Google is the world’s first $100 billion brand

According to the fourth annual BrandZ top 100 global brands ranking, Google is now worth 25% more than Microsoft and is the first company to surpass the $100 billion value mark.

Microsoft is number two at $76.2 bn, and Coca-Cola enters the top three for the first time at $67.6 bn.

Despite the current economic climate, the value of the top 100 brands has increased 2% since last year, to $2 trillion – a marginal increase of 1.7 percent.

The  through devices such as the iPhone and BlackBerry has led to huge increases for the mobile operators category as a whole, driven by demand for data services. Vodafone enters the top 10 for the first time this year (+45 percent).

To value a brand, three factors are taken into account: a company’s earnings under the banner of the brand, how much the earnings are attributable to the brand; and the brand multiple – the growth potential of the earnings.

What continues to surprise me is that Google’s growth has been fueled mostly by one product. You can view the full report here.