15 most valuable brands in the world

Image: Employees stand in a break room designed as a subway station at the Google building in Zurich.
Photographs: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters

Although the top tier of the BrandFinance Global 500 contains many household names brands that have existed for decades, the world's increasing dependence on the Internet is reflected by Google's position at no. 1.

Five of the top ten largest growers are technology-related companies.

The US continues to dominate the index; American brands constitute 13 of the top 20 and 26 from the top 500.

Google

Rank: 1
Brand value: $44.29 billion
Market cap: 143.02 billion

Industry: Internet computer software.

Founded: Menlo Park, California (September 4, 1998.

Founder(s): Sergey M. Brin and Lawrence E. Page.

Headquarters: 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California, United States.

Key people: Lawrence E. Page (CEO, co-Founder and president, products); Eric Schmidt (executive chairman), and Sergey M. Brin (co-founder and president, technology).

Revenue: $29.321 billion (2010).

Profit: $8.505 billion (2010).

Total assets: $57.851 billion (2010).

Employees: 24,400 (2010).

...

15 most valuable brands in the world

Image: General view of Microsoft Corporation headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris.
Photographs: Charles Platiau/Reuters

Microsoft

Rank: 2
Brand value: $42.80 billion
Market cap: $165.72 billion

Industry: Computer software, consumer electronics, digital distribution, computer hardware, video games, IT consulting, online advertising, retail stores, automotive software.

Founded: Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 4, 1975.

Founder(s): Bill Gates and Paul Allen.

Headquarters: One Microsoft Way, Redmond, Washington, United States.

Key people: Steve Ballmer (CEO); Brian Kevin Turner (COO), and Bill Gates (chairman).

Revenue: $62.484 billion (2010).

Profit: $18.760 billion (2010).

Total assets: $86.113 billion (2010).

Employees: 89,000 (2010).

...

15 most valuable brands in the world

Image: WalMart.
Photographs: Reuters

Walmart

Rank 3:
Brand value: $36.22 billion
Market cap: $154.32 billion

Industry: Retailing.

Founded: October 31, 1962.

Founder: Sam Walton

Headquarters: Bentonville, Arkansas, US.

Key people: Mike Duke (CEO); H Lee Scott (chairman of the executive committee of the board), and S Robson Walton (chairman).

Revenue: $408.21 billion (2009).

Net income: $14.33 billion.

Employees: approx. 2,100,000 (2009).

...

15 most valuable brands in the world

Image: A view of the headquarters of IBM Japan in Tokyo.
Photographs: Toru Hanai/Reuters

IBM

Rank: 4
Brand value: $36.16 billion
Market cap: $189.72 billion

Industry: Computer systems, computer hardware and software, information technology consulting, and IT service management.

Founded: Endicott, New York June 16, 1911.

Headquarters: Armonk, New York, United States.

Key people: Samuel J. Palmisano (chairman, president and CEO).

Revenue: $99.870 billion (2010).

Net income: $14.833 billion (2010).

Total assets: $113.452 billion.

Employees: 426,751 (2010).

...

15 most valuable brands in the world

Image: A woman talks on her mobile phone in front of a Vodafone store at Vodafone Turkey headquarters in Istanbul.
Photographs: Murad Sezer/Reuters

Vodafone

Rank: 5
Brand value: 30.67 billion
Market cap: 192.45 billion

Industry: Telecommunications.

Founded: 1984.

Headquarters: London, United Kingdom.

Key people: Sir John Bond (chairman); Vittorio Colao (CEO); John Buchanan (deputy chairman), and Andy Halford (CFO).

Revenue: Pound 44.47 billion (2010).

Profit: Pound 8.645 billion (2010).

Total assets: Pound 156.98 billion (2010).

Employees: 84,990 (2010).

...

15 most valuable brands in the world

Image: A couple embraces in front of a Bank of America sign on a building in Times Square in New York.
Photographs: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

Bank of America

Rank 6:
Brand value: $30.62
Market cap: $120.19

Industry: Banking, financial services, and investment services.

Founded: 1998 (as Bank of America Corp).

Headquarters: Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.

Key people: Charles O Holliday (chairman) and Brian Moynihan (president and CEO).

Revenue: $134.194 billion (2010).

Net income: $2.238 billion (2010).

Total assets: $2.264 trillion.

Employees: 288,000 (2010).

...

15 most valuable brands in the world

Image: A man enters the General Electric building.
Photographs: Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Rank 7:
Brand value: $30.50 billion
Market cap: $475.07 billion

Industry: Conglomerate.

Founded: Schenectady, New York (1892).

Founder(s): Thomas Edison, Elihu Thomson, Edwin J Houston, and Charles A Coffin.

Headquarters: 3135 Easton Turnpike, Fairfield, Connecticut, US.

Key people: Jeffrey R. Immelt (chairman and CEO).

Revenue: $104.635 billion (2010).

Net income: $12.163 billion (2010).

Total assets: $751.216 billion (2010).

Employees: 287,000 (2010).

...

15 most valuable brands in the world

Image: Hundreds of people stand in line in a steady rain to purchase the iPad.
Photographs: Frank Polich/Reuters

Apple

Rank 8:
Brand value: $29.54 billion
Market cap: $244.38 billion

Industry: Computer hardware, computer software, consumer electronics, and digital distribution.

Founded: April 1, 1976.

