Despite the company's year-long slump on Wall Street and its alleged lack of innovation since the death of Steve Jobs, Apple - for the 3rd straight year - has been ranked by Forbes as the world's most valuable brand.

"A Forbes’ study of the top brands illustrates that the Apple name is as strong as ever," writes reporter Kurt Badenhausen. "Apple is the most valuable brand in the world for a third straight time at $104.3 billion, up 20% over last year. It is worth nearly twice as much as any other brand on the planet by our count."

In second place