Google’s brand value rose by 24% during 2016, from US$88.2bn to US$109.4bn, whilst Apple’s declined from $145.9bn to $107.1bn, according to the latest Brand Finance Global 500 report, which identifies Google as the world’s most valuable brand—a position it last occupied in 2011.

According to David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance, “Apple has struggled to maintain its technological advantage, with new iterations of the iPhone delivering diminishing returns, while the Chinese market is now crowded with local competitors. Apple has been living on borrowed time for several years by exploiting its accumulated brand equity. This underlines one of the many benefits of a strong brand, but Apple has finally taken it too far.”

Brand Finance first evaluates brands to determine their power and strength (based on factors such as marketing investment, familiarity, loyalty, staff satisfaction and corporate reputation). Brand strength is used to determine what proportion of a business’s revenue is contributed by the brand, which is projected into perpetuity to determine the brand’s value. The results of this analysis are ranked, with the world’s 500 most valuable brands featured in the Brand Finance Global 500.

Lego, meanwhile, has regained its status as the world’s most powerful brand, aided by the release of the Lego Movie in 2014.

Other findings include:

  • China’s bank brands are now worth more than those of the United States
  • ICBC is the world’s most valuable banking brand
  • AT&T has overtaken Verizon to become the world’s most valuable telecoms brand
  • Emirates is no longer the most valuable airline brand, having been overtaken by American, United & Delta
  • Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonalds, KFC & Subway all see brand values fall, undermined by healthy eating trends
  • Nokia’s brand is back from the brink and back in the top 500, following takeover and rebrand of Alcatel and launch of the Nokia 6 phone