Apple is the world’s most valuable brand, per Kantar’s new BrandZ study

Every year, the London-based agency ranks every major brand in the world, combining the most recent financial performance data and consumer research from over 4 million consumers across 51 markets.

Taking the #1 ranking from Amazon last year is Apple, whose valuation has skyrocketed 55% year-on-year to $947bn and is on track to becoming the first trillion-dollar brand. Apple’s portfolio branding, entertainment and payment services and trust-building all contributed to its brand value. In contrast, Amazon fell from first to third place this year, as its brand value climbed 3%.

Google also scaled to second place from third last year. One of the fastest risers in the list, Google’s value jumped about 80% in one year to nearly $455bn due to the essential role its suite of work and productivity apps play in consumers’ lives worldwide.

Coming in at #10 at a $124bn valuation is Louis Vuitton. The first luxury brand to reach the global top 10 since 2010, Louis Vuitton experienced 64% growth in brand value this year. According to the study, much of that market growth occurred in China.

Two of the top 10 most valuable global brands are from China, with Tencent at #5 and Alibaba at #9. This finding underscores that Chinese brands held strong, despite facing unique pandemic challenges.

Kantar BrandZ’s top 10 most valuable global brands of 2022

1. Apple

2. Google

3. Amazon

4. Microsoft

5. Tencent

6. McDonald’s

7. Visa

8. Facebook

9. Alibaba

10. Louis Vuitton

Tesla revs up the sustainability index

According to Kantar’s study, the combined value of the 100 most valuable brands in the world climbed 23% to $8.7tn over the past year, accounting for more than the total GDP of Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom combined.

This year’s report also saw the introduction of a new category called the Sustainability BrandZ Index. Sustainability already accounts for 3% of brand equity, and it’s expected to rise as “a sustainability imperative becomes more urgent,” the report says. The top-rated brands in this category are currently Microsoft, Zara and IBM.

Tesla is one of 2022’s biggest success stories, climbing to #29 from #47, reflecting the worldwide sales trend of electric vehicles more than doubling in 2021.

Although a majority of the top 100 brands are US-based, a few international brands made the cut for the first time this year, such as Saudi Arabia’s energy brand Aramco at #16, India’s IT services and consultancy Infosys at #64 and Latin America’s largest e-commerce ecosystem Mercado Libre at #71.

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