New Report: Two of the world's most valuable brands call Seattle area home

A new report out Friday ranks Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) as having the fifth and sixth most valuable "brand portfolios," respectively.

One company that is reportedly expanding here and another that definitely is expanding here topped the list. 

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) was No. 1 on the list by Brand Finance, and Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG), the parent company of Google, was second.

Real estate industry sources say that Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is planning a major expansion in the region, though the company has not confirmed this. Google is planning a big new office in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood.

Microsoft fell one spot in the annual rankings, while Amazon moved up five.

Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) was the only other Seattle company on the list, coming in at No. 55. Starbucks was not ranked in 2015.

Brand Finance, a global business valuation and strategy consultancy based in London, calculates values of brand based on various factors, such as the total economic benefit that a business derives from its brand. The company measured factors, such as consumers' emotional connections to brands, and the companies' financial performance.

The value of Microsoft's brand portfolio is now $74.9 billion, down 1 percent from last year. Amazon's brand value jumped 24 percent to $56 billion. Starbucks' brand value is now $23.45 billion.

The report did not say how much the value of the coffee giant's brand went up or down.

Rounding out the top five, Samsung Group was third on the list, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) was fourth.

*This article originally appeared on the Puget Sound Business Journal