Samsung Electronics has been ranked as the top global brand for 2025, according to YouGov’s Best Global Brands list. This marks the second year Samsung has claimed the top spot since YouGov didn’t publish a Global Top 10 list for 2023 and 2024. In a press release, Samsung says after securing fourth place in 2017, it stayed in the top 4 for several years. This year, only two of the top 10 brands hail from Asia, and Samsung is one of them.
Samsung bags the crown again on YouGov’s Best Global Brands list for 2025
Aside from Samsung, other key players in the top 10 include YouTube (2nd), WhatsApp (3rd), Google (4th), and Adidas (5th). Rounding out the list are Nike, Colgate, Netflix, Toyota, and IKEA. While Samsung highlighted that only two of the top 10 brands are from Asia, Samsung and Google are the only phone makers on the list. What stands out the most is the absence of Apple. It recently topped Fortune’s Most Admired list for the 18th year running.
The press release from Samsung carried a quote from YouGov CEO Steve Hatch. “Brands have never been more important — and in today’s dynamic marketplace, where consumer sentiment can make or break a company’s success, understanding brand perception is imperative,” said Hatch.
According to YouGov, its Best Brands 2025 rankings are based on over a million surveys. These are conducted across 28 markets from January 1 to December 31, 2024. The Index Improvers chart showcases brands that have seen the biggest score increases. The Index score measures brand health using six factors: Impression, Quality, Value, Satisfaction, Reputation, and Recommendation.
To qualify for the rankings, brands must appear in at least 10 out of the 28 markets. YouGov ranks brands based on their top sector performance, including both parent and child brands (such as Google and YouTube). A brand must have a minimum sample size of 300 to be listed.