Global 500 2023 Report Published: Amazon is world’s most valuable brand, despite losing US$51 billion in value. Apple is second best.

Amazon has retaken top spot as the world’s most valuable brand despite its brand value falling 15% this year from US$350.3 billion to US$299.3 billion, according to a new report from leading brand valuation consultancy, Brand Finance.

Amazon’s brand has fallen by over US$50 billion this year, substantially in connection with its fall in brand strength, with its rating falling from AAA+ to AAA as consumers evaluate it more harshly in the post-pandemic world. Brand Finance’s research has found that customer perception of customer service at Amazon has fallen – at the same time as delivery times have lengthened – and in concert with this, consumers have become less likely to recommend Amazon to others. Concurrent with the conclusion of pandemic restrictions, people are returning to shopping in-person, slightly mitigating the need for online retail.

Apple (brand value down 16% to US$297.5 billion) has fallen to be the world’s second most valuable brand with its brand value falling from US$355.1 billion. This year’s fall in brand value relates to a fall in forecast revenue as a disrupted goods supply chain and a constrained labour market are expected to limit supply of its marquee hardware products.

There was a total of 48 tech brands that featured in the ranking, two down from the 50 in 2022, after Snapchat and Twitter dropped out. Other tech-focused brands to lose value include Samsung Group (brand value down 7% to US$99.7 billion), Alibaba.com (brand value down 56% to US$10.0 billion), Facebook (brand value down 42% to US$59.0 billion) and WeChat (brand value down 19% to US$50.2 billion).

On the positive side, Instagram (brand value up 42% to US$47.4 billion) and LinkedIn (brand value up 49% to US$15.5 billion) have grown in the tech sector, with the brand value of each growing due to well-executed strategy to commercialise their services.

Some of the other big winners in brand value include electric car manufacturers Tesla (brand value up 44% to US$66.2 billion) and BYD (brand value up 57% to US$10.1 billion) as demand grows for electric cars as part of a broader transition to a low carbon economy.