The world’s leading 500 brands were unveiled at the 16th annual China Brand Festival, which took place on August 7, 8 and 9 this year in Changsha.
With over 6000 guests overall and 2200 well-known industry leaders at the opening ceremony, the event attracted widespread attention from the public and the media alike.
One main reason is that this is the first time that the organizer, TopBrand Union, has published the TopBrand Global 500.
Four of the top five companies in the rankings are from the tech sector. The two most prized brands in the world are Apple and Microsoft as they are valued at USD 799.81 billion and USD 667.43 billion.
They lead by substantial margin over the third-ranked Google, which has a brand value of USD 405.53 billion.
Amazon comes in at a close fourth as its brand is worth USD 402.54 billion, while the top five is completed by the oil giant Saudi Aramco.
Tech companies dominate the rankings overall, with 62 representatives in the TopBrand Global 500, worth a total of USD 61.13 trillion.
In addition to the top 4 brands in the sector, other well-known global giants such as Meta, Samsung, Visa and Mastercard are also ranked in the top 30. This shows that the increasing digitalization of the economy is receiving both support from investors and brand recognition from the market.
The second highest-ranked sector is pharmaceutical, with a collective value of USD 18.18 trillion and 31 entries in the top 500, including Pfizer and Roche placing 16th and 17th.
However, it is also worth noting that brands in the medical sector also have a very high total value of USD 17 trillion and two representatives in the top ten, namely UnitedHealth Group and Johnson & Johnson, which rank 8th and 10th, with respective valuations of USD 282.01 billion and USD 278.67 billion. This reveals that companies in healthcare-related sectors have developed a strong brand positioning on the market.
The third highest ranked sector is oil and gas, with a total value of USD 17.85 billion. It has two representatives in the top 10, namely Saudi Aramco and CNPC which are ranked 5th and 9th and have respective brand valuations of USD 377.34 billion and USD 280.28 billion.
The Chinese giant Sinopec is ranked 11th and has a valuation of USD 243.52 billion. Two US oil giants also make it into the top 50, namely Exxonmobil and Chevron, which place 22nd and 46th and are valued at USD 150.38 billion and USD 107.11 billion.
The two leading global economies are best represented in the brand rankings, with 210 companies on the list having their roots in the US, while 122 of them are coming out of China.
When combined, these two numbers account for almost exactly two-thirds of the total 500, which reveals that large economies are more likely to receive global attention and recognition. The third best represented country is Japan, and it is followed by Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
Australia has five entries in the TopBrand Global 500, which come from different sectors. The highest ranked one is biotech industry leader CSL, which stands at 170th place and has a value of USD 41.89 billion. The other Australian entries are Atlassian, Woolworths, Macquarie and ANZ, which are ranked 280th, 428th, 461st and 478th, respectively.
The research methodology of TopBrand Union is based on examining a pool of 37164 companies, covering 47 major stock markets. Brand valuation is based on a formula which takes into account brand internationalization, brand awareness, brand management, brand reputation and core brand strength.
An explainer of the methodology, as well as a full version of the rankings are available at topbrand500.com.
