Brand Finance 2024: Apple leads, Microsoft’s value surges to $340bn on back of AI innovations
This makes Microsoft the world’s second-fastest-growing tech brand and the world’s second-most valuable brand. The brand is a trailblazer in AI innovations, particularly through its collaboration with OpenAI, a significant aspect of the brand’s AI innovation strategy.
Apple also has the highest Sustainability Perceptions Value of $33.3bn meanwhile Microsoft holds the highest positive gap value of $3.2bn.
This is according to a new report Brand Finance Technology 100 2024 by Brand Finance.
Fastest-growing technology
NVIDIA, a key supplier of chips in the AI space, became the fastest-growing technology brand this year. Its brand value rose by 163% to $44.5bn.
The brand climbed 19 ranks to occupy the 10th spot among the most valuable tech brands ranked globally.
Brand Finance’s brand tracking data also reveals that the brand is perceived as highly innovative whilst familiarity, consideration, and recommendation levels increased in 2024 supporting the Brand Strength Index (BSI) score to rise above 80 with a brand strength rating of AAA-.
“Nvidia's relentless innovation in AI hardware has propelled its brand value to new heights, while Microsoft's expansive AI ecosystem has reinforced its position as a cornerstone of modern business technology.
“Together, these brands exemplify the profound impact that cutting-edge AI capabilities can have on elevating the brand value and shaping the future of the global industry,” comments Richard Haigh, managing director of Brand Finance.
Microsoft: Brand value doubled
As the second fastest-growing tech brand, Microsoft’s brand value has almost doubled from $191.6bn in 2023.
Apple: Most valuable tech brand
Apple saw a staggering brand value rise of 74% to $516.6bn, supported by its ability to maintain a premium pricing strategy and strong brand equity.
Apple maintains a strong BSI score of 86.5 out of 100 and an associated brand strength rating of AAA, an improvement from last year’s AAA- rating.
Microsoft ranks second while Google (brand value up 19% to $333.4bn) ranks third as the most valuable tech brand.
Weixin/WeChat: Strongest tech brand
Weixin/WeChat (brand value down 17% to 41.8bn) clinches the title of being the strongest tech brand ranked this year, earning a BSI score of 94.3 of 100 and a prestigious AAA+ brand strength rating.
Coming in second is YouTube (brand value up 7% to $31.7bn), with a BSI score of 92.7 of 100 and maintaining its AAA+ rating from the past year.
Despite a slight drop in its BSI score of 92.5 of 100 this year (93.2 out of 100 in 2023), Google comes in third with a AAA+ rating.
Brand Finance also utilises its Global Brand Equity Monitor (GBEM) research to compile a Sustainability Perceptions Index.
The study determines the role of sustainability in driving brand consideration across sectors and offers insight into which brands global consumers believe to be most committed to sustainability.
For individual brands, the Index displays the proportion of brand value attributable to sustainability perceptions.
This Sustainability Perceptions Value is the financial value contingent on a brand’s reputation for acting sustainably.
From here, Brand Finance’s perceptual research is analysed alongside CSRHub’s environmental, social, and governance performance data to determine a brand’s ‘gap value’.
This is the value at risk or to be gained, based on the difference between sustainability perceptions and actual performance.
Methodology
Every year brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance puts 6,000 of the biggest brands to the test and publishes over 100 reports, ranking brands across all sectors and countries.
The 100 most valuable and strongest technology brands are included in the Brand Finance Technology 100 2024 report.
Brand value is understood as the net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors.
