Apple’s five-year reign as the world’s most valuable brand has finally come to an end. The iPhone maker has been toppled by none other than arch rival Google, according to Brand Finance’s Global 500 2017 report.
The survey posted Google brand value 24% higher than where it stood last year — $109.4 billion, to be specific. Compared to that, Apple’s brand value took a downfall by 27% to 107.1 billion.
“Google remains largely unchallenged in its core search business, which is the mainstay of its advertising income,” reads the report.
The report further highlighted the fact that Google benefitted immensely from its maps services while its other major products including Android, YouTube, and Chrome retained their individual brand values. However, the search giant has also come under a fair bit of scrutiny because of the gradually increasing fear among many users over privacy (or the lack of thereof). The report also mentions the risk of the company resorting to monopolistic behavior, adding that any such mono-branded approach may end up hurting the company in the long run.
Worth noting, Google had introduced several major changes including a corporate restructuring as it became a division of new parent Alphabet. The move enabled the company to divert excessive regulatory attention.
As for Apple, the company has “failed to maintain its technological advantage and repeatedly disillusioned its advocates with tweaks when material changes were expected,” the report pointed out. This despite the fact that the company posted record revenue of $78.4 billion in the holiday quarter.
Other top brands include Amazon at third ($106.4 billion), telecom giant AT&T at fourth ($87 billion), and Microsoft at fifth ($76.3 billion). The next four spots were secured by Samsung, telecom firm Verizon, US-based retail chain Walmart, and Facebook.
[Via]