Brand Finance estima que el 83% del valor global de los activos intangibles no está registrado en los estados financieros de las empresas a nivel mundial
MADRID, 5 de noviembre de 2025 – En 2025, el valor de los activos intangibles de las mayores empresas del mundo alcanzó los 97,6 billones de dólares, según un nuevo informe de Brand Finance, la consultora líder mundial en valoración de marcas. Esto representa un aumento mundial del 23% con respecto a 2024, alcanzando así su nivel más alto desde que Brand Finance comenzó a realizar este estudio en 1996.
Cada año, el informe Brand Finance Global Intangible Finance Tracker (GIFT™) analiza el valor de las mayores empresas del mundo en función del valor de sus activos intangibles. Los activos intangibles son activos identificables, no monetarios y sin sustancia física.
La metodología de Brand Finance se basa en el valor de negocio (Enterprise value) de las compañías para determinar el valor implícito de los activos intangibles, ya que la mayor parte de este valor no está registrado en los estados financieros de las empresas. Esta falta de información explica que el 83% del valor total de los activos intangibles a nivel mundial no esté contabilizado en los informes financieros de las empresas. En el caso concreto de España, sería un 75% el valor total intangible no registrado en los balances de las compañías españolas.
En España, el valor total de los activos intangibles alcanza los 720 miles de millones de USD (620 mil millones de euros) en 2025, lo que supone un crecimiento del 62% en valor de activos intangibles en la economía española respecto al 2024. Se estima que el valor intangible total de España equivale al 38% del PIB corriente nacional.
Los sectores con mayor valor de activos intangibles son Banca, Energía y Moda. Inditex, con un 17%, es la compañía con mayor valor de activos intangibles en España, seguida de Iberdrola con un 13%, Santander un 7%, BBVA un 7% y Amadeus con un 6% de intangibilidad.
El valor récord que han alcanzado en España los activos intangibles remarca el papel cada vez más importante de la innovación, que impulsa una mayor inversión en propiedad intelectual, datos y marcas y nos recuerda que las empresas deben prestar especial atención a sus activos intangibles, uno de los motores más importantes de los resultados empresariales.
Pilar Alonso Ulloa, Managing Director de Brand Finance en Iberia y Sudamérica comentó:
“Mientras que las empresas que crecen de manera orgánica no tienen la obligación de aflorar los intangibles creados internamente en sus estados financieros, las que crecen de manera inorgánica via fusiones y adquisiciones sí tienen la obligación de valorarlos y registrarlos en sus balances. Esta dicotomía en la obligación de valorar y registrar contablemente los activos intangibles supone que los estados financieros de las empresas no sean comparables a los ojos de los inversores e instituciones financieras”.
Estados Unidos se ha convertido, por primera vez desde 2021, en el mercado con mayor valor intangible del mundo. El valor intangible total del mercado estadounidense se sitúa en el 78%, mientras que la intangibilidad respecto a activos tangibles en España es del 48%.
Según datos de Brand Finance, NVIDIA se ha convertido en la empresa con mayor valor intangible a nivel mundial, con un aumento del 50% hasta alcanzar los 4,3 billones de dólares. Además, ocho de las diez empresas con mayor valor intangible del mundo tienen su sede en Estados Unidos: Microsoft, Apple, Amazon y Alphabet ocupan los puestos del segundo al quinto y son actores clave en el elevado valor intangible del país.
Según datos de Brand Finance, el sector farmacéutico registró el mayor descenso en términos absolutos, con una caída del valor intangible del 8% a nivel mundial. Las dificultades del sector en general se vieron agravadas por las presiones políticas de la administración Trump, en particular por sus esfuerzos en reducir los precios de los medicamentos, lo que debilitó las previsiones en toda la industria.
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 evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance, 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.
