The World's Most Valuable Brands

In the latest brand report from Forbes, Apple has ranked the world’s most valuable brand again despite the company recording the decline in its revenue during the second quarter. Apple has grabbed the top spot in the Forbes ranking every year since it began valuing the richest brands in 2010.  

• Number 2 Google leapfrogged Microsoft this year and closed the gap on Apple with its brand increasing in value by 24% to $207.5 billion. Apple’s brand value rose 17% from last year's assessment to $241.2 billion.
• Rounding out the top five are Microsoft ($162.9 billion), Amazon ($135.4 billion), and Facebook ($70.3 billion).  

Forbes evaluated more than 200 global brands to determine the final list of the world’s 100 most valuable brands. The brands were required to have more than a token presence in the US, which knocked out some big names, including the multinational telecom giant Vodafone and Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba. Forbes valued the brands based on the most recent three years of earnings and allocated a percentage of those earnings based on the role brands play in each industry, e.g., high for luxury goods and beverages, low for airlines and oil companies.