The 20th anniversary edition of BrandZ’s global report journeys through marketing’s evolution over the past two decades covering economic booms and recessions, pandemics and insecurity.

After reviewing thousands of brand valuations tracked since 2006, we’ve distilled 10 insights to help marketers plan for and overcome volatility and build strong, resilient brands. Download the new report to find all 10 insights, visualised by David McCandless, of Information is Beautiful.

In 2025, the Global Top 100 has reached a record total brand value. This has been driven by tech-enabled disruptor brands, which have delivered most of the increase in value over the past 20 years across all sectors.

Highlights from the ranking, which is based on the opinions of 4.5 million respondents about 22,000 brands across 538 categories, include:

  • Apple retains its top position for the fourth year with a brand value of $1.3 trillion, up 28%
  • Google (No.2), Microsoft (No.3), Amazon (No.4) and Nvidia (No.5) complete the Top 5
  • Nvidia, Huawei, VMware, Xiaomi and Instagram are the top risers, achieving more than 100% brand value growth
  • ChatGPT is the highest new entry in the Top 100, followed by Stripe and Chipotle
  • Outside the US, Sweden’s Spotify re-enters the Top 100; India’s Airtel is the fastest growing telecom brand in the world; Argentinian retailer Mercado Libre is the only Latin American brand in the list
  • Top 100 and Canada’s RBC saw the biggest year-on-year brand value growth (43%) of any financial services brand
  • Across 13 category rankings, retail continued its post-pandemic surge, with overall brand value growth up 48%.

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US brands now comprise 82% of the total value of the Global Top 100, up from 63% in 2006. A rise among Chinese brands and volatility caused by escalating tariffs could threaten this order. For the second year, the brand with the greatest year-on-year increase is Nvidia, which has risen 152% to reach the Top 5 for the first time. Instagram and TikTok have also posted impressive growth. Watch the countdown video to see the complete Global Top 100 ranking.

 

To be eligible for entry into the ranking, brands must be owned by a company listed on a stock exchange, or by a private company with its financials available in the public domain. Unique among brand valuation methodologies, Kantar BrandZ combines financial analysis with extensive measures of brand equity. Learn more about the methodology behind Kantar BrandZ brand valuation rankings in this video.

 

Explore the Global Top 100 list of the world’s most valuable brands. Seven newcomers enter for the first time, including established names like Uniqlo and Hilton. Other debuts include former challenger brands like Stripe, Chipotle, Booking.com and DoorDash. OpenAI’s ChatGPT is the most valuable newcomer. There are six re-entrants to the Global Top 100, including Meituan, Morgan Stanley and adidas.

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