Tech, Retail, and Banking Firms Dominate Global 500 Brand List

Amazon has retaken the top spot as the world’s most valuable brand, according to a new report from Brand Finance. The largest online store kept the lead, despite its brand value falling 15% this year from $350.3 billion to $299.3 billion.

Amazon’s brand has fallen by over $50 billion this year, substantially in connection with its fall in brand strength, with its rating falling from AAA+ to AAA as consumers evaluate it more harshly in the post-pandemic world. Brand Finance’s research has found that customer perception of customer service at Amazon has fallen - at the same time as delivery times have lengthened - and in concert with this, consumers have become less likely to recommend Amazon to others. Concurrent with the conclusion of pandemic restrictions, people are returning to shopping in person, slightly mitigating the need for online retail.

Apple (brand value down 16% to $297.5 billion) has fallen to be the world’s second most valuable brand with its brand value falling from $355.1 billion. This year’s fall in brand value relates to a fall in forecast revenue as a disrupted goods supply chain and a constrained labor market are expected to limit the supply of its marquee hardware products.

There was a total of 48 tech brands that featured in the ranking, two down from the 50 in 2022 after Snapchat and Twitter dropped out. Other tech-focused brands to lose value include Samsung (brand value down 7% to $99.7 billion), Alibaba.com (brand value down 56% to $10.0 billion), Facebook (brand value down 42% to $59.0 billion), and WeChat (brand value down 19% to $50.2 billion).

On the positive side, Instagram (brand value up 42% to $47.4 billion) and LinkedIn (brand value up 49% to $15.5 billion) have grown in the tech sector, with the brand value of each growing due to well-executed strategy to commercialize their services. Some of the other big winners in brand value include electric car manufacturers Tesla (brand value up 44% to $66.2 billion) and BYD (brand value up 57% to $10.1 billion) as demand grows for electric cars as part of a broader transition to a low carbon economy.

Looking at sectors, tech (13.38%), retail (13.24%), and banking (12,33%) have taken almost 39% of the companies among the 500 with the most valuable brands. US companies are dominating the top of the list, taking first five places, ahead of South Korean Samsung. The best-placed Chinese brand is ICBC at seventh place, while the best European company on the list is German Deutsche Telekom placed eleventh.

In addition to the Global 500 2023 ranking of the world’s most valuable and strongest brands, Brand Finance is also launching the Brand Finance Sustainability Perceptions Index, in association with the International Advertising Association at the World Economic Forum in Davos. This report reveals that major global brands such as Amazon, Tesla, Apple, and Google each have billions of dollars contingent on carefully managing a reputation for commitment to sustainability.