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Move over Apple, another tech company is now the world’s most valuable, Google. Nathan Rousseau Smith (@fantasticmrnate) explains why.
Buzz60
Apple has been replaced by Google as the most valuable company in the world, according to a new report from Brand Finance.(Photo: Mark Lennihan, AP)
Apple, the most valuable brand in the world for the past five years, has yielded the top spot to Google, according to a new report.
The iPhone maker’s brand value has plummeted 27% to $107 billion since the start of last year, according to Brand Finance’s Global 500 2017 report. Google’s brand, however, is now worth $109 billion, making it the most lucrative in the world. It is the first time the search giant has topped the list since 2011.
After Google and Apple are Amazon, ATT and Microsoft.
Google’s place as the dominant search engine safeguards its stream of advertising revenue, which increased 20% last year. The uptick occurred even though marketers are paying less for page views generated by those searching online.
Apple, meanwhile, is losing its grip on some tech-crazed consumers. The Apple Watch has not been the moneymaker the company had hoped it would become. A company that was once renowned for its innovation is not signaling that it has another unique product coming anytime soon. And Apple’s list of competitors in the smartphone space is continuing to grow, the report says.
This week, however, Apple showed that its signature iPhone still has the potential to be a profit machine, buoying investors.
Robust sales of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus over the holidays led to the tech giant to just report it earned $17.9 billion, or $3.36 a share in the first fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31. Though the net income was off 2.7% from $18.4 billion in the same quarter a year ago, revenue was a record-setting revenue of $78.4 billion. Apple beat analysts’ profit expectations.
Meanwhile, Google’s parent company Alphabet reported reported net income of $5.33 billion, or $7.56 per share, for the fourth quarter. It missed analysts’ estimates, though revenue soared 22% to $26 billion. The revenue growth was propelled by mobile search, video ads, and its expansion in newer business lines like cloud computing.
While technology was dominant among the world’s most valuable companies, the banking industry was next in having the most lucrative brands, followed by the telecom sector, retail and the car industry.