Amazon is the world’s most valuable brand, ahead of Apple and Google, according to the latest Brand Finance Global 500 report. The e-commerce giant’s brand value increased by 42% year on year to $150.8 billion. Apple was in first place in 2016, but was overtaken by Google in 2017.
Apple defended its second place in the ranking, with brand value rebounding to $146.3 billion after the 27% decline last year. Google has dropped from first to third position, recording a relatively slow brand value growth of 10% to $120.9 billion.
For the first time since the inception of the Brand Finance Global 500 study, technology brands claim all top five places in the league table. Samsung is fourth ($92.3 billion), and Facebook is fifth ($89.7 billion).
According to Brand Finance, brand value is equal to a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand. Brand strength is used to determine what proportion of a business’s revenue is contributed by the brand.
