By Chantal Marx
The BrandZ Global Top 100 report was released at the end of June, and it showed that Google reclaimed the honour of being the most valuable brand in the world. Generally, brand values climbed, with the Top 100 adding 22% in brand value to surpass $13 trillion in total in 2025/2026.
Google's brand value, including YouTube, also owned by parent Alphabet, appreciated by a massive 60% - ahead of its closest brand giants Apple (+6%) and Microsoft (+24%). Fourth-placed Amazon saw its brand value advance 18% over the year. The top five was again rounded off by Nvidia (+60%) - now becoming a mainstay in the top five rankings and close to 25% more valuable as a brand than Meta giants Facebook and Instagram combined.
Among the Top 100 brands that were also analysed last year, the rapid adoption of AI technologies saw ChatGTP grow its brand value the fastest over the year. Its brand value increased almost four-fold to $168 billion, placing it 15th overall. Rival large language model, Claude, entered the Top 100 in 27th position with a brand value of $97 billion. Other brands growing quickly included other AI-adjacent players like Alphabet's Google (+57%) and YouTube (+89%), Nvidia (+60%) and fellow chipmaker AMD (+61%), cloud technology company VMWare (+79%), chip producers Intel (+85) and Samsung (+67%), and data centre infrastructure provider Siemens (+68%).
In terms of business line, Media & Entertainment (+40%) showed the strongest growth, followed by Business Technology (+25%). Conversely, Luxury (-8%) remained under pressure, along with Alcohol (-7%) and Apparel (-5%). Automotive (+14%) was a particularly interesting category where electric vehicle (EV) makers like BYD (+41%) and Tesla (+30%) continued to see strength in brand appreciation, but some of the incumbents like Toyota (+8%) seem to be turning around momentum lost over the last few years. New entrants and re-entrants to the Top 100 brands included IQOS, China Construction Bank, China Life, SBS, TD and Charles Schwab. Anthropic's Claude was this year's most valuable newcomer.
We have been running a concentrated 20-stock mock portfolio for the last 13 years based on this survey. Brand remains a key consideration in valuing the investment and financial potential of companies. According to David Muir of WPP, in 1977 intangible asset values (brand, trademarks, patents, etc.) were roughly comparable to the tangible values of companies. Twenty years later, intangible values stood at more than three times that of tangible values and 38 years on, the value difference is even more pronounced. The reason for this is that if a company delivers on its brand promise, it can experience a "herding effect" in sales growth. People are more likely to purchase or use a product if others are doing so to. Theoretically, this sales growth should then filter down to earnings and translate into higher shareholder returns.
Portfolio modelling methodology
We model (by way of an exercise) a portfolio consisting of the top 20 brands weighted according to brand value as measured by BrandZ™. The portfolio is reweighted and realigned annually according to brand value approximately a month after the rankings are released.
The Brand Portfolio added 17.3% between 31 July last year and 30 July 2026, slightly underperforming the MSCI World Index and the S&P 500. The portfolio has slightly outperformed the MSCI World Index and S&P500 index across a five-year period and over a ten-year investment horizon. Over the past year, the MSCI World added 20.9% and the S&P 500 is 19.5% higher. Over ten years, the Brands Portfolio delivered an annualised return of 17.5% (MSCI World: +15.3% and S&P 500: +17%).
Changes to the portfolio for the coming year
For the 2026 portfolio, we have Accenture and Lousi Vuitton exiting the top 20 and Alibaba and Tesla entering the portfolio. Per our methodology, Alphabet will carry the largest weight in the portfolio this year followed by Apple and Microsoft.
Stable returns profile but not without risk
The Brands Portfolio appears to offer relatively steady returns over time - for the most part due to the combination of new, exciting brands and mature, iconic brands. The former provides impetus for stock price appreciation, while the latter is expected to offer stability and downside protection to a certain extent. The portfolio is therefore expected to underperform during periods of rapid stock market appreciation and outperform during periods of contraction or uncertainty.
As we have always highlighted in the past, this strategy does not come without its fair share of risks. Concentration risk is a key concern - the portfolio is heavily exposed to North America and Industrial counters, particularly those with a technology focus. Perhaps most important to note is that brands can fall out of favour quickly - consider the demise of BlackBerry after the launch of the iPhone as one example, or more recently how the rise of Netflix disrupted cable companies like HBO and ABC. With AI applications taking the world by storm, the risk of disruption may be as high as it has ever been.
Longer term, the overall return is higher than our benchmarks, and the strategy has proved superior on a risk-adjusted basis.
Please note that investors can also gain exposure to below shares through FNB's JSE listed ETN's:
Oracle, Tencent, Mastercard, IBM, Walmart, Hermes, Telekom/T-Mobile, Accenture, Costco, and Alibaba are available via the FNB Global Trading Platform.
