Coca-Cola may be 123 years old, but the brand’s journey is far from over. Coke has been ranked as No. 1 in the study of the most valuable brands in the world. Coke’ brand value is listed at $68.7 billion, up by 3 percent from last year. The brand has been maintaining its rank since the inception of the study in 2001. IBM, Microsoft, General Electric and Nokia followed Coke.

Top Brands

1. Coca-Cola $68.7 billion
2. IBM $60.2 billion
3. Microsoft $56.6 billion
4. GE $47.8 billion
5. Nokia $34.9 billion
6. McDonald’s $32.3 billion
7. Google $32.0 billion
8. Toyota $31.3 billion
9. Intel $30.6 billion
10. Disney $28.5 billion

The overall value of the world’s Top 100 marks witnessed a decrease, according to the study. The world’s foremost brands in value are now worth $1.15 trillion, down by $55.5 billion, a decrease of more than 4 percent.

The study also highlighted the effect of recession on the financial sector as HSBC, Citi Group fell in their rankings, while Merill Lynch, American International Group and ING dropped off the rankings.

Google, Amazon and Spain’s Zara remained amongst the biggest gainers in brand equity in 2009.