Google Unseats Apple As The World’s Most Valuable Brand

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Apple is no more the most valuable brand in the world, as Google now holds this title. For the first time since 2011, the search giant has taken the top spot. Others on the list are Amazon, AT&T, Microsoft, Samsung and Facebook.

Why Apple lost

The value of Apple’s brand has dropped 27% to $107 billion since the start of last year, according to Brand Finance’s Global 500 2017 report. Google’s brand, on the other hand, is worth $109 billion, making it the most desirable company in the world.

Google is the largest search engine and thus has secured advertising revenue which increased 20% last year. The surge in popularity occurred even after marketers began paying less for page views generated by those searching online, notes USA Today.

According to the study, Google’s brand strength score increased by two points, indicating underlying brand equity. The Brand Finance report stated that the better the brand equity for a tech business, the possibility of it to retain customers increases, or can “even command a price premium that its products and services might not be worth.”

The Cupertino-based company, on the other hand, is lagging and failing to amuse tech buffs. A company that is built on a strong foundation of innovation has not released or even hinted at any unique product coming anytime soon. And the report stated that Apple’s list of competitors is increasing.

Why Google excelled

Google, however, does not face any threat in its core search business, which is the main contributor to its advertising income. According to Brand Finance, even though Google has largely benefited from the revenue increase (parent company Alphabet recently reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue), its raw brand strength is the major contributor pushing it to the number one spot.

However, Apple fans had their hopes raised after the company showed last week that the iPhone has the potential to be a profit machine, notes USA Today. The iPhone maker reported earnings of $17.9 billion, or $3.36 a share, in the first fiscal quarter on the back of robust sales of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in the holiday quarter. Net income declined 2.7% from $18.4 billion in the same quarter last year. However, the iPhone maker posted record revenue of $78.4 billion.

On Thursday, Apple shares closed down 0.18% at $128.52. Year to date, the stock is up almost 11%, while in the last year, it is up more than 32%. The stock has a 52-week high of $130.49 and a 52-week low of $89.47. Alphabet’s stock closed up 0.37% at $818.26 on Thursday.

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