New Brand Finance data shows Kuwait’s leading brands remain resilient
KUWAIT CITY, 28 April 2026 – The total brand value of Kuwait’s top 10 most valuable brands has reached USD15.1 billion in 2026, according to the Kuwait 10 report from Brand Finance, the world's leading brand valuation consultancy.
Kuwait’s brand landscape continues to be anchored by the oil & gas, banking, and telecoms sectors, which remain central to the country’s economic structure and national brand performance.
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) (brand value down 7% to USD4.4 billion) retains its position as Kuwait’s most valuable brand for the fifth consecutive year. Despite maintaining leadership in the ranking, the brand recorded a decline in value amid softer performance across global energy markets. During the fiscal year ending March 2025, KPC reported lower revenues, down around 4% year on year, largely due to weaker crude prices and broader oil market volatility. As Kuwait’s state-owned oil operator and the backbone of the country’s hydrocarbon sector, KPC remains a strategically vital pillar of the national economy.
Zain (brand value up 16% to USD4.0 billion) retains second position as Kuwait’s second most valuable brand. Growth is supported by strong financial performance and continued investment in digital transformation, advanced connectivity, and enterprise innovation, reinforcing Zain’s role as a key enabler of Kuwait’s digital economy. Zain Group’s 2025 financial results showed revenue reaching a 16-year high, reflecting the success of its expanding digital and telecommunications offering.
NBK (brand value up 28% to USD2.2 billion) remains third in the ranking, supported by continued advances in consumer and digital banking. The bank has rolled out over 50 new features on its mobile banking app and recorded strong growth in mobile transaction volumes, enhancing convenience and customer engagement while strengthening its competitive position in Kuwait’s rapidly evolving financial services market.
Kuwait Finance House (brand value up 32% to USD1.7 billion) is Kuwait’s fastest-growing brand in 2026. Its growth is primarily driven by the expanded brand footprint following the integration and rebranding of Ahli United Bank under the KFH identity in 2025. This strategic consolidation has strengthened KFH’s regional presence across key markets including Bahrain and Egypt, creating a more unified Islamic banking platform and enhancing overall brand visibility. Continued strong financial performance, digital innovation, and rising demand for Shariah-compliant financial solutions have further supported growth.
Savio D’Souza, Managing Director Middle East and Africa, Brand Finance, commented:
“Kuwait’s leading brands continue to demonstrate resilience despite ongoing volatility in global energy markets. Kuwait’s banking and telecoms sectors are increasingly driving brand value growth through digital transformation, innovation, and stronger customer engagement. This reflects a broader diversification of Kuwait’s brand economy and highlights the growing strategic importance of financial and digital services in shaping national brand performance.”
Zain is the strongest Kuwaiti brand in 2026 with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 91/100, reflecting its continued investment in digital innovation, advanced technologies, and sustainability-led value creation. The brand is increasingly evolving beyond a traditional telecoms operator into a broader digital enabler, supported by investments in 5G-Advanced, artificial intelligence, and cloud-based infrastructure.
NBK comes in second among the strongest Kuwaiti brands with a BSI score of 84/100. This accomplishment reflects the bank’s strong fundamentals in digital innovation, responsible banking, and sustainability-led growth. NBK continues to advance its position through a customer-centric digital transformation strategy, delivering enhanced mobile banking capabilities and data-driven solutions to improve user experience and operational efficiency.
Kuwait Finance House has solidified its position as the third strongest brand with a BSI score of 80.3/100 in 2026. This reflects the bank’s strong leadership in Islamic finance, underpinned by continuous digital innovation and a robust sustainability framework.
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.
