It’s Microsoft, Amazon and Starbucks

Download that report to Excel, or play a game of Xbox to relax. Log onto Amazon and grab that Swedish dishcloth you’ve been reading so much about. Then head to Starbucks and grab a latte macchiato or peppermint mocha. You’ve earned it.

The Seattle area is home to three of the most valuable brands in the United States, and — you guessed it — they’re Microsoft (No. 2); Amazon (No. 4); and Starbucks (No. 9).

Brand Finance’s annual report measuring brand value reveals that America’s biggest brands are growing faster than the economy. Brands investing in AI (Microsoft has invested an estimated $13 billion in Open AI) led to significant increases in value.

NVIDIA, the AI computing giant, is America’s fastest-growing brand, with its value skyrocketing 163% the past year. Apple reported a remarkable 74% growth in brand value, regaining its status as the nation’s top brand, displacing Amazon.

Washington’s state’s top brands, in order, are:

• Microsoft ($3.54 billion).

• Amazon ($3.09 billion).

• Costco (49.4 billion).

• Starbucks ($60.7 billion).

• Xbox ($8.25 billion).

Washington state is home to 11 brands in the top 500, second only to California, which leads the ranking with 84 brands.

Brand Finance bases its rankings on analyzing the net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing it in the open market.