Brand Finance data shows UAE's top 50 brands reach $104.5 billion, as economic diversification and AI adoption drive growth
ABU DHABI, 28 April 2026 - The UAE’s top 50 brands increased in value by 17% year on year to USD104.5 billion in 2026, supported by continued growth across oil and gas, banking, telecoms, real estate and manufacturing, according to the UAE 50 report from Brand Finance, the world's leading brand valuation consultancy.
One of the most notable shifts over the past five years has been the gradual emergence of brands from the Northern Emirates. In 2020, the UAE rankings were overwhelmingly dominated by Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and while that trend still broadly holds, the landscape is beginning to evolve. A small but growing number of Northern Emirates brands are now breaking into the top 50, signalling early signs of diversification.
Although they currently account for just 1.6% of total brand value across the UAE’s top 50, these brands carry significant growth potential, supported by expanding activity in sectors such as tourism, manufacturing, logistics, and real estate. This points to a more balanced distribution of brand value over time, as economic development continues to broaden beyond the country’s traditional centres.
Leading the rankings once again is ADNOC (brand value up 11% to USD21.1 billion), which retains its position as the UAE’s most valuable brand for the eighth consecutive year. The brand also reached a major milestone in 2026, becoming the first Emirati brand to enter the Brand Finance Global 500 at 100th position globally.
e& (brand value up 7% to USD16.4 billion) retains its position as the second most valuable brand in the UAE, supported by strong financial performance and its continued transformation into a global technology group. The brand reported a 23% year-on-year increase in revenues to AED72.9 billion (approximately USD19.8 billion) in 2025, alongside a growing subscriber base exceeding 244 million across its expanding international footprint.
Savio D’Souza, Managing Director Middle East and Africa, Brand Finance, commented:
“The UAE's top 50 brands crossing USD104.5 billion is a milestone, but the more important story is the direction of travel. Banking brands are growing at pace, Emirates is strengthening its global premium position, and for the first time we are seeing meaningful brand value emerge across the emirates and sectors. As AI adoption accelerates and economic diversification deepens, the conditions are in place for UAE brands to compete and win on the global stage in ways that would have seemed ambitious just a few years ago.”
Emirates (brand value up 27% to USD10.6 billion) retains third position, reflecting the airline’s strong commercial performance driven by sustained global travel demand and growing preference for premium cabins, which continue to support higher yields. Operationally, the airline has strengthened its position through continued fleet.
Banking leads the way as the UAE’s fastest-growing sector, with collective brand value up 29% and four banking brands securing places in the country’s top 10 most valuable brands. Growth across the sector has been driven by strong lending activity, rising deposits, higher transaction volumes, digital transformation and increasingly diversified revenue streams.
Emirates NBD (brand value up 34% to USD6.1 billion) remains a major force in the sector, supported by expanded lending, stronger deposit growth, higher transaction volumes and continued investment in digital transformation and fee-generating businesses.
As the UAE’s largest bank by market capitalisation and assets, FAB (brand value up 21% to USD5.5 billion) retains fifth position, supported by record 2025 financial performance, stronger international diversification and the accelerated use of digital and AI-driven solutions to improve efficiency and returns.
Meanwhile, ADCB (brand value up 33% to USD4.4 billion) ranks as the country’s seventh most valuable brand, benefiting from double-digit growth in both interest and non-interest income, stronger fee and trading income, and continued focus on sustainability and innovation initiatives such as its ClimaTech Accelerator 2025 programme.
Another telecoms brand in the country, du (brand value up 27% to USD3.8 billion), secures its position as the ninth most valuable brand in the UAE. The brand’s growth is supported by strong financial performance, with revenues rising to AED15.9 billion (approximately USD4.3 billion) and net profit increasing 17% in 2025, reflecting sustained operational momentum and disciplined execution. du continues to advance its transformation beyond traditional connectivity by scaling its digital ecosystem, including cloud, AI, and data centre capabilities, alongside the expansion of du Pay and other digital services.
Mashreq (brand value up 36% to USD2.4 billion) enters the top 10 for the first time since being valued in 2020, reflecting its strong financial performance and accelerated transformation into a digital first bank. The brand continues to strengthen its position through sustained investment in AI-led innovation, digital platforms such as NEO, and international expansion, enhancing customer experience and operational efficiency.
