Apple heads the world's most valuable brands of 2017 at $170 billion

Apple earned 92% of the profits in smartphone category and racked up a cash hoard of $257 billion

Brand value is the ultimate currency craved by companies. A valuable brand spurs demand and creates pricing power. Apple sold 78 million units of iPhone in the fourth quarter of 2016. The average selling price was $695. Pricing for chief competitor Samsung was more than $500 less, according to research from Canaccord Genuity. The result: Apple earned 92% of the profits in the smartphone category and has racked up a cash hoard of $257 billion on its balance sheet. Here is a look at the top companies on the list:

1) Apple

$170 bn brand value 

10% 1-yr change 

$1.8bn ad spending

2) Google 

101.8 bn brand value 

23% 1-yr change 

$3.9bn ad spending

3) Microsoft

$87 bn brand value 

16% 1-yr change 

$1.6bn ad spending

4) Facebook

$73.5 bn brand value 

40% 1-yr change 

$310mn ad spending

5) Coca Cola

$56.4 bn brand value 

-4% 1-yr change 

$4bn ad spending

6) Amazon

$54.1bn brand value 

54% 1-yr change 

$5bn ad spending

7) Disney

$43.9 bn brand value 

11% 1-yr change 

$2.9bn ad spending

8) Toyota

$41.1 bn brand value 

-2% 1-yr change 

$4.3bn ad spending

9) McDonald's

$40.3bn brand value 

3% 1-yr change 

$646 bn ad spending

10) Samsung

$38.2 bn brand value 

6% 1-yr change 

$3.7 bn ad spending

11) GE

$37.9 bn brand value 

3% 1-yr change 

12) AT&T

$36.7 bn brand value 

12% 1-yr change 

$3.8bn ad spending

13) IBM

$33.3bn brand value 

-20% 1-yr change 

$1.3bn ad spending

14) Intel

$31.4 bn brand value 

13% 1-yr change 

$1.8 bn ad spending

Source: Forbes