Best Global Brands: the most valuable brands in 2024

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2024/12-2025/01

Interbrand uses a methodology that is based on three pillars to compile the rankings: financial forecasting, brand impact and brand strength.

Brand equity and profitability

When Interbrand first published its Best Global Brands list in 2000, less than 7% of the world’s population had a regular internet connection and Nokia (5th place) was the most valuable mobile phone manufacturer. Meanwhile, the world has taken a big turn: the combined value of the 100 most valuable brands has got 3.4 times bigger since Interbrand’s first ranking, growing from USD 988bn to USD 3.4tn. In 2024 Apple tops the list with a brand equity of nearly USD 489bn, followed by Microsoft, Amazon and Google – all with a brand equity above USD 290bn; the biggest FMCG brand is Coca-Cola (7th place). Brand equity doesn’t always mean profitability. While Apple is the second most profitable company in the world, other strong brands such as Google and Amazon rank lower in terms of net income. Coca-Cola is ranked 7th, but it isn’t among the world’s most profitable companies. Probably the reason for this is their franchise-based distribution structure, in which manufacturing is carried out by separate companies.

Brand is everything, but not enough in itself

While the fundamentals of brand building have remained the same, the way it works has changed. Anyone who owns a smartphone can build a brand, so consumers have choices like never before. Innovation is happening at breakneck speed and thanks to AI technology, feedback cycles have become faster and faster – they are basically instant now. Today product attributes, price or proximity are no longer enough to stand out from the crowd, as competitors can easily and quickly offer similar products at good prices. In this context, the brand becomes the most important differentiator for a company, as it is the only asset that can’t be easily and legally copied. Thus brand building has become essential in order to maintain long-term loyalty and a good market position. According to Interbrand’s 2024 Best Global Brands report, the fastest growing brands of the past year include Ferrari, YouTube, Hermès, Instagram and Kia.

“What we do” vs. “what we can offer”

The most successful global brands, such as Apple, Ferrari and Disney, are moving beyond traditional industry boundaries and realising growth across multiple product categories, by focusing on more complex consumer needs rather than strictly on a specific category. These brands are taking a “what we can offer” approach instead of the “what we do” strategy, setting their foot in more sectors and opening up new opportunities for growth. //