Apple Is World's Most Valuable Brand

The Apple brand and logo are named the most valuable brand in the world, according to the Interbrand Best Global Brands annual report, quoted by The Guardian.

It is worth nearly USD 119 B - more than twice Bulgaria's GPD for 2013, estimated at roughly USD 53 B.

The Silicon Valley firm, already the world's biggest company - with a stock market valuation of USD 591 B - saw its brand value increase by a 21% over the past 12 months, surpassing Google, Coca-Cola and IBM.

Google's brand value rose by 15% to USD 107 B to take second place, followed by Coca-Cola up 3% to USD 81.5 B, IBM (USD 72.2b) and Microsoft (USD 45.5 B).

Facebook is the biggest riser in the chart, increasing its brand value by 86% to USD 14.3 B and taking 29th place in the table ahead of longstanding global corporate names such as Volkswagen, Kellogg's and Ford.

Jez Frampton, chief executive of Interbrand, which is part of global advertising group Omnicom, said for The Guardian: "Benefiting immensely from the rise of digital and, later, mobile technology, savvy brands like Apple grew stronger … New category-killers like Google, Amazon and Facebook have reset customer expectations and significantly raised the bar for brand experiences."

Apple, which was founded 38 years ago, first appeared in the top 10 of the Interbrand annual study only three years ago.

Top 10 Most Valuable Brands:

 1. Apple - USD 118 B
 2. Google - USD 107 B
 3. Coca-Cola - USD 81 B
 4. IBM - USD 72 B
 5. Microsoft - USD 61 B
 6. GE - USD 45 B
 7. Samsung - USD 45 B
 8. Toyota - USD 42 B
 9. McDonald's - USD 42 B
 10. Mercedes-Benz - USD 34 B