Founder(s): Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne.

Headquarters: Apple Campus, 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California, US.

Key people: Steve Jobs (chairman and CEO) and Tim Cook (COO and acting CEO).

Revenue: $65.23 billion (2010).

Profit: $14.01 billion (2010).

Total assets: $75.18 billion (2010).

Employees: 49,400 (2010).

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15 most valuable brands in the world

Image: A cable car passes a Wells Fargo bank building along California Street in San Francisco.
Photographs: Robert Galbraith/Reuters

Wells Fargo

Rank: 9
Brand value: $28.94 billion
Market cap: $136.07 billion

Industry: Banking, financial services.

Founded: New York, NY (March 18, 1852).

Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States.

Key people: John G Stumpf (chairman, president & CEO).

Revenue: $85.210 billion (2010).

Profit: $12.362 billion (2010).

Total assets: $1.258 trillion (2010).

Employees: 280,000 (2010).

...

15 most valuable brands in the world

Image: Reflections are seen in the window of a store in New York.
Photographs: Brendan McDermid/Reuters

AT&T

Rank: 10
Brand value: $28.88 billion
Market cap: $235.99 billion

Industry: Telecommunications.

Founded: October 5, 1983.

Headquarters: Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States.

Key people: Randall L Stephenson (chairman, president and CEO).

Revenue: $124.280 billion (2010).

Net income: $19.864 billion (2010).

Total assets: $268.488 billion (2010).

Employees: 294,600 (2010).

...

15 most valuable brands in the world

Image: HSBC building in Geneva.
Photographs: Valentin Flauraud/Reuters

HSBC

Rank: 11
Brand value: $27.63 billion
Market cap: $171.16 billion

Industry: Banking, financial services, and investment services.

Founded: 1991 (HSBC Holdings plc)
1865 (The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited).

Founder: Sir Thomas Sutherland.

Headquarters: 8 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, Tower Hamlets, London, United Kingdom.

Key people: Douglas Flint (group chairman) and Stuart Gulliver (group chief executive).

Revenue: $ 98.918 billion (2010).

Profit: $ 13.159 billion (2010).

Total assets: $ 2.454 trillion (2010).

Employees: 307,000 (2010).

...

15 most valuable brands in the world

Image: Customers purchase the iPhone 4 with the Verizon Wireless network in Boca Raton, Florida.
Photographs: Joe Skipper/Reuters

Verizon

Rank: 12
Brand value: $27.29 billion
Market cap: $381.09 billion

Industry: Telecommunications.

Founded: 1983.

Headquarters: Verizon Building, New York City, New York, United States.

Key people: Ivan Seidenberg (chairman and CEO) and Lowell McAdam (president and COO).

Revenue: $106.565 billion (2010).

Net income: $10.217 billion (2010).

Total assets: $220.005 billion (2010).

Employees: 194,400 (2010).

...

15 most valuable brands in the world

Image: HP building in Seoul, Korea.

Rank 13
Brand value: $26.76 billion
Market cap: $84.19 billion

Industry: Computer hardware, computer software, IT consulting, and IT services.

Founded: Palo Alto, California (1939).

Founder(s): Bill Hewlett and David Packard.

Headquarters: Palo Alto, California, US.

Key people: Raymond Lane (chairman) and Leo Apotheker (president and CEO).

Revenue: $126.033 billion (2010).

Net income: $8.761 billion (2010).

Total assets: $124.503 billion (2010).

Employees: 324,600 (2010).

...

15 most valuable brands in the world

Image: Toyota Motor Corp's Prius hybrid car travels in front of the company headquarters.
Photographs: Toru Hanai/Reuters

Toyota

Rank 14:
Brand value: $26.15 billion
Market cap: $204.86 billion

Industry: Automotive robotics and financial services.

Founded: August 28, 1937.

Founder: Kiichiro Toyoda.

Headquarters: Toyota City, Aichi, Japan.

Key people: Fujio Cho (chairman and representative director); Katsuaki Watanabe (vice chairman and representative director), and Akio Toyoda (president and representative director).

Revenue: Yen 18.9 trillion (2010).

Profit: Yen 209.4 billion (2010).

Total assets: Yen 30.3 trillion.

Employees: 71,116.

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15 most valuable brands in the world

Image: Residents walk in front of a Santander bank branch in downtown Montevideo, Uruguay.
Photographs: Andres Stapff/Reuters

Santander

Rank 15
Brand value: $26.15 billion
Market cap: $100.28 billion

Industry: Financial services.

Founded: 1857.

Headquarters: Santander, Spain.

Revenue: Euro 42.05 billion (2010).

Profit: Euro 8.181 billion (2010).

Total assets: Euro 1.218 trillion.

Employees: 178,870 (2010).

...

15 most valuable brands in the world

Image: Coca Cola trailers sit parked outside the bottling company building in Tempe, Arizona.
Photographs: Joshua Lott/Reuters

Coca-Cola's decline has grabbed headlines, with the soft drinks major seeing its value drop by $9 billion, sliding from the third position to 16th in the annual list.

Coca-Cola dropped out of the top ten for the first time.

Pepsi on the other hand climbed 7 places to be ranked at 24. Last year, they were at 31.

BP suffered a $3.4 billion loss and falls 53 places, and

Facebook entered the table in 285th place with a brand value of $3.7billion.

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