Against a turbulent economy, the 2025 Kantar BrandZ Top 40 Most Valuable Australian Brands posted combined growth of 25% with a total value of US$156 billion

Sydney, 4 June 2025: CommBank (#1, US$31,070 million), Canva (#2, US$14,182 million) and ANZ (#3, US$11,168 million) headline the 2025 Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Australian Brands ranking. The Top 40 for 2025 announced today boast a combined value of US$156 billion growing at 25% over the past two years. With a significant 61% growth in value since 2019, together they’ve soared through the pandemic, inflation and cost-of-living crisis by investing in brand equity through all economic and social environments.

“Australia’s most valuable brands are well known and understood and are a powerful reminder of the value of brand building,” says Ryan France, Kantar Australia’s Head of Brand Strategy. “With short-termism rife in Australia, they remind us of the value of investing in brand building in tough economic times and that this is proven to generate returns over time. The brands that improved both perceptions of how ‘meaningful’ and ‘different’ they are to Australians grew at up to triple the rate of brands that gained on only one, or neither, of those metrics. High performers on ‘Meaningful Difference’ grow in value at five times the rate of low-scoring brands.

CommBank retains its leadership as the most valuable brand in Australia

CommBank has topped the ranking since BrandZ was first launched in Australia in 2018. Along with its recent accolade as the only Australian brand in the Kantar BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands, CommBank is also one of the country’s highest risers, posting 44% growth in brand value since the last ranking was published in 2023. With strong penetration and a high likelihood of gaining market share in the future relative to the rest of the category, CommBank’s growth is driven by continued investment in digital innovation, new product launches, youth engagement, strategic partnerships, and a strong focus on the customer experience.

“It is often difficult for mainstream market leaders to continually emphasise their meaningful difference, but for lots of big brands that is exactly the task before them in order to future-proof their businesses,” says France. “My advice would be to study and learn from CommBank. The gains that this brand has made over the last three years truly stand out as exceptional. And be sure to look beyond the ‘advertising’. Don’t mistake that as the only brand-building lever. Customer experience, innovation and sponsorships are all playing a role in elevating CommBank’s brand.”

CommBank Chief Marketing Officer Jo Boundy says, “We are truly honoured to be named Australia’s most valuable brand again. This recognition is testament to the team’s dedication to build a brighter future for all Australians. We are committed to creating exceptional experiences and forging meaningful connections that add value to our customers’ lives.”

16 financial services and eight retail brands account for 67% of the total Top 40 ranking value
Canva retains second place ranking while ANZ, with a 26% growth in brand value since 2023, has overtaken Woolworths and Telstra for third. Six of the 10 highest risers in growth in value over two years are also from financial services, led by QBE (#16, US$2,325 million, +67%), AAMI (#34, US$706 million, +62%), St. George (#11, US$2,901 million, +52%), NRMA Insurance (#29, US$939 million, +49%) and Westpac (#7, US$8,262 million, +43%). Other high riser brands since the last report release in 2023 include Target (#33, US$788 million, +54%), JB Hi-Fi (#26, US$975 million, +50%), Origin Energy (#18, US$1,747 million, +50%) and Bunnings (#10, US$6,467 million, +42%).

“Clearly the financial services sector is full of competent strong businesses, and despite the uncertainties and disruptions in the economic environment, they have weathered the storms well,” adds France. “There could, however, be a case made that financial services brands are succeeding despite their brand equity, not necessarily because of it. It is more the financial contribution than brand contribution that we see is growing and producing overall brand value growth in the BrandZ rankings. What that says is that there is still a longer-term opportunity for brands to get ahead of the pack in the sector by pulling harder on the ‘brand’ lever of growth.”

Seven new brands enter the Top 40 in 2025
These are led by realestate.com.au (#6, US$8,491 million), super funds AustralianSuper (#27, US$968 million) and Australian Retirement Trust (#32, US$812 million), health insurers Medibank (#25, $US$1,010 million) and HCF (#36, US$693 million) plus Zip (#31, US$813 million) and Penfolds (#39, US$539 million).

Kantar’s 2024 Finding Financial Freedom data reveals that 93% of Australians have actively made at least a few life changes in response to the rising cost-of-living and three in five would like to be more confident in their understanding of financial matters. But with less than half of Australians confident in retirement planning dropping to just over two in five Gen X, “the Great Australian Dream is proving to be more elusive than ever,” says France.

“Superannuation brands were assessed as part of BrandZ in Australia for the first time this year. Most other markets don’t include pension fund brands in the rankings as there is not always a lot of brand awareness or active choice in the category. But this has been evolving for some time in Australia, and our Super ‘funds’ are investing heavily in building Super ‘brands’. It will be interesting to monitor how this branding evolves from functional to more emotional over time.”

“Another new entrant provides an interesting case study for the Super category. realestate.com.au helps Australians make what is often the biggest financial decision of their lives – buying a home. And it does this by helping those who use their services to visualise their future state: the kind of life they want to live, in what area, surrounded by what kind of nest. I’d argue that Super is, or could be, the next biggest financial arena for ordinary Australians to create their future selves. Super brands that manage to engage Australians in visualising and creating those future selves will earn themselves a competitive advantage.”

“The most valuable brands are all linked to financial freedom and a rethink about what being an investor is in Australia,” adds France. “And the opportunity is ripe for brands to support Australians long-term, from those educating Australians on their inherent investments through compulsory super, to helping property hunters set themselves up for the future, which is helping underpin the growth of realestate.com.au too.”

Pricing continues to influence Australians amidst the cost-of-living crisis
“When we look at top brands globally, something that stands out very clearly is the advantage they have in justifying their pricing”, says France. “This ‘Pricing Power’ – how well a brand justifies the price it charges, whether high or low relative to the rest of the category – is demonstrated notably by CommBank, Penfolds and Telstra. Our research shows that consumers feel these brands are worth their premium position.”

“However, brands must ensure that they are constantly reminding Australians why they are worth the price being charged. Kantar’s April 2025 Consumer Sentiment Barometer revealed significant shifts in buying behaviour with Australians cutting back on big ticket items, shifting their expenditure and saving more as they continue to grapple with the high cost-of-living. But they’re still spending, redirecting hard-earned dollars to small indulgences. Whether hard times or boom, consumers have finite funds. We can’t buy everything we could possibly want and are always making trade-offs. Brands with a meaningful difference that makes them feel worth the cost are less likely to lose out in these consumer trade-offs,” he adds.

“Even among the top brands, there are many failing to justify their pricing to consumers. Overall, only 30% of the top 30 Australian brands are seen to more than justify their pricing through brand value compared with 57% of the top 30 global brands[1]. Around one-third are seen as not justifying their pricing, with the remainder somewhere in between. A failure to justify pricing – whether the price is a lot or a little – makes a brand vulnerable to competitors that feel like a great deal. This could come from another Australian brand, or from a global brand that can swoop in and shake things up.”

The Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Australian Brands 2025 ranking, report and extensive analysis are available to download. Kantar’s free interactive tool, BrandSnapshot powered by BrandZ, provides intelligence on 14,000 brands to ascertain performance compared to competitors in a specific category.