How complete and well-sourced the data is
Of 12,224 current ownership links, 30.2% are backed by a filing, 69.8% are reported by a credible secondary source and 18% carry a start date; 36.2% of 12,226 brands have a launch year.
Only 1% of cited sources currently fail a link check and 23.3% of brands lack a description above 40 words, so the weak spots are dating and filing evidence, not missing pages. Figures below show where. Data as of .
By top-level category
| Category | Brands | Verified | Reported | Unverified | Links dated | Launch year | Sources not ok | Thin description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food | 2,180 | 14.7% | 85.3% | 0% | 23.8% | 46.1% | 1.4% (12/856) | 2.7% |
| Travel & transport | 1,846 | 20.1% | 79.9% | 0% | 5% | 20.6% | 0.4% (4/1134) | 34.7% |
| Beverages | 1,357 | 14.7% | 85.3% | 0% | 21.6% | 50.3% | 1.2% (7/567) | 2.4% |
| Finance & insurance | 1,039 | 40.4% | 59.6% | 0% | 6.1% | 6.9% | 0% (0/226) | 85.4% |
| Energy | 801 | 51.9% | 48.1% | 0% | 3% | 1.2% | 0.3% (1/377) | 76.5% |
| Home, garden & DIY | 764 | 30.6% | 69.4% | 0% | 26.6% | 38.7% | 0.3% (1/363) | 1.8% |
| Internet & digital | 646 | 52.8% | 47.2% | 0% | 21.8% | 51.2% | 2% (5/255) | 4.6% |
| Apparel, footwear & accessories | 612 | 32.4% | 67.6% | 0% | 38.2% | 67.2% | 3.6% (9/251) | 2.3% |
| Personal care & beauty | 609 | 27.3% | 72.7% | 0% | 25.3% | 60.8% | 1.6% (5/304) | 2.1% |
| Media & entertainment | 422 | 36.7% | 63.3% | 0% | 20.1% | 53.1% | 2.6% (4/153) | 4.3% |
| Home care | 416 | 26% | 74% | 0% | 23.6% | 61.8% | 2.4% (5/208) | 3.1% |
| Healthcare & pharma | 271 | 84.1% | 15.9% | 0% | 8.1% | 5.5% | 0% (0/56) | 77.1% |
| Retail | 189 | 39.2% | 60.8% | 0% | 23.8% | 14.8% | 0% (0/57) | 46.6% |
| Restaurants & foodservice | 186 | 22.6% | 77.4% | 0% | 37.6% | 46.2% | 0% (0/85) | 1.1% |
| Tobacco & nicotine | 174 | 24.1% | 75.9% | 0% | 16.7% | 24.7% | 0% (0/71) | 2.9% |
| Pet & animal care | 163 | 47.9% | 52.1% | 0% | 20.9% | 33.7% | 0% (0/114) | 3.1% |
| Automotive | 156 | 28.2% | 71.8% | 0% | 18.6% | 50.6% | 0% (0/47) | 5.1% |
| Telecom | 132 | 85.5% | 14.5% | 0% | 13% | 7.6% | 0% (0/32) | 70.5% |
| Consumer health | 126 | 25.4% | 74.6% | 0% | 25.4% | 45.2% | 1.4% (1/69) | 5.6% |
| Technology | 96 | 83.3% | 16.7% | 0% | 9.4% | 3.1% | 0% (0/25) | 82.3% |
| Real estate | 30 | 83.3% | 16.7% | 0% | 23.3% | 26.7% | 0% (0/14) | 36.7% |
| Sport & fitness | 11 | 81.8% | 18.2% | 0% | 0% | 9.1% | 0% (0/7) | 100% |
| All brands | 12,226 | 30.2% | 69.8% | 0% | 18% | 36.2% | 1% (46/4648) | 23.3% |
Verified, reported and unverified are shares of current ownership links and sum to 100. Unverified links are kept out of the published database, so that column is 0 by construction.
The ten weakest categories on each measure
Leaf categories with at least 10 brands (at least 5 links or sources for the link and source measures), so a single record cannot decide the ranking.
Filing-backed ownership links
Ranked by lowest share of current ownership links marked verified.
- Milk & cream · 167 brands0%
- Bus & coach · 77 brands0%
- Cooking oils · 62 brands0%
- Ferries · 50 brands0%
- Fish & seafood · 38 brands0%
- Champagne & sparkling wine · 34 brands0%
- Sweeteners · 34 brands0%
- Fast fashion · 25 brands0%
- Baijiu · 17 brands0%
- Window coverings · 17 brands0%
Links with a start date
Ranked by lowest share of current ownership links with a start date.
- Electric utilities · 156 brands0%
- Airports · 127 brands0%
- Bus & coach · 77 brands0%
- Roads · 62 brands0%
- Gas utilities · 46 brands0%
- Grids & transmission · 46 brands0%
- Power producers · 45 brands0%
- Car rental · 44 brands0%
- Storage & EV charging · 39 brands0%
- Aviation services · 39 brands0%
Brands with a launch year
Ranked by lowest share of brands with a launch year.
- Electric utilities · 156 brands0%
- Airports · 127 brands0%
- Fuel stations · 98 brands0%
- Oilfield services & drilling · 54 brands0%
- Exploration & production · 51 brands0%
- Hospitals & clinics · 51 brands0%
- Gas utilities · 46 brands0%
- Grids & transmission · 46 brands0%
- Power producers · 45 brands0%
- Refining & marketing · 40 brands0%
Sources not ok
Ranked by highest share of cited sources whose link check is not ok.
- Shaving & razors · 14 brands16.7%
- Newspapers & magazines · 71 brands11.4%
- Fast fashion · 25 brands11.1%
- Batteries & lighting · 21 brands10%
- Fresh vegetables · 16 brands10%
- Reference & knowledge · 14 brands10%
- Air freshener · 11 brands9.1%
- Fresh fruit · 20 brands8.3%
- Baby & child toiletries · 17 brands8.3%
- Condoms & lubricants · 14 brands8.3%
Brands without a 40-word description
Ranked by highest share of brands lacking a description above 40 words.
- Semiconductors · 23 brands100%
- Game publishers & studios · 22 brands100%
- Investment banks · 21 brands100%
- Computers & phones · 20 brands100%
- Gyms & fitness brands · 11 brands100%
- Brokerages & trading platforms · 49 brands98%
- Oilfield services & drilling · 54 brands94.4%
- Digital banks · 16 brands93.8%
- Medical devices · 16 brands93.8%
- Retail & commercial banks · 180 brands93.3%
Methodology
- Ownership links are current edges (no end date) whose owned entity is a brand, grouped by that brand's category. Confidence is the link's own field: verified means a filing or regulator document supports it, reported means a credible secondary source does.
- Start date is the share of those links with a recorded start year or date. Many acquisitions are known but not yet dated.
- Launch year is the share of brands with a founding or launch year recorded.
- Sources not ok counts distinct sources cited by a category's brands or their ownership links whose status is not ok. A source becomes moved or broken when the weekly link check finds the page dead; a blocked or failed check changes nothing.
- Thin description is the share of brands with no description or one of 40 words or fewer.
Caveat. A passing link check shows the page loads, not that it still says what we cited. A low unverified or broken-source share does not prove the content is accurate. Percentages are of the brands and links in this dataset only. See also corrections.