The eight most valuable brands

Laura Lorenzetii has a Fortune article about who's on top:

Google isn't number one any longer. After a brief demotion to the number two spot last year, Apple has won back its title as the world’s most valuable brand, according to the annual BrandZ ranking put together by marketing research firm Millward Brown.
Google briefly claimed the most valuable brand title last year, interrupting Apple’s three-year run. Apple’s brand value boomed 67% this year, hitting an impressive $247 billion. Google’s brand value, meanwhile, climbed 9% to $174 billion over that same period, making it the number-two-most valuable brand this year.
Millward calculates the most valuable brands using a mix of market data and consumer surveys to isolate what portion of a company’s value is due to its brand name. 

Here are the eight most valuable brands for 2015:
1. AppleBrand value: $247 billion
Last year’s value: $148 billion
Change from last year: 67%
2. GoogleBrand value: $173 billion
Last year’s value: $158 billion
Change from last year: 9%
3. MicrosoftBrand value: $116 billion
Last year’s value: $90 billion
Change from last year: 28%
4. IBMBrand value: $94 billion
Last year’s value: $108 billion
Change from last year: -13%
5. VisaBrand value: $92 billion
Last year’s value: $79 billion
Change from last year: 16%
6. AT&TBrand value: $89 billion
Last year’s value: $78 billion
Change from last year: 15%
7. VerizonBrand value: $86 billion
Last year’s value: $63 billion
Change from last year: 36%
8. Coca-Cola
Brand value: $84 billion
Last year’s value: $81 billion
Change from last year: 4%

Rico says that since he doesn't own a share of any of them, it doesn't really matter to him...