- Empire State forever a juggernaut
- FanDuel is fastest growing brand from the US, up 259% to US$3.4 billion
- Bite taken out of Apple as it falls to be second most valuable American brand
- Alphabet owns USA’s strongest and second-strongest brands in Google and YouTube
- Amazon has the highest Sustainability Perceptions Value of any US brand at US$19.9 billion, followed by Tesla
Amazon Reclaims Title As USA’s Most Valuable Brand
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has retaken top spot as the USA’s most valuable brand despite its brand value falling 15% this year from US$350.3 billion to US$299.3 billion. Amazon was previously the world’s most valuable brand from 2018 to 2020.
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Every year, leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance puts 5,000 of the biggest brands to the test, and publishes over 100 reports, ranking brands across all sectors and countries. The United States’ most valuable and strongest brands are included in the annual Brand Finance US 50 2023 ranking.
Amazon’s brand has fallen by over US$50 billion this year, substantially in connection with its fall in brand strength, with its brand rating falling from AAA+ to AAA as consumers evaluate it more harshly in the post-pandemic world. Despite its fall in value this year, Amazon’s brand is still up 36% in value since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
David Haigh, Chairman & CEO, Brand Finance committed:
“Our research has found that Amazon’s brand value comes from its strong position in both B2C and B2B sectors of the economy, as it is a key global market leader in the massive markets of both online retail and online cloud computing services.
It is continuing to expand into new verticals such as bricks and mortar retailing, acquisition of film studios, and payment processing. Further, with Amazon’s full online retail services available in just 18 nations, there remains further scope to expand its geographic reach.”
Empire State forever a juggernaut
As the home of the American financial system, New York’s brands echo brand value changes in many other sectors of the US economy. This year is no different, with a mixed bag result for the states 10 most valuable brands.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), (brand value down 3% to US$67.4bn) New York state’s most valuable brand saw a slight decline in its brand value following a fees hike over the summer, causing more than 100,000 customers to drop their service and sending the stock price to a 10 year low.
As telecommunications infrastructure is present across the country and service reliability is quasi-guaranteed, Verizon must find new ways to offer its customers a CX like no other and find wins to increase stock price and therefore enterprise value.
In stark contrast, American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) (brand value up 25% to US$34.1bn) has seen its brand value grow by a quarter over the past year, lending its growth in that metric to important increases in revenues and reaching a record number of card holders attributable to a number of new offerings and a push to increase terminal compatibility.
FanDuel is fastest growing brand from the US, up 259% to US$3.4 billion
New entrant FanDuel is the fastest growing brand in the ranking, more than tripling in brand value to US$3.4 billion. This rapid growth is primarily due to the gambling brand’s revenue forecast increasing and a Brand Strength Index score increase to 74 out of 100, with a corresponding AA rating.
FanDuel is leading the expansion of the US online gambling market, which has flourished since 2018 when restrictive US gambling restrictions were repealed in some States.
Bite taken out of Apple as it falls to be second most valuable American brand
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) has fallen to be the United States’ second most valuable brand. Its brand value is down 16% from US$355.1 billion to US$297.5 billion, to move from slightly above Amazon’s brand value to now be slightly below Amazon’s brand value.
Laurence Newell, Managing Director Brand Finance, North America, commented:
“Despite challenges faced by Apple this year, the brand continues to innovate, invest in long-term growth plans. Apple’s high level of customer loyalty and continued strong customer response to new products saw the installed base of active Apple devices hit an all-time high in 2022.”
Alphabet owns USA’s strongest and second-strongest brands in Google and YouTube
In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance.
Compliant with ISO 20671, Brand Finance’s assessment of stakeholder equity incorporates original market research data from over 100,000 respondents in 38 countries and across 31 sectors.
In brand strength, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), the parent company of both Google (brand value up 7% to US$281.4 billion) and YouTube (brand value up 24% to US$29.7 billion) achieved a rare one-two ranking as the United States’ two strongest brands.
Both brands have now overtaken last year’s strongest brand, Coca-Cola, which is now the US’ sixth strongest brand, after a 4-point Brand Strength Index (BSI) score reduction.
Amazon has the highest Sustainability Perceptions Value of any US brand at US$19.9 billion, followed by Tesla
As part of its analysis, Brand Finance assesses the role that specific brand attributes play in driving overall brand value. One such attribute, growing rapidly in its significance, is sustainability.
Brand Finance assesses how sustainable specific brands are perceived to be, represented by a ‘Sustainability Perceptions Score’. The value that is linked to sustainability perceptions, the ‘Sustainability Perceptions Value’, is then calculated for each brand.
Amazon has the highest sustainability perceptions value of any US brand at US$19.9 billion. Like many of the world’s top brands, Amazon has a huge scope for impact due to the sheer scale of its operations.
It is important to note that Amazon’s position at the top of the table is not an assessment of its overall sustainability performance. Instead, it highlights the value that Amazon has tied up in the sustainability perception of stakeholders.
View the full Brand Finance US 500 2023 report here.
About Brand Finance
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance for more than 25 years, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organizations of all kinds make strategic decisions.
