Microsoft’s brand is now worth more than Google – Here is why
Microsoft has surpassed Google to become the world’s third-most valuable brand.
This is according to the latest Top 100 Most Valuable Brands report from global brand equity platform BrandZ.
BrandZ calculates the financial value of a brand based on annual reports, information from sources like Kantar Retail, and future earnings prospects derived from Bloomberg data.
It then combines this figure with a brand contribution value determined through worldwide on-going, in-depth quantitative consumer research, both online and face-to-face, to build up a global picture of brands on a category-by-category and market-by-market basis.
Its research covers 3.2 million consumers and more than 100,000 different brands in over 50 markets.
According to its annual report on the top 100 global brands, Microsoft’s brand value surged by 30% from 2019, growing to $326 billion.
The company’s apparent focus on enterprise solutions has endured some criticism from home consumers but appears to be paying off overall.
“Corporate cultural change, open systems, and the growth of its cloud business helped generate a 30% increase in value for Microsoft that pushed the brand up one slot in the ranking to no.3,” the report noted.
Microsoft has recently experienced a surge in uptake of its productivity suite Teams, which offers a range of tools that facilitate the increase in remote working, a trend which was driven by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Google, on the other side, was impacted negatively by the pandemic, with a decline in ad revenue as businesses cut down on marketing spend.
However, it still managed to increase its brand value slightly by 5% to $323 billion to claim fourth place.
The rest of the top 10
Technology companies account for half of the top 10 most valuable global brands in the report.
Apple was the top-placed tech company, placing second overall with a brand value of $352 billion.
The other two technology companies in the top 10 were Tencent – which increased its value by 15% to $150 billion to place 7th – and Facebook, which dropped 7% to place 8th, likely due to a similar decrease in ad revenue that was experienced by Google.
Retail brand Amazon retained its lead at the top of the list with a brand value of just under $416 billion, a 32% increase from 2019.
“Although consumer reliance on home delivery during the pandemic stretched Amazon’s logistics capabilities, it also affirmed Amazon’s strength,” the report said.
The remaining spots are taken up by payment providers Visa (5th) and Mastercard (10th), Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba (6th), and fast-food king McDonald’s (9th).
The images below show the rankings of the world’s top 100 most valuable brands according to BrandZ’s report. Click on the images to enlarge them.
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