Editor’s note: This article was first published in May 2010. All brand values, rankings and user numbers are from then, and the predictions have since been overtaken, such as Apple passing IBM by 2011. Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, is described as about to reach his lifelong goal.
Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Microsoft, Apple and more.
If you’re wondering which sectors the market is heading toward, here are eight companies that haven’t stopped growing since the crisis began. These are brands still in the middle of expansion and innovation.
We’ll start at number 8.
8. China Mobile
Founded in 1997, it holds 70% of the telecommunications market in China and is the second most powerful company in the telecom sector worldwide.
It has more than 290 million users and is adding 3.5 million users a month. Its current value is $53,105 million.
7. Marlboro
Neither anti-smoking laws nor the crisis matter to this brand. They have mastered the technique of creating a product that people need, and if they don’t need it, getting them hooked on it. The effects of nicotine have taken this brand to a value of $57,145 million.
6. McDonald’s
Is a franchise a good business idea? Here we have the most profitable franchise system in the world. Even if daytime sales have dropped, which I doubt, in most cities you can also find its restaurants open 24 hours a day. This has helped the brand increase its value over the last two years. Its current value is $65,000 million.
5. Coca-Cola
The “smile of life” and truly astonishing marketing have turned a soft drink, a brand already well positioned for decades, into a rival for the technology companies. Its current value is $68,000 million.
4. Microsoft
Microsoft’s supposed lack of innovation has taken its toll and made shareholders fear for their interests: buying this brand now could cost you $8,000 million less than two years ago. Even so, its current value is $76,400 million.
3. Apple
Its constant innovation has pushed its value up over the last two years and allowed it to overtake its biggest competitor, Microsoft. Steve Jobs is about to achieve the goal he has fought for since he was a teenager. Apple’s current value is $83,200 million, $25,000 million more than three years ago.
2. IBM
Second place goes to another technology company that hasn’t stopped growing and innovating in recent years either, although Apple will probably push it out of second place by 2011. This brand’s current value is $86,500 million.
1. Google
And of course, the internet giant. Its near-monopoly on online services has made this company, unknown a decade ago, the most valuable in the world. It keeps acquiring services, so it will hold the number one spot for many years. Its current value is $115,000 million.
As we’ve seen, the market has leaned toward the technology sector over the last ten years. Even so, driven by necessity, innovation and the search for new resources, companies devoted to renewable energy will start to appear in the ranking in the years ahead.
Further reading
- The businesses of the future
- Profitable investments
- If you have a business idea, how to see it through
Featured image: Thomson M, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
