to Brand Finance. This is all the more impressive since Deutsche Telekom’s brand was worth less than $40 billion just a year ago. The brand’s value jumped by nearly 28%.

According to the DT website, the company has “242 million mobile customers, 27 million fixed-network lines, and 22 million broadband lines,” and operates in over 50 countries, including in the U.S. as T-Mobile. It also reported over 101 billion euros in revenue in 2020, an increase of 25% from the year before.

Entertainment empire Disney runs TV channels, parks, movie studios, and more. The brand is worth over $51 billion, though it faced financial difficulties in 2020 and its value dropped from over $56 billion in 2020.

The company was forced to shutter its parks and resorts and scrap plans to release 10 films, including big budget blockbusters like “Mulan” and “Black Widow” in 2020. Despite the setback, Disney is one of just six companies to earn a perfect AAA+ grade from Brand Finance’s Brand Strength Index.

The 10th most valuable brand in the world in 2012, AT&T has been passed by a number of other brands and has slipped out of the top 20 as of 2021. The major telecom company’s brand value dropped by more than 13% over the past year.

AT&T has one of the lowest Brand Strength Index scores among the world’s most valuable brands, with a AA grade, well below a maximum score of AAA+. The company has an enormous debt load of nearly $170 billion and faces various hurdles, with video subscribers dwindling as cord-cutting becomes the norm.

Home Depot is the leader of America’s home improvement industry, owning 47% of the market, according to an analysis from the University of Connecticut. The company received a boost in 2020, as many people took on home improvement projects while they stayed home amid COVID-19 public health measures.

Home Depot’s brand value increased by nearly 5% from 2020 to 2021, up by $2.4 billion to $52.9 billion. Its brand strength score also improved, from a solid AAA- grade to a nearly perfect AAA in 2021.

Agricultural Bank of China is one of four Chinese banks to rank among the 25 most valuable brands in the world, with a brand value of more than $53 billion.

In spite of the global financial crunch of the past year reducing the value of the Agricultural Bank of China, it is still one of the fastest growing brands over the past decade. In 2012, the brand was determined to be worth less than $10 billion. It has since grown by 435%. Only one other major brand has grown more quickly in that timeframe — Amazon.

Taobao is one of three brands under the Alibaba Group umbrella to rank among the world’s 50 most valuable brands — along with Tmall and Alibaba.com. Taobao is a consumer-to-consumer marketplace, replacing eBay as the top way for individuals in China to sell goods to one another.

Like many other e-commerce options, Taobao gained significant popularity and value as people turned to online shopping amid the pandemic. Of the 100 most valuable brands, the value of only five increased faster over the past year than Taobao’s 44.2% year-over-year growth.

Ping An is a Chinese insurance company based in Shenzhen. In addition to its main insurance business, the company is also involved with financial and health technology, auto services, automation, and more.

No major brand saw its value decrease by a larger total than Ping An, losing $14.5 billion of its value from 2020 to 2021 — more than one fifth of its total worth. In addition to struggles with the pandemic, Ping An lost roughly $1.5 billion on a failed property investment. Its stock also took a dive when the company agreed to acquire a large stake in the bankrupt Founder’s Group, with plans to reorganize the large corporate entity.

State Grid is China’s state-run utilities company that provides power in China as well as to many others around the world. The company has a large presence in South American countries like Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and more. Though the company has announced plans to produce more green energy, coal-fired plants still make up the bulk of its energy output.

State Grid is the only utilities company to rank among the most valuable brands in the world, with its brand worth over $55 billion. The company also struggled with the larger economic difficulties China faced due to COVID-19, and its brand value dipped by more than 3% from 2020 to 2021.

Many of the most valuable tech brands saw their value spike as technology allowed people to work and stay connected to friends and family during the pandemic. Yet Huawei, which is one of the world’s largest cell phone makers and telecommunications providers, lost almost 15% of its brand value — amounting to nearly $10 billion — from 2020 to 2021.

In June 2020, the U.S. designated Huawei as a company backed by China’s military, a designation that carries significant restrictions. Many politicians and experts have expressed concerns that Huawei’s products could be used to spy on individuals and companies at the behest of China’s government. Other nations like the U.K., Sweden, Canada, and more have also restricted Huawei’s business in their borders, including by banning the company from using any of its equipment in 5G networks.

QQ is a messaging and social network service from Chinese tech giant Tencent. QQ integrates email, social media, gaming, and other sites onto one place, making it one of the most popular platforms on the web. QQ had over 600 million monthly active users in 2020.

Throughout 2020, QQ was able to get its users to stay on its service for longer and attract a younger generation of users to its services by enhancing interactivity in its communities. The brand ranks as one of the fastest growing major brands in the world, increasing 28% in value from 2020 to 2021, up to $56.4 billion.

Luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz is Europe’s most valuable brand, worth $58.2 billion. It also ranks as the second most valuable auto brand in the world. No luxury automaker sold more cars in the U.S. than Mercedes-Benz did in 2020, at around 280,000 units.

Like many other automakers, Mercedes-Benz struggled in 2020, as travel restrictions due to COVID-19 public health measures put a dent on demand for vehicles. Yet no other automaker brand lost nearly as much of its worth as Mercedes did, at over 10%.

Toyota is the world’s most valuable vehicle brand, worth an estimated $59.5 billion. As of March 2021, Toyota’s parent company held a 12.6% market share of the world’s auto sales according to Focus2Move, the highest share of any automaker in the world. Volkswagen Group is second at 11.4%.

