Kantar BrandZ ranks Apple the most valuable brand globally for 2025

Apple has retained its position as the world’s most valuable brand for the fourth year, with a brand value of $1.3-trillion, up 28% on last year, according to the latest edition of “Kantar’s BrandZ Most Valuable Global Brands”. Kantar, a leading marketing data and analytics company, bases the ranking on consumer perceptions and financial performance.

Google is ranked as the second most valuable brand, followed by Microsoft in third place.  Amazon is placed fourth; its brand value has soared by 50% to $866bn thanks to its strong positioning regarding convenience and affordability, which allows it to thrive in a challenging economy.

Combined, the value of the 100 most valuable global brands has reached a record total of $10.7-trillion, a year-on-year increase of 29%. This has been driven by tech-enabled disrupter brands, which have delivered most of the increase in value over the past two decades across all sectors.

“Even through economic crises, the world’s most valuable brands have consistently outperformed the S&P 500 and the MSCI world index over 20 years,” says Martin Guerrieria, head of Kantar BrandZ, adding that this is irrefutable proof of the value of  marketing.

“A brand is a company’s most valuable asset, and the last thing businesses should be doing in response to market shocks is cutting marketing investment. Brands are built on ongoing exposure and experiences. The most successful are consistent in their messaging and recognise the intangible value of brands in the minds of consumers. The smartest businesses differentiate their brands to the extent that consumers are happy to pay a premium, because they can maintain or survive price rises without eroding demand. This is crucial for protecting margins when facing external pressures,” says Guerrieria.

US brands make up 82% of the total value of the global top 100, up from 63% in 2006. Kantar cautions that a rise among Chinese brands and volatility caused by escalating tariffs could threaten this order. Chinese brands have doubled their value over the past 20 years and now account for 6% of the overall value of the global top 100. These shifts have come at the expense of European brands, which now account for only 7% (down from 26% in 2006).

Brands that have disrupted their category or reinvented themselves account for almost three-quarters (71%) of the incremental $9.3-trillion of value created in the global top 100 since 2006.

“Innovators keeping up with consumer needs or redefining them entirely are the brands fundamentally reshaping the global top 100 over the past two decades — think Uber, Booking.com and now ChatGPT. The most successful, such as Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft, have long moved away from their original product base,” says Guerrieria.

“In a world of digital saturation and tough consumer expectations, brands need to meet people’s needs, connect with them emotionally and offer something others don’t, in order to succeed. They need to be not just different, but meaningfully so. The dominance of brands like Apple, Instagram and McDonald’s underlines the power of a consistent brand experience that people can relate to and remember. ChatGPT’s dramatic rise shows how a brand can find fame and influence society to the extent that it changes our daily lives. But with generative AI competition accelerating, OpenAI will need to invest in its brand to preserve its first-mover momentum.”

Among the findings of the BrandZ report is that retail has continued its post-pandemic surge, with overall brand value growth up 48% as e-commerce and private labels create value for consumers in inflationary times. In contrast, brand values in consumer categories like apparel (0%), food and beverages (-1%) and personal care (-5%) remained flat or have declined, though those like Uniqlo, Coca-Cola and Dove are all outperforming competitors.

Alcohol (-11%) has been under pressure from reduced consumption, especially among younger generations who instead focus on health and wellness, including by consuming  more  low- or no-alcohol beverages. The fragmentation in spirit flavours and craft beer is also diluting the market share of legacy brands.

The luxury sector, one of the few to grow through the pandemic years, has dropped 2% in 2025. This is in part because of softer demand in China, where the scrutiny of displays of wealth and extravagance have shifted consumer preference towards lifestyle experiences and away from status symbols.

Kantar BrandZ Top 10 Most Valuable Global Brands 2025

The big take-out: “A brand is a company’s most valuable asset, and the last thing businesses should be doing in response to market shocks is to cut marketing investment.”

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