The Google brand is now the most valuable one in America, according to a new ranking by valuation and strategy firm Brand Finance. Apple, which was the top brand for the past five consecutive years, has finally lost out to Google because “Recent missteps have served to over-exploit the goodwill of its customers.”
By brand, the Google name is now worth $109 billion because of its omnipresence as a search engine. In fact, Google’s name is synonymous with search to the extent that it has come to be used as a verb for searching the Internet for information. Don’t believe us? Google it!
Apple, meanwhile, has lost nearly $40 billion in brand value, dropping from $146 billion last year to the current $107 billion. The main reason cited for this is Apple’s recent habit of incremental upgrades to the iPhone rather than offering true innovation.
Amazon came in at a close third at $106 billion, but of note is the fact that it gained 53% in terms of year-over-year value. It is currently the most favorite contender for top brand valuation in 2018 because of its deepening and widening retail presence in the U.S.
Including AT&T in fourth place and Verizon in sixth place, there are seven tech companies that number in Brand Finance’s top ten most valuable brands list. Here’s the list in full:
1. Google – 109 billion
2. Apple – $107 billion
3. Amazon – $106 billion
4. AT&T – $87 billion
5. Microsoft – $76 billion
6. Verizon – $66 billion
7. Walmart – $62 billion
8. Facebook – $62 billion
9. Wells Fargo – $42 billion
10. McDonald’s – $39 billion
The 500 most valuable brands in the United States this year total in excess of $3 trillion, an increase of 11% from the year before.
It’s not surprising that Google topped the list this year, and even less surprising that Apple lost its crown. Over the past year Google has shown admirable agility in effecting growth on the advertising front. This despite the fact that mobile views are on the rise, cost per click are dropping and traffic acquisition costs are higher than ever before.
The only surprise on this list, as far as we’re concerned, is Microsoft, which currently ranks below AT&T in fifth place. From a business perspective, Microsoft is actually deserving of the top spot. The company has turned around its fortunes in the last few years, going from a declining legacy-heavy company to a forward-looking company that is future-proofing itself on multiple fronts.
That said, IBM should have featured in the top ten as well, considering the fact that it is successfully doing what Microsoft has done – turn a failing legacy business around by focusing on high-margin segments like cloud and analytics. Though IBM’s turnaround will take at least another year to a year and a half, we think it should have featured in the top ten. On the positive side, it did move its ranking up from 13th last year to 11th in 2017.
You can review the entire brand directory here.
The full report – Brand Finance US 500 2017 – can be downloaded here, and the following additional data can be purchase from Brand Finance by sending an email to enquiries@brandfinance.com.
Brand Valuation Summary – Overview of the brand valuation including executive summary, explanation of changes in brand value and historic and peer group comparisons.
- Internal understanding of brand
- Brand value tracking
- Competitor benchmarking
- Historical brand value
Brand Strength Index – A breakdown of how the brand performed on various metrics of brand strength, benchmarked against competitor brands in a balanced scorecard framework.
- Brand strength tracking
- Brand strength analysis
- Management KPI’s
- Competitor benchmarking
Royalty Rates – Analysis of competitor royalty rates, industry royalty rate ranges and margin analysis used to determine brand specific royalty rate.
- Transfer pricing
- Licensing/ franchising negotiation
- International licensing
- Competitor benchmarking
Cost of Capital – A breakdown of the cost of capital calculation, including risk free rates, brand debt risk premiums and the cost of equity through CAPM.
- Independent view of cost of capital for internal valuations and project appraisal exercises
Trademark Audit – Analysis of the current level of protection for the brands word marks and trademark iconography highlighting areas where the marks are in need of protection.
- Highlight unprotected marks
- Spot potential infringement
- Trademark registration strategy
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