Find out who has the most liquid assets
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When’s the last time someone checked up on the soda wars? Maybe people finally gave up and decided that Pepsi would never be able to beat Coke as the world’s favorite soda.
Pepsi is in good company when it comes to not being able to beat Coke. In fact, as brand names go, no one can beat Coke. Triangle Business Journal reports that Coke remains the most valuable brand in the world. Maybe you should check with them if you need short term loans.
Business time
The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest bottler in the world. Also, it’s possible that Coca-Cola has been the most valuable brand in the world for as long as it has been around, but we’ll never know. BusinessWeek and Interbrand began studying and compiling a list of the world’s top 100 brands in 2001, and Coke has held the No. 1 spot every year.
Yes, Coke is sitting pretty as collectively the value of the top 100 most valuable companies in the world dropped 4 percent, but its individual value went up 3 percent in the past year. Yes, even during a recession. The Coca-Cola Company is 123 years old, and it’s based in Atlanta. Its brand value is listed at $68.7 billion.
Big Blue in second place
IBM, worth $60.2 billion, is the second most valuable brand in the world, just edging out Microsoft. IBM headquarters is in Armonk, New York. The Tabulating Machine Company, which ended up becoming IBM, was founded in 1896.
Third place Microsoft is worth $56.6 billion. Compared to two companies that beat it out for most valuable brand, Microsoft is just a baby. Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates. The company grew quickly, opening its first international office in Japan in 1978. Microsoft started off in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but now its headquarters are in Redmond, Washington.
General Electric holds its ground
The top five most valuable brands in the world have not changed their rank since last year. Just as in 2008, GE is the fourth most valuable brand in the world. So far, we’re four for four on U.S. companies being the most valuable in the world. GE, at some point, probably beat out Coke as the most valuable brand, but I guess we’ll never know.
GE is just a few years younger than Coca-Cola Company. It was founded in 1892 when Edison General Electric (yes, that Edison) and Thomson-Houston Company merged. This year, Forbes reported that GE is the largest company in the world.
Going abroad
Rounding out the top five is Finnish company Nokia. Though in the United States this company is best known for making cell phones, Nokia has been around a whole lot longer than cell phones have. The company was founded in 1871, making it even older than the Coca-Cola Company, and it was originally a paper manufacturer.
Back in the states, McDonald’s is the world’s sixth most valuable company. Google jumped up three spots on the list this year to number seven. Toyota fell two spots to number eight, which isn’t surprising given the year the auto industry has had. Rounding out the top ten are Intel and, of course, Disney.
