Forbes’ published the annual list of 100 World's Most Valuable Brands. The top five are tech companies.

Apple has topped the Forbes' annual list with $241.2 billion brand value (a 17% increase against the same period last year). It is followed by Google with $207.5 billion (a 24%) and Microsoft with $162,9 billion (+30%). The fourth is Amazon with $ 135,4 billion (+40%). And while the first four have maintained or increased their pace of growth, Facebook, which occupies the fifth place, has fallen. In fact, the social network’s brand value declined by 21%, amounting to $70,3 billion.

The top 10 of the list of the World's Most Valuable Brands also includes Coca-Cola ($64.4 billion, +9%), Disney ($61.3 billion, +18%), Samsung ($50.4 billion -5%), Louis Vuitton ($47.2 billion, +20%) and McDonald's ($46.1 billion, +5%).

The list includes 14 brands representing the financial sector:

- Visa - $31.8 billion, +18% (18th place)

- American Express - $25.1 billion, -3% (28th place)

- HSBC - $14.4 billion, +12% (43rd place)

- J.P. Morgan - $13.7 billion, +11% (45th place)

- Bank of America - $13.2 billion, +14% (49th place)

- Chase - $13.1 billion, +12% (50th place)

- Citi - $11.8 billion, +4% (59th place)

- Wells Fargo - $11.8 billion, -16% (60th place)

- PayPal - $11.3 billion, +24% (67th place)

- Santander - $9.7 billion, + 6% (78th place)

- Goldman Sachs - $8.9 billion, -1% (85th place)

- AXA - $8.8 billion (88th place)

- Allianz - $ 8.8 billion, + 7% (89th place)

- UBS - $8.3 billion (95th place)

The top 100 most valuable brands in total were worth $2.54 trillion, up from $2.33 trillion last year.

Companies based in the U.S. made up more than 50 of the top 100. Other most represented countries included Germany (10), France (9), Japan (6) and Switzerland (5).

The tech sector was the most common in the rankings with 20 companies, followed by 14 in financial services, 11 in auto, and 8 in retail.