“In explaining why he originally bought Coca Cola, Warren Buffett once said that the value of Coke’s brand names were no where reflected on their balance sheet and that this made the stock an especially good value,” Ken Kam writes for Forbes. “The same is true of Apple. David Canaan, a Marketocracy Master, says that Apple’s brand is worth $119 billion.”
Ken: How do come up with a value for Apple’s brand and how does this affect your investment decisions?
David: At last count, the highly influential InterBrand Best Global Brands report shows the Apple brand to be worth $119 Billion. That amount isn’t reported on any balance sheets, because accountants consider it an arbitrary amount. But, I think it’s a good start for assessing how “undervalued” the company is. Personally, my Apple portfolio on Marketocracy started in 2001 and has grown 8155.56%. I wish I’d started with real dollars, but I am now!
Read more in the full article here.
According to a study published by global research agency Millward Brown, Apple became the most valuable consumer-facing brand in the world in 2011 at $153.3 billion.
http://mashable.com/2011/05/09/apple-google-brandz-study/
In 2014, Millward Brown, the research firm behind the BrandZ Marketing Survey, said:
“After three years at the top, Apple slipped to No 2 on the back of a 20 percent decline in brand value, to US$148 billion.”
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/brandz-marketing-survey-ranks-google-above-apple-as-most-valuable-brand
Comparing those values to InterBrand Best Global Brands report of $119 billion, there must be a rounding error somewhere.
Anyway, the value of Apple’s brand name is no where reflected on their balance sheet either.
You may look at the FY 15 First Quarter 10-Q form or fiscal year 2014 10-K form at http://investor.apple.com