Brand value: Nestlé and Holcim lead the world

With a brand value of 20.3 billion US dollars, the Swiss food company Nestlé remains the undisputed leader of the world's most valuable food brands and was able to increase its brand value by 12 percent compared to the previous year. Nestlé also takes first place in the Swiss ranking, well ahead of the banks UBS and Credit Suisse, and is ranked 40th worldwide. However, the Nestlé Pure Life and Kit Kat product brands are no longer among the 500 most valuable brands in the world this year.

A Swiss company is also at the top of the list of building materials manufacturers. Cement producer Holcim also maintains its leading position: with a brand value of almost four billion euros, Holcim is the most valuable brand in the building materials sector worldwide.

There is a surprise in the banking sector. UBS increased its brand value by 46% to USD 10.6 billion, overtaking Credit Suisse for the first time in the ranking of Switzerland's most valuable brands. In a global comparison of the 500 most valuable product and corporate brands, UBS climbed over 30 places.

Global results: Technology brands at the top

A look at the top places in the overall global ranking offers few surprises. As in the previous year, Apple is the most valuable brand in the world with a brand value of 104.7 billion US dollars. However, its toughest competitor Samsung is hot on Apple's heels. The Koreans were able to increase their brand value by 20 billion US dollars compared to the previous year to 78.8 billion US dollars. Google and Microsoft follow in third and fourth place. The top 10 is firmly in the hands of technology companies. With Walmart in 9th place, only one non-technology brand makes it into the list of the 10 most valuable brands in the world. After the botched IPO in 2013 and a slump in brand value, Facebook was able to make up ground and increase its brand value by 76% to 9.8 billion US dollars. The experts at Brand Finance attribute this leap to a return of investor confidence thanks to increased sales in mobile advertising.

Explanations of the methodology

Brands are one of the most important assets that companies possess. They support sales and help to shape relationships with customers and business partners. But without solid financial data, the importance of brands can easily be overlooked or misunderstood. The "Brand Finance Global 500" ranking gives analysts, investors, journalists and supervisory boards greater clarity by providing a ranking of the world's most valuable brands according to brand value.

Brand Finance calculates brand values based on the question of what royalties a company would have to pay if it did not own the brand. This method is also known as the royalty relief method. Brand Finance was also one of the first companies in the world to receive accreditation for ISO 10668-compliant brand valuations. The global ISO 10668 standard provides a consistent and reliable worldwide standard to ensure transparency and objectivity in brand valuation. Valuers must include all financial, action-based and legal information in the brand valuation.

In addition to the brand value, each of the 500 brands is assigned a brand rating: based on the model of credit ratings, this value represents a benchmark of the strengths, risks and potential of a brand in comparison to the brands of its competitors. The "Brand Finance Global 500" study is carried out annually. Details of the brand rating methodology can be found on the website Brandirectory.com can be called up. The results from previous years are also online viewable.