Most Valuable Brands 2011

According to the 2011 calculations from the brand valuation consulting firm, BrandFinance plc, the biggest global brands generate tens of billions of sales just on name alone. BrandFinance employs a somewhat wonky method in its annual assessment of the world’s 500 top companies. The firm attempts to determine “net present value of the estimated future cash flows” attributable to a specific brand.

The combined value of the world’s 100 most valuable brands has already fallen by 2.4 percent since January 2011, according BrandFinance plc.

1. Google

Brand Valuation September 2011: $48.2 billion
Brand Rating September 2011: AAA+
Country Headquarters: USA

Remaining in the top spot is internet giant Google, with a huge brand value score of 48,278 (the nearest, Apple, received a score of 39,301). The company looks determined to cast its web wider with the launch of a social networking arm, Google+. Even in its limited ‘trial’ phase, the site managed to reach 10 million users in just two weeks.

2. Apple

Brand Valuation September 2011: $39.3 billion
Brand Rating September 2011: AAA
Country Headquarters: USA

Apple’s rise from eight to second place comes just a week after the company’s talismanic chief executive Steve Jobs announced he would be stepping aside for health reasons. How the group will fare in his absence in day-to-day affairs remains to be seen, but there can be no doubt that his role in the making of products such as the iPhone and the Mac have helped push the brand to iconic status.

3. Microsoft

Brand Valuation September 2011: $39 billion
Brand Rating September 2011: AAA+
Country Headquarters: USA

Microsoft – which owns MSN – dropped one place in September’s rankings, taking it down to third. The company has attracted some headlines over the last year following the launch of Internet Explorer 9, a high profile business deal with Nokia and its surprise purchase of Skype.

4. IBM

Brand Valuation September 2011: $34.9 billion
Brand Rating September 2011: AA+
Country Headquarters: USA

It’s been a fairly steady year as far as the IBM brand is concerned. The technology giant has maintained fourth place on the list since February 2011, according to BrandFinance.

5. Wal-Mart

Brand Valuation September 2011: $34.9 billion
Brand Rating September 2011: AAA
Country Headquarters: USA

Slipping from third to fifth on the list is ASDA owner Wal-Mart, which has struggled to reverse a two-year sales slump in its key US market.

6. Vodafone

Brand Valuation September 2011: $30.7 billion
Brand Rating September 2011: AAA+
Country Headquarters: Britain

Vodafone is well aware of the importance of sponsorship, which is perhaps best illustrated by its backing of British Formula 1 team McLaren, for whom Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button race. Away from the racetrack, the telecommunications giant remains a highly valuable and powerful brand, putting it sixth on the list.

7. General Electric

Brand Valuation September 2011: $29 billion
Brand Rating September 2011: AA+
Country Headquarters: USA

General Electric – or GE as it’s more commonly known – employs 19,000 people here and is involved in local energy, finance and technology industries. It is also the seventh most valuable global company brand, according to the BrandFinance index.

8. Toyota

Brand Valuation September 2011: $28.8 billion
Brand Rating September 2011: AA+
Country Headquarters: Japan

After enduring a horrific 2010, the Toyota Brand is rebounding strongly this year, up from 14th in February to 8th on the list today. The vehicle manufacturer is the only Japanese firm to feature in the top 25.

9. AT&T

Brand Valuation September 2011: $28.35 billion
Brand Rating September 2011: AA+
Country Headquarters: USA

The American telecommunications giant has been trying to buy T-Mobile USA, but the American regulators have rejected the move, claiming it would reduce competition and lead to price increases for customers. Away from that battle, AT&T remains one of the world’s most valuable brands, according to BrandFinance.

10. HSBC

Brand Valuation September 2011: $27.1 billion
Brand Rating September 2011: AA+
Country Headquarters: Britain

The bank has been widely criticised for failing to deal with its backlog of complaints on payment protection insurance by the deadline set by the Financial Services Authority. The fact it was the only bank to do so merely made matters worse. Nonetheless, the ‘world’s local bank’ continues to prove a global brand powerhouse, slotting in tenth on the list. That’s up one place since the survey was last compiled in February 2011, but down two places on last year’s eighth.