Google is the most valuable brand in the world, according to the “Most Valuable Global Brands 2026” report prepared by Kantar BrandZ. The technology company recovers the position it lost in 2018 to Amazon and breaks with Apple’s four years of leadership, thanks to its resounding commitment to artificial intelligence. However, ChatGPT, which entered the list in last year’s edition of the ranking, stands out as the brand that is growing the most.
The consulting firm’s global analysis, now in its 21st edition, reflects an increase of 22% compared to the previous year in the total brand value of the 100 firms that make up the list. Although growth slows down – 7% compared to the 2025 ranking – the overall value reaches a record figure of 13.1 trillion dollars, more than two trillion more than the previous edition.
The acceleration of artificial intelligence is boosting brand value. This is reflected in the fact that the big four technology companies – Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon – already exceed one trillion dollars in turnover, when last year only Apple did so. All of this has caused, as Kantar points out, that the entry threshold to the ranking has reached its highest level.
The most valuable brands in the world
Google once again tops the list of the most valuable brands for the first time in eight years, thanks to a 57% growth in its brand value, which now stands at $1,484,895 million. The promotion, according to the consulting firm, is linked to the integration of Gemini into the company’s products and continued investment in data centers.
Apple is in second position, with a slight increase of 6%, and a valuation of 1,380,294 million dollars; while Microsoft closes the podium with a valuation of 1,111,788 million, driven by an increase of 26%.
Amazon is in fourth place, with an increase of 18% and a valuation of 1,022,820 million.
The technological domain
However, the largest increase recorded in the top 10 most valuable brands once again corresponds to Nvidia, with 60%, which allows it to obtain a valuation of 814,906 million dollars, repeating in fifth position on the list.
The rest of the ranking is made up of Facebook, Instagram, Tencent, Oracle and McDonald’s, which stands out as the only brand not linked to technology among the top ten positions.
Broadening the focus to the entire list, it is worth noting that ChatGPT records the largest annual increase in brand value, with a rise of 285%. This is the second-largest increase in the report’s history, trailing only BlackBerry’s 390% increase in 2008.
In the area of artificial intelligence pure players, ChatGPT already competes with Claude, one of the notable additions to the list this year. Anthropic’s brand debuts in the global Top 100 at number 27, with a brand value of $96.577 billion.
The list, as is usual in recent years, is dominated by technology brands, mainly American and Asian. However, the European sector is present in the report through SAP (+6%), Siemens (+68%) and Booking.com (+33%). And all three have higher average growth than tech brands in North America (26%) and Asia (20%).
However, the consulting firm highlights the growing presence of Asian brands in the ranking, which already amounts to 23 firms. Among those that have increased their value the most are financial entities, such as Agricultural Bank of China (+54%), Agricultural Bank of China (+54%) and Ping An (+41%); and technological, such as Alibaba (+51%), Xiaomi (+48%) and Tencent (+45%)
On the other hand, in the field of fashion, Kantar highlights the performance of Zara, which experiences an increase of 18% and is positioned as the most valuable fashion brand in the world, with a value that exceeds 44 billion dollars. The Spanish firm manages to overcome Nike’s traditional leadership.
For its part, in the field of luxury, Hermés leads as the most valuable brand in the world, thanks to a growth of 3%. The performance is also due to the decline experienced by Louis Vuitton and Chanel.
