Apple once again topped the Kantar BrandZ list of the 100 most valuable global brands, where RBC is once again the leader among Canadian brands.

Kantar comes to its annual rankings with a methodology that involves looking at a company’s financial value that can be attributed specifically to its brand, with a focus on the potential for future earnings. Its data is bolstered through in-market sales information and surveys with millions of global consumers on different brand equity factors.

Apple was valued at $880 billion USD, ahead of fellow tech giants Google, Microsoft and Amazon. McDonald’s was in fifth, followed by Visa, Tencent, Louis Vuitton, Mastercard and Coca-Cola rounding out the top ten.

Canadian banks once again claimed two slots on the top 100, with RBC at 51 (up six spots from last year) and valued at $33 billion, while TD Bank is at 67 (up five spots) and valued at nearly $26 billion. However, both of the banks shed brand value year over year, with RBC down 15% and TD down 13%.

The banks were not alone. Kantar says the value of the top 100 brands went down by 20% year-over-year, due to macroeconomic conditions most companies are currently facing. However, the company also describes the valuations as normalizing and falling back towards historical baselines of growth after a record-setting year in 2022. The $5.1 trillion USD total value of the top 100 also outperforms their pre-pandemic growth trajectory by roughly $1.8 trillion USD.

Though no category grew its value, there were wide divergences in terms of brand value fluctuation by category. Food and beverages, luxury and fast food slumped by low single digits, while consumer tech and financial services were relatively flat. Others, however, took it on the chin: media and entertainment brands lost the most ground compared with 2022 levels, down 32%, followed by retail, which slumped 27%. Apparel was down 21%, while the alcohol category declined 13% over the past year, matched by an identical decline in automotive.

Though outside the top 100, Canadian brand Lululemon was fourth among apparel brands ($16.5 billion USD). Kantar also called out Freshii as a “brand with momentum” in fast food, citing it as one that is likely to create value in the future.

When it comes to share of the top 100, business, tech and services platforms were the dominant force, at 18%, followed by media and entertainment at 16% and consumer tech at 15%.

Featured image by Henrickson