Apple, Microsoft and Google top the Interbrand rankings: the value of the top 100 brands has risen by 8.1 per cent to 3.8 trillion dollars

In recent days – though we might just as well say in recent months – both the business and financial press and the general media have been covering Anthropic. Firstly, because the American company founded by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei (following their departure from OpenAI) in 2021 is perhaps the best-known and most influential player in the competitive arena (a term favoured by Interbrand) of artificial intelligence. Secondly, whilst OpenAI is all too easily equated with ChatGPT, Anthropic has made it clear even to the non-specialist public that, for the company, AI has already gone far beyond chatbots and LLM models. Thirdly, but no less importantly, Anthropic has announced that its listing on the New York Stock Exchange is imminent; it could take place before the end of November and be ‘valued’ at $100 billion, even surpassing the record set a few months ago by SpaceX (the lead story in the Financial Times on 27 October), whilst the Washington Post, on the same day, highlighted in its front-page headline that the first half of the year ended with a loss of $80 million, linked to the investments – which we know to be enormous – that Anthropic is making to remain competitive with other American companies and, above all, with Chinese firms.

Anthropic does not feature in Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2026 ranking, the twenty-seventh edition in the consultancy firm’s history, but perhaps it will make the list next year – who knows. This is partly because, amongst the leading players in AI, it is the company that seems to have given the most thought to the values that should guide the development of the technology, so that it continues to be a tool serving people’s lives and work, rather than a danger or something that spreads anxiety and insecurity. This introduction to the company ties in with some observations that can be made about this year’s top 100, which relate in particular to the factors – though it would be better to say values – that go into the evaluation of a brand, as explained by Manfredi Ricca, global chief strategy officer at Interbrand, a leading brand consultancy firm: ‘Until very recently, we rightly believed that a company’s and its brands’ most important asset was their respective “core competencies”; however, the development of artificial intelligence tends to make this core of skills and know-how accessible to everyone, provided the necessary investment is made. It is the values that cannot be replaced, because they stem from the brand’s history and the relationship of trust that has been built up over time – something that can never be replaced by artificial intelligence: it is something profoundly human and, indeed, irreplaceable, and cannot be achieved through technological ‘shortcuts’, however sophisticated they may be.’

But let’s turn to the figures for 2026, which confirm the strength of the brands that have managed to strike a balance between core competencies and values. Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2026 ranking shows a total brand value exceeding 3.866 trillion dollars, an increase of 8.1 per cent compared with 2025, when the figure stood at 3.575 trillion dollars. (US$ 3.575 trillion). Among the new entries worth highlighting is Nvidia – not coincidentally a company associated with the production of AI chips – into the top 10, having increased its value by over 71 per cent to become the fastest-growing brand of the year, hot on the heels of companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI. Also worth noting is the fact that the entertainment sector has overtaken the automotive sector – which has recorded the sharpest decline – to become the second-largest sector by total value. New entrants include Zurich (#58), Hitachi (#90), GE Healthcare (#95) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (#99), which reflect the evolution of market dynamics and “the continued emergence of new sources of value creation”, as explained by Interbrand in a statement.

Our country is represented by Ferrari (#51), which has grown by 15 per cent and is among the year’s top risers, and by Gucci (#93) and Prada (#96), which remain in the ranking but have dropped several places. “The ranking highlights an ever-widening gap between brands capable of transforming brand strength into growth and those that continue to rely primarily on reputation. “Beyond the overall figures, an even more significant trend emerges,” explains Manfredi Ricca, “in various sectors, some of the world’s strongest brands have lost ground, whilst others have accelerated, transforming relevance, trust and distinctiveness into a concrete lever for commercial growth. The results confirm what Interbrand has, in fact, always maintained: the brand remains one of a company’s most valuable assets.”

The Nvidia case demonstrates that technology remains the main driver of value creation in this year’s ranking (with Apple, Microsoft and Google on the podium), whilst AI continues to reshape markets and create new leaders. Nvidia (#6) stands out amongst the best-performing brands thanks to a value increase of over 71 per cent; Google (#3) takes the third step on the podium, whilst YouTube (#10), Netflix (#23) and Spotify (#39) have recorded significant increases, driven by the growing adoption of digital ecosystems by consumers and businesses. “The success of Netflix and Spotify holds great potential for further growth,” adds Mandredi Ricca. Their business models can be described as ‘scalable’: thanks to their customer base and – once again – the relationship of trust and familiarity that has been established in a relatively short space of time between the brands and consumers, they could move into adjacent sectors. We can imagine Netflix deciding to distribute music and Spotify entering the TV series business.”