Though the COVID-19 pandemic reduced demand for cars, Toyota was still able to expand its brand value by a modest 2.4%.

Of the 100 most valuable brands in the world, China Construction Bank’s brand value had the fifth largest growth percentage over the last nine years. The brand’s value grew 285.7%, from $15.5 billion in 2012 to nearly $60 billion in 2021. Of the five fastest growing major brands in that time frame, three are Chinese banks.

However, like every other major bank on this list, China Construction Bank lost a significant share of its brand value from 2020 to 2021 amid the global financial crunch caused by COVID-19. The brand’s value declined by 4.7%, or $3 billion, with the value dipping under $60 billion.

WeChat is one of the world’s most popular mobile apps. Primarily used for text and video communication, it also has a social network, news features, shopping platform, a search engine, games, a payment service, and more. Owned by tech giant Tencent, WeChat reported more than 1.2 billion monthly active users in the fourth quarter of 2020.

With its user base and array of services continually expanding, WeChat has risen to become one of the 10 most valuable brands in the world. The brand’s worth increased by over 25% from 2020 to 2021 to $67.9 billion.

Telecom company Verizon provides a wide range of services, including 4G and 5G networks, fiber optic internet, and TV services. Verizon has a larger share of the U.S. smartphone network operations market than any other brand, at more than 40%, per financial analysts at Evercore. Competitors like AT&T and T-Mobile control less than 30% of the market each.

The Verizon brand has continued to steadily increase in value, growing by more than 8% from 2020 to 2021, and more than doubling in value as compared to 2012. Worth nearly $69 billion, Verizon is the world’s most valuable telecom brand.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China is the world’s most valuable bank brand and the eighth most valuable brand in the world, with the brand worth nearly $73 billion as of 2021. It has the largest brand value of China’s four main state-owned banks. ICBC is the only company to rank among the top 10 most valuable brands whose value decreased from 2020 to 2021.

Like every other bank on this list, ICBC’s brand value dipped by nearly 10%, or $8 billion from 2020 to 2021. Investors are concerned that Chinese banks are set up to fail — whether they are forced to bail out struggling companies or let them default.

Social media giant Facebook ranks as one of the world’s most valuable brands, with the brand value increasing its worth by 2.1% from 2020 to 2021, up to $81.5 billion. Facebook reported having 2.8 billion monthly active users at the end of 2020.

Though its brand value continues to increase, Facebook has faced increased scrutiny over its role in election interference, misinformation, and the role of large technology companies in regulating speech on their platforms.

Walmart is the world’s most valuable retailer brand and the most valuable brand outside of the tech sector. The company operates more than 5,300 Walmart and Sam’s Club locations in the U.S. and over 6,100 locations internationally in more than 20 other countries. Walmart generates more than $500 billion in annual revenue and is also the second-most valuable e-commerce brand after Amazon.

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, which oftentimes allowed only essential business, including Walmart, to remain open, the company performed well in 2020, and its brand value increased by more than 20% over the past year, up to $93.2 billion.

Samsung is one of just five brands in the world worth over $100 billion — and the only one located outside of the U.S. The major tech company produces microchips, phones, TVs, appliances, cameras, medical devices, and more.

Like some other tech companies, Samsung’s business benefited from COVID-19, as many purchased computers and other devices to work from home. Samsung’s brand value increased by 8.6%, or more than $8 billion.

Microsoft is one of the most valuable and well-known brands in the world. Among Microsoft’s enormous portfolio, it produces software, gaming consoles, computers, cloud computing services, operating systems, and much more.

Like many other major tech companies, Microsoft got a boost to its business from the COVID-19 pandemic as many companies and individuals transitioned to working from home. Its brand value increased by 20% from 2020 to 2021, making it one of the fastest growing brands on this list.

While the value of other large technology brands like Microsoft and Apple soared in 2020, Google’s value increased by a relatively modest 1.4%, or $2.7 billion. Google’s array of services and products is not nearly as diverse as some of its competitors.

Google is by far the leading search engine. With an 86% market share worldwide according to Statista, it is one of the most valuable brands in the world. However, this model relies on advertising, and with many companies spending far less on advertising during the pandemic, Google reported its first ever decline in revenue.

After dethroning Walmart as the world’s most valuable retailer brand in 2019, Amazon’s e-commerce business experienced a huge boom when COVID-19 prompted many consumers to order goods online from their home as opposed to going out to buy them. Amazon’s stock price has nearly doubled from March 2020 to May 2021, and its brand value has increased by tens of billions.

Though Amazon lost its spot as the world’s most valuable brand in 2021, it still ranks as one of the fastest growing major brands in the world. Its value increased by more than 15%. This is a continuation of Amazon’s rapid ascent. It was valued at $28.7 billion in 2012, which then ranked ninth in the world.

Apple leapfrogged Amazon and Google to become the world’s most valuable brand in 2021. Its value spiked by more than 87% — amounting to a nearly $123 billion increase — to over $263 billion. Only two other brands increased in value so dramatically over the past year.

Apple’s revenue broke records in 2020 as people purchased more iPads and Mac computers to use while working from home. The company also debuted its new M1 chip, which seems to have increased demand from consumers for new products with that chip. Though Apple’s stock price dipped to $57 in March 2020 , it quickly rebounded and recently traded at over $126 per share, as of May 2021. In the fourth quarter of 2020, Apple shipped more cell phones than any of its competitors for the first time since 2016.