Apple again becomes most valuable brand, according to Forbes

Apple, Google and Microsoft, respectively, rank as the top three most valuable brands. Apple is valued at $182.8 billion, an 8% one-year value change; Google comes in at $142.1 billion with an impressive 30% value change and Microsoft is reported to have $104.9 billion in brand value with a 21% change.
 
Fifty-four U.S. companies appear on the list, down from 56 last year. Facebook drew the No. 4 spot with $94.8 billion, followed by Amazon ($70.9B), Coca-Cola (57.3B), Samsung (47.6B), Disney ($47.5B), Toyota ($44.7B). AT&T ranked No. 10 with $41.9 billion in value. Amazon’s leap over Coca-Cola, the only non-tech brand in the Top 7, was the only change in the top five this year.
 
“The world’s biggest tech companies have consolidated their power in recent years, driving huge profits and soaring market values. Apple (phones), Google (search), Microsoft (software), Facebook (social) and Amazon (retail) dominate their respective sectors thanks to winning products and services. But perhaps their most prized and valuable attribute: strong brand names,” Forbes wrote in announcing the list.
 
The Top 5 companies are worth a combined $586 billion, up 20% from last year. KFC pulled up the rear, coming in at No. 100 with, $7.4 billion, up 15%.
 
When broken down by industry, tech brands represented 20% of the final list, including the Top 5. Financial services delivered 13 brands, closely followed by auto with 12.
 
Forbes said it evaluated more than 200 global brands to determine its 100 most valuable. Brands were required to have a presence in the U.S., which knocked out some big brands like China’s Alibaba and Tencent. The top 100 includes product brands like Proctor & Gamble’s Gillette (No. 32, $17.1B), as well as brands marketed under their corporate name like American Express (No. 28, $23.1B).

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