Milward Brown released its annual Brandz study on Tuesday, May 22, ranking Cupertino, California-based Apple as the world's most valuable brand. Apple took the top spot last year as well, and now the company's value has climbed 19 percent to $183 billion from $153.3 billion last year.

Milward Brown's analysis takes into account a company's financial data, market intelligence, and consumers' perception of brand equity, conducting a "rigorous analysis of financial data, market valuations, analyst reports and risk profiles," according to the company.

The study shows technology companies in general performed quite well. Apple is No.1, followed by IBM in second place with $116 billion in value. In last year's study, IBM came in third and Google came second. This year, the companies swapped places and Google tallied a $108 billion brand value. While the leaders soared, Google has seen its brand value drop three percent year over year. McDonald's and Microsoft ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. McDonald's reached $95.2 billion in brand value, followed by Microsoft with $76.7 billion.

Milward Brown also noted that technology is having a great impact on brand value, and it is playing an essential role in boosting the value of companies operating in other industries. "In other categories - cars, financial services, luxury and retail, for example - we can also see that brands are gaining significant advantages by using smart technology to enhance their customer experience," stated the company, as cited by CNET. "For example, Burberry - up 21 percent to $4 billion - created a virtual world where younger brand followers can view fashion shows and more."

Facebook made a strong impression in Milward Brown's top 100, with a notable progress. The social networking company slipped into the top 20 Brandz top for the first time. Over the last year, Facebook has climbed 16 positions to land on the 19th spot, trailing Amazon and followed by Deutsche Telekom. The social network;s brand value soared 74 percent to $32.2 billion.

Meanwhile, this year's Brandz study shows AT&T surpassed Verizon Wireless in ranking, landing on the eighth spot with $68.9 billion in brand value. Verizon Wireless Cme in ninth, with $49.2 billion in value. The rest of the top 10 includes Coca Cola on the sixth spot, Marlboro on seventh, followed by AT&T and Verizon Wireless, and China Mobile on tenth spot.