FX.co ★ The 10 most valuable brands in the world

1. Google

Brand value: $229.2 billion

Percentage change from last year: +32%

Last year's rank: 2

Google has thrived thanks to continual innovation, increased revenue from advertising, and growth in its cloud business. Google has also been very transparent about what it's working on, which boosted its brand value.

2. Apple

Percentage change from last year: -8%

Last year's rank: 1

Apple's lack of big new products launching this year affected its brand value. The company did launch the Apple Watch in April, but that hasn't yet reached mainstream appeal — despite selling more units than its other smartwatch competitors.

3. Microsoft

Brand value: $121.8 billion

Percentage change from last year: +5%

Last year's rank: 3

Microsoft is the world's most valuable B2B brand. The company has seen "exponential growth" in its commercial-cloud business — which has mostly been driven by its Office 365 programs — and Windows 10 is now active on more than 270 million devices worldwide. In order to keep laser-focused, the company has streamlined its smartphone hardware business.

4. AT&T

Brand value: $107.4 billion

Percentage change from last year: +20%

Last year's rank:

AT&T is the second telecoms company in the top 10. One of the reasons AT&T outperformed its competitors was the quad-play — mobile, fixed-line, internet, and TV — bundle it offers, through the acquisition of DirecTV.

Moreover, AT&T formed connected car partnerships with automakers, including Ford, BMW, and Tesla.

5. Facebook

Brand value:$102.6 billion

Percentage change from last year:+44%

Last year's rank:12

Facebook continued its strong financial performance in 2015, and the company has been working to transform itself into a media platform, encouraging publishers to post original content —particularly video—to its site.

6. Visa

Brand value: $100.8 billion

Percentage change from last year: +10%

Last year's rank: 5

Visa is the only financial brand in the top 10 this year. The company is a big sponsor of sporting events, and its blue, white, and yellow logo is ubiquitous in retailers across the world. Last year, Visa, a FIFA sponsor, came out strongly against the corruption scandal at world football's governing body. The company is continuing its partnership with FIFA and also the NFL and the Olympics.

7. Amazon

Brand value: $98.9 billion

Percentage change from last year: +59%

Last year's rank: 14

Amazon was the fastest riser in this year's rankings. Amazon is constantly disrupting other sectors by creating new industry standards — everything from one-hour delivery time and its own proprietary entertainment content to the testing of delivery drones and its Echo personal assistant.

8. Verizon

Brand value: $93.2 billion

Percentage change from last year: +8%

Last year's rank: 7

Verizon is another company that is investing in its future. Verizon has expanded its business into the digital and video content and advertising markets, thanks to the $4.4 billion acquisition of AOL in May 2015. It also launched its Go90 mobile video-streaming app in October 2015.

9. McDonald's

Brand value: $88.6 billion

Percentage change from last year: +9%

Last year's rank: 9

McDonald's has made a number of improvements to the business this year. It is making efforts to separate its drive-thru offerings — based on convenience and speed — from its in-store experience, where it has been rolling out customization, premium products, and improving hospitality.

10. IBM

Brand value: $86.2 billion

Percentage change from last year: -8%

Last year's rank: 4

IBM is "investing in its future," particularly with its cognitive-computing system Watson, which is working across areas such as advertising, healthcare, education, and retail. The company has also quietly built the world's largest digital agency: IBM iX.