In 2025, the value of intangible assets owned by the world’s largest companies reached an unprecedented $97.6-trillion, a 23% surge from the previous year, according to Brand Finance’s latest Global Intangible Finance Tracker (GIFT™).
The GIFT™ Tracker uses firms’ enterprise value to estimate their intangible assets, because many companies don’t report them, let alone know their value. As a result, Brand Finance estimates that 83% of the world’s total intangible asset value goes unrecorded in company financial reports.
Categories of intangible assets
Intangible assets are defined as nonmonetary resources without physical substance. All intangible assets have “conceptual” properties, meaning they relate to the ownership of an idea, concept or creative product that is seen as conferring a financial advantage. Some intangible assets are linked to physical assets — for instance, ownership of music and films is considered intangible.
“Undisclosed intangible assets” are often more valuable than the disclosed intangibles. The category includes internally generated goodwill, and it accounts for the difference between the fair market value of a business and the value of its identifiable tangible and intangible assets.
Under the International Financial Reporting Standards 3 (IFRS 3), there are five broad categories of intangible assets:
- marketing-related (trademarks, mastheads and so forth);
- customer-related (lists, contracts, relationships and so forth);
- contract-based (licensing, royalties and so forth);
- technology-based (patents, software and so forth) and
- artistic-related (plays, books, music, pictures and so forth).
Regardless of accounting standards, companies should regularly measure all their assets and liabilities, both tangible and intangible — including internally generated intangibles such as brands and patents and not only those required to appear on the balance sheet. The greater the proportion of “undisclosed value”, the more essential it becomes to ensure robust valuation practices.
Why intangibles deserve boardroom attention
In a recent media briefing, Brand Finance valuation director Annie Brown highlighted that global intangible asset value reached a record high in 2025 ($97.6-trillion), underscoring the growing importance of innovation as a driver of investment in intellectual property, data and brands.
However, notable declines across several sectors, such as pharma and oil and gas, demonstrate the volatility faced when investing in companies with high intangible asset exposure. This highlights the need for businesses to actively monitor their intangible assets, which are among the most influential factors driving commercial success.
The Brand Finance methodology shows that most intangible value isn’t reflected on balance sheets because companies often don’t report it or know its true worth. This is due to longstanding limitations set by the accounting standards board, which state that internally generated intangible assets, like brands, cannot be listed on a company’s balance sheet.
Businesses should pay close attention to their intangible assets, which remain among the most powerful drivers of commercial success
Consequently, there is a gap between financial statements and a company’s actual value — so large that balance sheets are becoming less relevant for evaluating the performance of the world’s largest, most innovative and most valuable companies.
Brand Finance was the first to be certified as compliant with both ISO 10668 (financial brand value) and ISO 20671 (brand equity), and it has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) of the US.
The reality today
Investors in companies such as Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Alphabet are experiencing a golden period never seen before, with Nvidia alone, having an intangible value of $4.3-trillion, becoming the first company to reach a market cap of over $5-trillion. No fewer than eight of the world’s top 10 companies with the highest intangible value are US-based. With intangible assets making up 78% of total assets in that country, this is well above the global average of 58%.
Interestingly, last year Denmark led the US due to the incredible success of pharma company Novo Nordisk, which saw its intangible value contract 67% as its Ozempic brand “moat” proved weaker than expected and its patent pipeline disappointed. The contraction was compounded by leadership changes and wider policy measures weighing on the overall sector. The Novo Nordisk case illustrates how large amounts of undisclosed intangible value can expose companies and investors to significant share price losses when critical factors, such as patents or brand strength, are not fully understood or disclosed.
Alongside Novo Nordisk, American-based Eli Lilly, the world’s most valuable pharmaceutical firm by market capitalisation, also experienced a 20% decrease in intangible value according to the GIFT™ Tracker.
Country trends
The US’s sector mix explains its intangible dominance. Home to Silicon Valley, it has a concentration of software and tech giants, making the economy structurally more intangible than most.
Compare this to China, or to emerging countries, where assets are largely tangible, based on mining and manufacturing, banking and telcos, with just 31% of its assets classified as intangible. Yet this is a sharp rise of 16% on the previous year and probably will continue to accelerate.
Unlike those of economies driven by technology or pharmaceuticals, South Africa’s value base remains concentrated in tangibles. Mining, in particular, once dominant, has been in sharp decline in importance for a couple of decades, partly due to government interference. Some companies listed on the JSE trade below their NAV. An enquiry to the JSE to see if they tracked tangible versus intangible was a response in the negative. From our data, we estimate a definite intangible figure for South Africa of 42%.
Locally, the most valuable brands are largely made up of telcos, banks and retail. While we have a good idea of the top company’s fluctuating market capitalisation as a result of our annual rankings, we also know their brand valuation, but that is only part of the picture.
Consider Shoprite Holdings, South Africa’s largest food retailer, with a market cap of about R170bn. Walk into any township or suburb and the brand recognition is immediate. Customers trust the Shoprite name, the Checkers experience and the Usave value propositions. This trust, built over decades, represents enormous intangible value coupled to distribution networks, licence agreements and so forth.
Similarly, Capitec Bank, founded in March 2001, has had a meteoric rise, boasting a market cap today of nearly R460bn, making it the fastest-growing brand by value in the country. The bank disrupted South Africa’s financial services sector not through superior physical infrastructure but through a brand promise of simplicity and accessibility, leapfrogging most of its competitors in the process.
Understanding the true drivers of corporate worth
As it becomes clear that intangible assets may outweigh tangible ones in value, and with regulators and standard setters now scrambling to catch up with this new reality, CFOs and CMOs must be ready for change and positioned to seize the opportunities it brings.
Consideration should be given to the following actions to prepare for future evolutions in intangible asset reporting requirements and to leverage the benefits of intangible asset management.
- Identify the key intangibles of the entire business, both internally generated and acquired.
- Seek expert advice on the value of these intangibles and consider sharing this in the notes of the financial statements.
- Monitor the businesses’ various intangible assets and what drives the value.
- Take action to optimise those drivers, build long-term intangible asset value and enhance overall business performance.
The balance sheet no longer tells the full value story
For the investment community, the message is clear: the balance sheet reflects only a shrinking portion of a company’s true value. The gap left by unreported intangibles must be filled and each identified asset must be assigned a credible value.
Businesses should pay close attention to their intangible assets, which remain among the most powerful drivers of commercial success. After all, many of these assets can be bought, sold or leveraged just like physical ones.
As founder and chairman of Brand Finance, David Haigh, says, “in a constantly evolving global business landscape, strong brands continue to stand as the key drivers of business success, enabling organisations to differentiate themselves, attract loyal customers and build resilience in an increasingly competitive world”.
Jeremy Sampson is the chairman of Brand Finance Africa.
The big take-out: Businesses should pay close attention to their intangible assets, which remain among the most powerful drivers of commercial success.
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