New Brand Finance data reveals mixed fortunes for American luxury and premium brands, as Coach grows in value while Estée Lauder remains among the world’s top 15
LONDON, 23 September 2026 – American luxury and premium brands are navigating a challenging global market with mixed results, according to a new report from Brand Finance, the world's leading brand valuation consultancy.
Coach climbed one place to become the world’s 15th most valuable luxury and premium brand, with its brand value rising 6% to USD4.9 billion. The increase reflects continued commercial momentum for the American fashion brand, even as its Brand Strength Index (BSI) score declined year-on-year. Despite this moderation, Coach retains an AAA- brand strength rating and ranks 11th among the world’s 50 strongest luxury and premium brands, highlighting the resilience of its underlying brand equity.
Estée Lauder (brand value down 5% to USD4.9 billion) remains 14th globally, with its decline driven primarily by weaker forecast revenues. The company reported an 8% fall in net sales amid subdued travel retail demand, particularly in Asia, and continued pressures in mainland China. Despite these challenges, Estée Lauder’s brand strength remained resilient, with its BSI broadly stable year-on-year.
In luxury hospitality, The Ritz-Carlton grew 4% to USD1 billion, crossing the USD1 billion brand mark for the first time since 2022 and climbing two places to 42nd globally. The uplift comes amid continued expansion of Marriott’s luxury portfolio and sustained demand for high-end hospitality and branded residences, with Marriott reporting record branded-residential signings in 2025.
Meanwhile, Tiffany & Co. (brand value up 16% to USD8.6 billion) has returned to the global top 10 in 2026. This comes despite a more than seven-point decline in its BSI score, reflecting softer familiarity and likability in key markets including the U.S. and UK, amid weaker aspirational luxury spending, increased competition in jewelry, and greater scrutiny of desirability and value.
Alfred DuPuy, Managing Director, Brand Finance North America, commented:
“US luxury brands are still finding opportunities for growth in a more demanding market, but these results show that value growth and brand strength are not always moving in tandem. Coach’s continued growth demonstrates the rewards available to brands that maintain commercial momentum and relevance. Estée Lauder, on the other hand, has faced revenue pressure, but sustaining its brand strength points to the durability of the brand and what it means to customers. Across the sector, however, changing consumer expectations and greater competition mean even the strongest luxury brands must continue investing in desirability, distinctiveness, and consumer connection to sustain long-term value.”
Globally, European brands continue to dominate the Luxury & Premium 50 ranking, with Porsche (brand value down 15% to USD35.2 billion) retaining its position as the world’s most valuable luxury and premium brand for the ninth consecutive year. Meanwhile, Chanel remains the world’s second-most-valuable and second-strongest luxury brand, surpassed in brand strength only by Dior.
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.
