Amazon overtakes Microsoft to top intangible value ranking; research calls for “revolution” in accounting
Oct 17, 2018
On October 17, 2018, the World Trademark Review magazine published an article on how technology companies dominate the top 10 companies boasting the highest level of intangible value, but the picture is different when only disclosed intangible value is considered – prompting a call for a new approach to financial reporting.
In terms of headline findings, Brand Finance's Global Intangible Finance Tracker (GIFT) report found that:
- Global intangible value reached $57.3 trillion at the beginning of the current financial year, busting through the $50 trillion barrier for the first time
- Intangible value now constitutes 52% of the overall enterprise value of all publicly traded companies worldwide (which now amounts to $109.3 trillion)
- 76% of the world’s intangible value – $43.7 trillion – remains unaccounted for on balance sheets (up 25% year on year).
- Belgium boasted the highest percentage of disclosed intangibles versus total enterprise value (39.8%), in large part due to Anheuser-Busch InBev’s balance sheet – the company having the second-highest value of disclosed intangibles worldwide, totalling $187 billion.
Review the article on World Trademark Review magazine's website.
