For five years, Apple has maintained dominance and kept the crown for being the world's most valuable brand. In the New Year, everything changes.
A new king has arrived and it takes pride in becoming the world's most valuable brand for the first time since 2011. It's none other than Google, the largest internet search titan, at a valuation of $109.4 billion, Brand Finance's Global 500 2017 report [PDF] revealed.
Apple, on the other hand, slipped from the top position after its brand value fell 27 percent to $107.1 billion since the beginning of last year. The reason behind this appears to be the Cupertino-based tech giant's sloppy product line. The company was at the forefront of innovation once, but has lost its touch as there is no unique product in offing.
Apple's slow pace against its competitors' continued growth has highlighted the lack of innovation on Apple's end, the report says. But that hasn't affected the company's profits as the robust sales of the latest iPhone 7 series contributed $17.9 billion in quarterly earnings during the period ending December 31.
Compared to last year, Apple lost 2.7 percent from its net income of $18.4 billion, which signals a downward trend. Will Apple be able to turn the tables around this year with its much-awaited iPhone 8? It's a whole different story and we can't wait to find out.
While Apple sits on the number two spot, Google's lucrative business has pushed the brand to numero uno. Google's parent company Alphabet reported net income of $5.33 billion in Q4, largely steered by mobile search, video ads and the company's foray into new businesses like cloud computing. The company's revenue skyrocketed 22 percent to $26 billion during the quarter.
Following Google and Apple's lead are Amazon, AT&T and Microsoft in the third, fourth and fifth positions respectively. Check out the top ten world's most valuable brands and their net worth below:
Google: $109.4 billion
Apple: $107.1 billion
Amazon.com: $106.3 billion
AT&T: $87 billion
Microsoft: $76.2 billion
Samsung: $66.2 billion
Verizon: $65.8 billion
Walmart: $62.4 billion
Facebook: $61.9 billion
ICBC: $47.8 billion
