Apple Named Most Valuable Brand on Eve of Steve Jobs' Death Anniversary

The Apple Inc. (AAPL) brand seems to be doing just fine. Co-founder Steve Jobs passed away seven years ago on October 5, and even though his genius was once synonymous with the brand, the company's brand value hasn't fallen in global rankings.

Yesterday, global brand consultancy Interbrands released this year's ranking of the hundred most valuable brands in the world, and U.S. tech giants Apple, Alphabet Inc.'s Google (GOOG) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) hold the top three spots. Apple's brand value is estimated to have grown 16% to $214 billion. Amazon is the third brand after Apple and Google to reach a 100-billion-dollar brand valuation. (See also: Why Amazon's Stock May Reach $3,000 by 2020)

According to the brand consultancy firm, the ranking is based on three components: the financial performance of the branded products and services, the role the brand plays in influencing customer choice and the strength the brand has to create sustainable demand and secure earnings for the company into the future. The top strengths of Apple's brand are differentiation, engagement and consistency, according to the report.

The brands with the fastest growing value on the list are Amazon (56%), Netflix Inc. (NFLX) (45%), Gucci (30%), Salesforce.com Inc. (CRM) (23%), and Louis Vuitton (23%).

“A decade after the global financial crisis, the brands that are growing fastest are those that intuitively understand their customers and make brave iconic moves that delight and deliver in new ways,” said Charles Trevail, Global Chief Executive Officer, Interbrand.

Facebook, which has been hit by several controversies, saw its brand value decline 6% this year after five years of being one of the top growing brands. (See also: Facebook Could Be Fined $1.6 Billion in Europe Over Data Breach)

Of the top ten brands, only three are not American, namely Japan's Toyota, South Korea's Samsung and Germany's Mercedes-Benz. More than half of the top 100 came from five sectors: Automotive (16), Technology (13), Financial Services (12), Luxury (9), and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (9). 

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