Why Apple’s global brand value declined for the first time in 25 years—inside the Interbrand ranking

Apple lost global brand value for the first time in 25 years in Interbrand’s annual Best Global Brands ranking. Although it held its position as the most valuable brand for the 12th consecutive year, its value dropped 3% to just below $500 billion, compared to a 4% increase the previous year. The Omnicom consultancy calculated brand value based on a company’s financial performance between April 2023 and March 2024, along with its five-year forecast. It then evaluated how much of that performance can be attributed to the brand and applied a proprietary scoring methodology that assesses the risk that a brand's revenue stream faces. Interbrand's Top 10 Most Valuable Brands Rank Brand Brand Value USD (billion) 2024 2023 2024 2023 % Change 1 1 Apple 488.9 502.7 -3% 2 2 Microsoft 352.5 316.7 11% 3 3 Amazon 298.1 276.9 8% 4 4 Google 291.3 260.3 12% 5 5 Samsung 100.6 91.4 10% 6 6 Toyota 72.8 64.5 13% 7 8 Coca-Cola 61.2 58 5% 8 7 Mercedes-Benz 58.9 61.4 -4% 9 11 McDonald's 53 51 4% 10 10 BMW 52 51.2 2% Apple’s loss in value stems from its slow AI strategy rollout, said Greg Silverman, global director of brand economics at Interbrand. The tech giant didn’t detail its generative AI plans until it presented Apple Intelligence in June, long after competitors such as Microsoft and Google announced their models. Also read: Bella Ramsey stars in first ads for Apple Intelligence Sales of the iPhone fell 10% year over year during Apple’s second quarter ending in March, the last period covered by the Interbrand report. Apple’s second-quarter revenue declined 4% to $90.75 billion. Although it did not factor into Interbrand’s 2024 report, Apple faced criticism for its “Crush” ad in May. The spot, which was supposed to run on TV before it was scrapped, depicted an industrial crusher destroying various creative tools to produce its new iPad Pro. The ad was largely lambasted for being tone-deaf to concerns about technology replacing human creativity. See last year’s ranking here Despite the stumble, Silverman anticipates Apple will return to positive growth in Interbrand’s 2025 report due to a rise in share value following the announcement of Apple Intelligence. In its third quarter ending in June, Apple’s revenue increased 5% to $85.78 billion. It will report fourth-quarter earnings on Oct. 31. Top 15 Fastest Risers Brand Brand Value Rank 2024 2023 % Change 2024 2023 Ferrari 13.1 10.8 21% 62 70 YouTube 30.1 26 16% 24 25 Hermès 34.7 30.2 15% 22 23 Kia 8.1 7.1 15% 86 88 Instagram 45.1 39.3 15% 15 16 Prada 8.3 7.3 14% 83 86 Sephora 7.2 6.3 13% 90 97 Visa 21.1 18.6 13% 32 37 Hyundai 23 20.4 13% 30 32 Allianz 23.5 20.9 13% 29 31 Toyota 72.8 64.5 13% 6 6 Adobe 39.4 35 12% 17 17 Google 291.3 260.3 12% 4 4 Spotify 12.4 11.1 12% 65 69 GE 17.1 15.3 12% 47 49 Overall, Interbrand’s top 10 most valuable brands remain largely unchanged. Nike slid to 14th, though, following a 5% decline to $45.4 billion in brand value. Last year, it was 9th with a 7% increase to almost $54 billion in brand value. The iconic sportswear brand has struggled to innovate and capture Gen Z, leading to a sales slump. It has also been criticized for leaning too heavily into direct-to-consumer sales and performance marketing (it has since reversed course on that strategy). Fallers Brand Brand Value Rank 2024 2023 % Change 2024 2023 Intel 19.7 28.3 -30% 37 24 Disney 42.8 48.3 -11% 16 13 Gucci 17.9 20 -10% 41 34 3M 8.9 9.8 -10% 79 75 Nescafé 13.5 14.8 -9% 61 52 NextGen Marketing Summit Join us for a crash course on Gen Z, DTC marketing and the creator economy Register today Last month, Nike announced that CEO John Donahoe would be replaced by Elliott Hill, effective Oct. 14. On Oct. 1, it withdrew its full-year guidance as it reported first-quarter revenue had declined 10% to $11.6 billion. Also read: Behind Nike’s sales troubles Automotive brands took 14 of the top 100 spots, more than any other sector in Interbrand’s rankings. Despite many of these brands seeing double-digit growth, Tesla had one of the largest brand value declines, losing 9% and falling to $45.5 billion. It was previously the fastest-growing brand alongside Microsoft and Chanel in 2022 and held that spot on its own in 2021. Last year, its growth rate was 4%. Silverman attributes that loss to a saturated electric vehicle market that has pushed Tesla to focus on other revenue streams such as robotaxis. Also read: Tesla sales plummet in Silicon Valley The total value of all brands in this year’s report increased by 4.3% to $3.4 trillion. Last year, it grew by 5.7%, which was a marked decline from the prior year’s double-digit growth. Interbrand estimates that its top 100 brands may have collectively missed out on $3.5 trillion in value since 2000 due to a focus on short-term performance marketing at the expense of long-term brand-building. “Brand strength has declined from where it started in 2000,” Silverman said. “Brands that go into more places in unexpected ways, like Ferrari in esports, continue to grow almost two to three times faster than other brands on the table.” Ferrari unseated Airbnb as the fastest-growing brand of 2024, with a 21% increase in brand value from last year. Ferrari also had solid growth at 16% last year. The next four fastest-growing brands were YouTube, Hermès, Kia and Instagram. The value for all luxury brands analyzed by Interbrand grew by 7% this year, compared to 6.5% last year, largely driven by how these brands have found creative ways to bring exclusive products to wide swaths of consumers. Nvidia, which makes computer chips that allow AI models to perform, entered Interbrand’s rankings for the first time at No. 36 with $20 billion in brand value, largely driven by the earned media it’s attracted due to its financial success. “Last year, their global brand awareness was too low although they had the financials to get on the table,” Silverman said. “They got so much press their global awareness almost quintupled.” Also read: Nvidia’s business is confusing, but its success is not

Why Apple’s global brand value declined for the first time in 25 years—inside the Interbrand ranking

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