Samsung Electronics' headquarters in Seocho, Seoul. [Yonhap]
Samsung Electronics' headquarters in Seocho, Seoul. [Yonhap]

Samsung is the only South Korean company to crack the top 10 in this year's global tech brand valuation rankings.

According to Brand Finance, a UK-based global brand valuation consultancy, Samsung ranked eighth in the 2026 Top 100 Tech Brands report released Sunday — the sole Korean company in the top 10.

Samsung's brand value came in at $97.42 billion, up 8.9% from $89.43 billion last year. However, the company slipped one place in the rankings. Nvidia, which had ranked eighth last year, jumped three spots to fifth, pushing Samsung down.

SK hynix was the second-highest-ranked Korean tech brand, climbing one spot from last year to No. 28. LG fell eight places to 44th, while Coupang Inc, classified as a Korean company, dropped one spot to 49th. Naver rose five places over the past year to 95th. All five Korean companies appeared in the top 100 for the second consecutive year.

Apple topped the rankings with a brand value of $607.64 billion. Microsoft, Google and Amazon took second through fourth place, respectively.

By country, US companies dominated the top 100 with 46 entries, followed by China with 25, Japan with nine, South Korea and India with four each, and Germany, the Netherlands and Canada with two each.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics posted preliminary sales of 171 trillion won ($115 billion) and operating profit of 89.4 trillion won in the second quarter of this year, up 129.31% and 1,810.26%, respectively, from the same period last year.


yeongdai@heraldcorp.com