Licensed Merch: Disney the Clear Number 1

According to License Global, a trade magazine tracking the licensing industry, global retail sales of licensed Disney merchandise amounted to $61.7 billion in 2022, almost twice the total of second-placed Dotdash Meredith. While Disney licenses its vast array of intellectual property to various manufacturers, game developers, toy companies etc., Dotdash Meredith, one of America's leading print and digital publishers, has several licensing deals in place, most of them leveraging the company’s well-known and trusted magazine brands such as Better Homes & Gardens, Southern Living and InStyle.

While licensed merchandise is more of a welcome side business to companies such as Disney and Meredith, some companies have specialized on acquiring well-known consumer brands in order to monetize them through licensing deals. Third-ranked Authentic Brands Group (ABG) is a prime example for such a company. Owning numerous apparel brands, the well-known Sports Illustrated magazine brand as well as the likeness/marketing rights of several celebrities incl. Muhammed Ali, Elvis Presley and David Beckham, ABG-owned brands accounted for $24.1 billion in licensed merchandise sales in 2022.