PureHealth Group is the region’s largest integrated healthcare platform; The total combined portfolio value of all its brands now totals USD2.9 billion, a 23% growth (USD2.4 billion in 2025) vs last year. In addition to the PureHealth brand (brand value USD675 million), it manages a portfolio of brands that make the UAE report: SEHA (brand value USD985 million), Daman (brandvValue USD337 million) and Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC) (brand value USD325 million).
RAK Ceramics (new entrant at USD158 million) enters the ranking for the first time with a brand value of USD158 million, reflecting its evolution from a regional manufacturer into a genuinely global business with a presence in over 150 countries. Its inclusion underlines that brand-building in the UAE is not confined to Abu Dhabi and Dubai and that strong brands are emerging across the federation.
In the brand strength analysis, ADNOC, the strongest brand in the UAE achieved a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 89.4/100. The brand’s success is attributed to strong customer trust and confidence, underpinned by its commitment to operational excellence, reliability, and long-term value creation. ADNOC’s reputation as a leading energy brand is further reinforced by its strategic expansion across the value chain, continued investment in lower-carbon solutions, and its role in ensuring energy security while advancing the UAE’s sustainability ambitions.
e& (brand value up 7% to USD16.4 billion) is the second strongest brand in the UAE, recording a BSI score of 85.8/100. Brand Finance’s market research data indicates strong domestic performance in the consideration and preference metrics, though there remains scope to enhance perceptions of reputation, reliability, price acceptance, and customer advocacy.
Emirates (brand value up 27% to USD10.6 billion) is the third strongest brand in the UAE with a BSI score of 85.3/100, a performance underpinned by its unrivalled global visibility and one of the most ambitious sports sponsorship portfolios in the aviation industry. In 2025 alone, Emirates announced nine major sports deals and renewals, positioning itself as one of the world's most visible sports sponsors through the 2030s. Its headline seven-year partnership with FC Bayern Munich made Emirates a Platinum Partner of the German football powerhouse, while a historic contract extension with World Rugby through 2035 marked the longest commitment in the airline's 40-year sponsorship history and the first-ever Platinum Partnership in rugby.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organisations make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance operates in over 25 countries. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 6,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on 6,000 brands, surveying more than 175,000 respondents across 41 countries and 31 industry sectors. By combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database — the largest brand value database in the world — Brand Finance equips ambitious brand leaders with the data, analytics, and the strategic guidance they need to enhance brand and business value.
In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics, compliant with ISO 20671.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm and a committed leader in the standardisation of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
Brand is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs, intended to identify goods, services, or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors. Brand Finance evaluates brand strength in a process compliant with ISO 20671, looking at Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and the impact of those on Business Performance. The data used is derived from Brand Finance’s proprietary market research programme and from publicly available sources.
Each brand is assigned a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding Brand Rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands in its rankings using the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method compliant with the industry standards set in ISO 10668. It involves estimating the likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use, to arrive at a ‘brand value’ understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
The steps in this process are as follows:
1 Calculate brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and Business Performance. Brand strength is expressed as a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score on a scale of 0 to 100.
2 Determine royalty range for each industry, reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions. In luxury, the maximum percentage is high, while in extractive industry, where goods are often commoditised, it is lower. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database.
3 Calculate royalty rate. The BSI score is applied to the royalty range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty range in a sector is 0-5% and a brand has a BSI score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
4 Determine brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand.
5 Determine forecast revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts, and economic growth rates.
6 Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues.
7 Discount post-tax brand revenues to a net present value which equals the brand value.
Brand Finance has produced this study with an independent and unbiased analysis. The values derived and opinions presented in this study are based on publicly available information and certain assumptions that Brand Finance used where such data was deficient or unclear. Brand Finance accepts no responsibility and will not be liable in the event that the publicly available information relied upon is subsequently found to be inaccurate. The opinions and financial analysis expressed in the study are not to be construed as providing investment or business advice. Brand Finance does not intend the study to be relied upon for any reason and excludes all liability to any body, government, or organisation.
The data presented in this study form part of Brand Finance's proprietary database, are provided for the benefit of the media, and are not to be used in part or in full for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
