The BrandZ top 100 most valuable global brands ranking, which was released today, found Amazon increased its value this year by almost $100bn to a total of $415.9bn, which accounted for a third of the top 100’s total growth.

After Amazon, Apple was the second most valuable brand with $352.2bn, up 14%, and Microsoft overtook Google to take third place thanks to its cloud-enabled workplace products such as Teams and Office365.

The total value of the top 100 brands was $5 trillion – equivalent to the gross domestic product of Japan – and is 245% greater than in 2006.

The ranking also used valuations data incorporating stock price performance from April 2020 to factor in the impact of Covid-19 on the top brands.

Asian brands accounted for a quarter of the top 100, with 17 Chinese companies featuring, including retail giant Alibaba at number six and internet services firm Tencent at number seven.

Social media platform TikTok was the highest new entry at number 79 on the ranking with a value of $16.9bn.

David Roth, chief executive of The Store WPP EMEA and Asia and chair of BrandZ, said the strongest brands were in a better position than they were during the 2008/09 global financial crisis.

“We see a significant improvement in brand equity now compared to 10 years ago because businesses understand the importance of investing in brand-building and are stronger and more resilient as a result,” Roth said.

“While the impact of Covid-19 has impacted every business regardless of size or geography, consistent investment in marketing can and will help carry you through a crisis.”

The BrandZ Top 10 Most Valuable Global Brands 2020