Apple is the world's most valuable brand followed by Microsoft, Coca-Cola, IBM and Google, according to Forbes.Apple has topped the 'World's Most Valuable List' compiled by Forbes magazine
with a brand value of $104.3 billion, nearly twice other technology
major Microsoft, which has a brand value of $56.7 billion.
"...
the Apple name is as strong as ever. Apple is the most valuable brand
in the world for a third straight time at $104.3 billion, up 20 percent
over last year. It is worth nearly twice as much as any other brand on
the planet by our count," Forbes said.
Meanwhile, Microsoft's
brand value has remained flat over the past three years, as the company
struggles to make a transition from PC to the mobile world, the magazine
said.
"Growth has slowed, but it is still one of the most
profitable brands in the world with operating margins of 34 percent in
its latest fiscal year," it said.
With a brand value of $54.9 billion, Coca-Cola was ranked third in the list, followed by
IBM ($50.7 billion),
Google ($47.3 billion).
Among
the top 10 brands, McDonald's, with a brand value of $39.4 billion, was
ranked sixth, followed by General Electric ($34.2 billion),
Intel ($30.9 billion),
Samsung ($29.5 billion) and Louis Vuitton ($28.4 billion).
Brands
from US-based companies make up just over half of the list of 100, with
the next biggest representation from Germany (nine brands), France
(eight) and Japan (seven).
No Indian company features in the list.
Samsung, which came at No.9, had the strongest one-year gain of any
brand in the top 100, up 53 percent to $29.5 billion. The company's
value soared 136 percent over the past three years.
"Sales for
Samsung's Galaxy S4 smartphone have been on fire and the company also
benefits from its market leading position with memory chips," Forbes
said.
Forbes, however, said the value of a brand can collapse in the complex, fast moving technology world.
Forbes
had valued the Blackberry brand at $6.1 billion last year, but this
year it stood at just $2.2 billion and has come out of the top 100
brands list.
Forbes valued the brands on three years of earnings and allocated a
percentage of those earnings based on the role brands play in each
industry. The 100 most valuable brands span 15 countries across 20 broad
industry categories.
