Performance of global brands post pandemic.

Byline: NAZIR AHMED SHAIKH

COVID-19 appears to be subsidized in some parts of the world. But even in these places, some of the pandemic's damaging consequences are only now being assessed and understood.

A new variant may yet trigger another chapter in the COVID-19 pandemic, and societies must be prepared to respond if and when that happens. As the world emerges from a painful pandemic, sales and profits for the world's largest companies are higher, but many companies continue to face economic challenges related to bottlenecks in the supply chain and a surge in inflation. BrandZ Top 100 Global Brands 2020 reveals that the total brand value of the world's most valuable brands has increased by 5.9%, despite COVID-19. The world's most valuable brands have seen their total brand value increase by 5.9% despite the economic, social, and personal impacts of COVID-19. The total brand value of the Top 100 global brands reached US$5 trillion. It has increased by 245% since 2006 when the total brand value first reached US$1 trillion.

As compared to the during the global economic crisis of 2008-9, the top 100 most valuable brands have shown they are more resilient and less volatile in the current calamity, adding an additional US$277 billion of brand value growth over the past year.

The BrandZ strong brands portfolios continued to outperform the market, including the SandP 500 and MSCI World Index, and even in the current crisis dipped less than the global average. The ranking uses valuations data incorporating stock price performance from April 2020 to reflect the impact of COVID-19. Against a backdrop of uncertainty, those companies that have consistently invested in longer-term marketing and in building strong brands have managed to stave off the worst of the crisis. Prior to the global pandemic, the total brand value of the Top 100 brands was set to increase by 9%.

Over the last 12 months, the 2,000 companies on the list have seen their collective market capitalization dip of 4% to $76.5 trillion, while their collective sales rose 20% to $47.8 trillion and their profits doubled to $5 trillion. (Asset values, the fourth part of our composite scores, are up 5% to $234 trillion. All numbers are as of April 22).

This year's global 2000 showcases many companies that have seen a reversal of fortune from the early months of 2020. Giant energy companies like ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron ranked in the 300s last year, but now have jumped to the 15th, 16th, and 26th spots, respectively, on this year's list. Airlines experienced similar rebounds, the most notable being Southwest Airlines, which jumped 227 spots to land at No. 630 this year. All figures are consolidated and in US dollars and as of April 22, 2022; heavily relying on the databases for all data, as well as the latest financial period available for the rankings. Many factors play into which financial period of data is available for the companies and used in our rankings: the timeliness of our data collection/screening and company reporting policies, country-specific reporting policies, and the lag time between when a company releases its financial data and when the databases capture it for screening/ranking.

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