Apple remained the world's most valuable brand this year, according to Interbrand's Best Global Brands Report for 2018. With its position at the #1 spot again, Apple has topped Interbrand's annual rankings for the sixth consecutive year.
Apple's brand value grew by about 15 percent and increased to $214.5 billion, up from $184.1 billion in 2017. Apple beat out Google ($155.5 billion), Amazon ($100.7 billion), Microsoft ($92.7 billion), and Coca-Cola ($66.3 billion), rounding out the top five spots. Apple and Google have remained the #1 and #2 spots for several years, and this year Amazon rose from #5 to #3 on the rankings.
“A decade after the global financial crisis, the brands that are growing fastest are those that intuitively understand their customers and make brave iconic moves that delight and deliver in new ways,” said Charles Trevail, Global Chief Executive Officer of Interbrand.
Because of this, Amazon led the Top Growing Brands category with 56 percent growth, followed by Netflix (45 percent), Gucci (30 percent), Salseforce.com (23 percent), and Louis Vuitton (23 percent). Facebook held the #1 spot as the Top Growing Brand for five years in a row, until this year, as it declined six percent and disappeared from this category.
On the main list of 100 most valuable brands, other companies include Samsung (#6), Facebook (#9), Disney (#14), Philips (#42), Netflix (#66), PayPal (#73), Spotify (#92), and Nintendo (#99).
To determine a brand's cumulative value, Interbrand considers the financial performance of branded products products and services, the role the brand plays in purchase decisions, the brand's competitive strength, its ability to create loyalty, and sustainability for demand and profit into the future.