The World’s Top Brands

Howmuch.net lists the 100 most valuable brands globally for 2018, reports Visual Capitalist. Forbes records the value of these 100 leading brands at a whopping $2.15 trillion, much larger than the GDP of most countries.

Six of the top ten brands categorise as technology companies, namely Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon and Samsung. Beverages account for only one brand  Coke and leisure makes its presence felt through Disney. The automotive sector is showcased globally by Toyota and telecommunications by AT&T. The six top brands are miles ahead of the rest. It is clear that technology brands will continue to play this key role in brand valuation in the world in the years to come.

Apple leads the pack with a staggering brand value of $183 billion. Google is $51 billion behind at second place, despite its innovation and widespread use. Microsoft made Gates rich, but today stands at third place at a valuation of $105 billion. No other brand breaches the $100 billion mark. Facebook is poised to enter this club and is now in fourth place with a valuation of $95 billion. Amazon was at the fifth slot, valued at $71 billion in 2018, but seems to have galloped further this year, making Jeff Bezos the richest man in the world.

The force of technology in brand valuation appears enormous as 20 per cent of the top 100 brands fall in this group, amassing a total value of $873 billion, or more than 40 per cent of the total value of  brands. Next valuable are financial services brands netting 13 per cent of the total value and worth nearly $160 billion. The gap is more than five times, which is hard to bridge for any aspiring brand. The auto sector is the only other real competitor. Strangely, it has 12 per cent of the top 100 brands, but has a considerably higher valuation than finserv at $223 billion. It has the potential to make it big as EVs hit the roads in most countries. Consumer goods which rely heavily on advertising, account for only 11 per cent of  the world’s brands and are worth only about five per cent of  the total brand value. The retail sector accounts for a mere nine per cent of brands, valued at $119 billion. The moral of the story is: ride on technology  for  a global presence.

No other sector crosses the $100 billion club except beverages, where four brands touch $103 billion in all. Despite 5G, telecom is way behind at three brands worth only $82 billion. Restaurants are nice attractions, but globally three top brands project a value of $65 billion only. Leisure as a sector surpasses the half century mark with two top brands accounting for $56 billion. All other sectors like apparel, alcohol, media, transport, tobacco and aerospace, are insignificant in comparison, although each are represented in the top 100 brands on planet earth.

Walmart might have paid a huge price to enter India through the acquisition route, but its global worth is only $25 billion or about a third of Amazon. No Indian brand makes it to the top 100. Our business schools need to study the global brands ranking and write case studies on how to make brands global. India intends to become the third largest economy by 2030. It sure has some ace brands in the globe.