Disney stays No. 1 as Costco jumps to No. 2 in MBLM brand study

MBLM’s 2026 Brand Intimacy Study puts Disney at No. 1 for a second straight year, while Costco surges from No. 29 to No. 2 and Samsung passes Apple for the first time in 16 years. The study also flags value brands, gaming and AI chatbots as rising forces in how consumers form emotional brand ties.

Why it matters: - The ranking points to a consumer shift toward value brands as households keep stretching grocery and retail budgets. - The results also show how emotional brand loyalty is changing across tech, gaming and emerging AI products. - MBLM says top intimate brands outperform the Fortune 500 in revenue and gross and net income.

What happened: - Disney held the No. 1 spot for a second consecutive year in MBLM’s 2026 Brand Intimacy Study. - Costco climbed from No. 29 to No. 2, one of the biggest moves in the study’s history. - Samsung rose to No. 3 and passed Apple, which ranked No. 7, for the first time in the study’s 16-year history. - The study was released Sept. 2, 2026.

The details: - Retail ranked as the No. 1 industry overall for the first time. - Target ranked No. 5, Old Navy No. 14 and Walmart No. 24 among value-oriented brands benefiting from the shift. - MBLM said the study is continuous and longitudinal and uses more than four billion data points. - The 2026 study evaluated 425 brands across 23 industries and 25 brand families. - Samsung’s gain was driven by strength in the sharing and fusing stages of intimacy. - For the first time, MBLM also studied the emotional performance of AI chatbot brands. - Gemini led the new AI chatbot category. - MBLM said millions of people are now shaping and discussing intimate brand relationships in the AI category. - The study found Tesla fell to No. 141. - Twitch jumped from No. 53 to No. 19. - MBLM said Twitch’s rise reflects gaming’s growth and a more mature audience. - The report said the Brand Intimacy Fund has grown 20% since June 2025 and outperformed ETFs such as SPY over the same period. - The full rankings and report are available here.

Between the lines: - The study suggests consumers are rewarding brands that feel useful, affordable and emotionally dependable, not just premium or iconic. - Samsung’s move ahead of Apple signals a rare disruption in one of the most stable brand rivalries in consumer tech. - AI chatbots moving into the brand intimacy conversation shows how quickly software products are taking on brand roles once reserved for media and social platforms. - Mario Natarelli, managing partner at MBLM, said social consensus and algorithms are shaping marketing, and that chatbots are becoming participants in the conversation that influences how people feel about brands.

What's next: - MBLM said the 2026 report includes rankings and analysis for all 425 brands, 23 industries and 25 brand families. - The company is pushing the study’s findings into broader brand strategy as consumer sentiment continues to evolve across retail, tech and AI. - MBLM’s offices are in New York City, Toronto, Dubai and Seoul.