Charting 20 years of brand value: Kantar BrandZ 2025 ranking reveals the world’s most valuable brands

Now in its 20th year, the Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Global Brands ranking shares a unique snapshot of the global brand landscape, based on consumer perceptions and financial performance. The latest edition reveals how brand strength continues to shape financial value, even in uncertain times.

US brands now comprise 82% of the total value of the Global Top 100, up from 63% in 2006, but a rise among Chinese brands and volatility caused by escalating tariffs could threaten this order. Chinese brands have doubled their value over the past 20 years, now accounting for 6% of the overall value of the Global Top 100. These shifts have come at the expense of European brands, which now account for only 7% of the Global Top 100 (down from 26% in 2006).

Martin Guerrieria, head of Kantar BrandZ, said: “Even through economic crises, the world’s most valuable brands have consistently outperformed the S&P 500 and MSCI World Index over 20 years. This is irrefutable proof of marketing’s value. A brand is a company’s most valuable asset, and the last thing businesses should be doing in response to market shocks is cutting marketing investment.

“Brands are built on ongoing exposure and experiences. The most successful are consistent in their messaging and recognise the intangible value of brands in the minds of consumers. The smartest businesses differentiate their brands to the extent that consumers are happy to pay a premium, because they can maintain or survive price rises without eroding demand. This is crucial for protecting margins when facing external pressures.”

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Outside the US, significant gains have been seen for Sweden’s Spotify, re-entering the Global Top 100 at 76; India’s Airtel, the fastest growing telecom brand in the world; Argentinian retailer Mercado Libre, the only Latin American brand in the Global Top 100; Spanish retailer Zara, which rose five places to 65th, and Canada’s RBC, which saw the biggest YOY brand value growth (43%) of any financial services brand outside the US.

Disruptive brands fuel long-term brand value

Brands that disrupted their category or reinvented themselves have accounted for almost three-quarters (71%) of the incremental $9.3tn of value created in the Global Top 100 since 2006. In 2025 this includes Stripe and Chipotle, which have entered the ranking for the first time (in 85th and 86th place) and Aldi, which has been in the Global Top 100 for 15 of the past 20 years, and is currently ranked 94th.

Guerrieria comments: “Innovators keeping up with consumer needs or redefining them entirely are the brands fundamentally reshaping the Global Top 100 over the past two decades – think Uber, Booking.com and now ChatGPT. The most successful – like Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft – have long moved away from their original product base.”

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Overall, the Global Top 100 has reached a record total brand value of $10.7tn, a year-on-year increase of 29%. 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.

• Apple retains its top position for the fourth year with a brand value of $1.3tn, up 28% on the previous year. The only trillion-dollar brand in the ranking, Apple represents more than 12% of the total value of the Global Top 100.

• ChatGPT premiers in 60th place, the highest newcomer since NVIDIA in 2021, but may face strong competition as brands like Google and Microsoft respond to its first-mover advantage.

• Amazon’s brand value has soared by 50% to $866bn, thanks to its strong positioning around convenience and affordability allowing it to thrive in a challenging economy.

• Instagram and TikTok have posted impressive growth of 101% and 25% respectively. They reflect the continued influence of social media in shaping consumer habits and delivering direct-to-consumer e-commerce sales for brands and influencers globally.

Guerrieria said: “In a world of digital saturation and tough consumer expectations, brands need to meet people’s needs, connect with them emotionally and offer something others don’t to succeed. They need to be not just different, but meaningfully so. The dominance of brands like Apple, Instagram and McDonald’s underlines the power of a consistent brand experience that people can relate to and remember. ChatGPT’s dramatic rise shows how a brand can find fame and influence society to the extent that it changes our daily lives. But with generative AI competition accelerating, OpenAI will need to invest in its brand to preserve it first-mover momentum.”

Download the full report here.

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Other trends from Kantar BrandZ’s global report include:

• Retail continued its post-pandemic surge, with overall brand value growth up 48% as e-commerce and private label create value for consumers in inflationary times.

• In contrast, brand values in consumer categories like apparel (0%), food & beverages (-1%) and personal care (-5%) remained flat or declined, although brands like Uniqlo, Coca-Cola and Dove are all outperforming competitors.

• Alcohol (-11%) has been under pressure from reduced consumption, especially among younger generations who instead focused on health and wellness, including increased consumption of low/no alcohol beverages. The fragmentation in spirit flavours and craft beer is also diluting the market share of legacy brands.

• The luxury sector, one of the few sectors to grow through the pandemic years, has dropped 2% in 2025. This is in part because of softer demand in China, where scrutiny of displays of wealth and extravagance have shifted consumer preference towards lifestyle experiences instead of status symbols.

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Download the full report here.

About Kantar BrandZ

Kantar BrandZ is the global currency when assessing brand value, quantifying the contribution of brands to business’ financial performance. Kantar’s annual global and local brand valuation rankings combine rigorously analysed financial data, with extensive brand equity research. Since 1998, BrandZ has shared brand-building insights with business leaders based on interviews with 4.5 million consumers, for 22,000 brands in 54 markets.

Discover more about Kantar BrandZ here.

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