• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, May 29, 2018

The retail category led the Kantar Millward Brown 2018 BrandZ Global Top 100 ranking in percentage value growth, but companies in the technology space added $348 billion in value. The retail Top 20 rose by $149 billion.

Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Tencent took the top five global rankings, respectively. These brands expanded their networks, products and services to meet a diverse consumer base. Artificial intelligence and personal assistants began to make it more convenient to search and find information.

The ranking was produced by using market data from Kantar Consulting, along with Bloomberg.

Google and Apple held their No. 1 and No. 2 spots with Google up 23% to $302.1 billion and Apple up 28% to $300.6 billion. Amazon jumped to the No. 3 position with 49% growth at $207.6 billion, pushing Microsoft to No. 4 with 40% growth and a brand value of $200.9 billion.

Voice assistants powered by AI complicated the challenge to stay top of mind for consumers as they became more prevalent in 2017.

Facebook made the list at No. 6 with $162.1 billion in brand value. The company fell one space in the ranking, but rose by 25% in brand value compared with the past year.

In aggregate, the global top 100 companies rose to a value of $4.4 trillion, adding a record $748 billion in value during the past year, according to the ranking.

Adobe and Amazon landed on the list of the Top 20 Risers, meaning that they had the most growth in brand value. Adobe came in at No. 10, jumping 53%. Amazon came in at No. 13, jumping 49%.

China held the top three spots, with JD.com coming in with 94% growth in brand value, and Alibaba Group with 92% growth.

Eight brands from seven categories entered the top 100 this year, including Spectrum, JD.com, Uber, HP, and SF Express.

The study also took a look back to 2006, when Microsoft ranked No. 1, followed by GE, Coca-Cola, China Mobile, and Marlboro. Google came in at No. 7 that year.